Ye Olde Mitre, London

Has it really been more than a year since I last wrote an entry in this blog? That is shocking! It appears I spend too much time in pubs and not enough time writing about them. That will have to change....well, the latter part anyway!

Ye Olde Mitre
1 Ely Court,
Ely Place,
Holborn,
London,
EC1N 6SJ




The offering for this entry is one of my favourite pubs in the world. I only go there once per year, but I savour every moment of it.

The hidden Mitre

Ye Olde Mitre is a hidden gem in London. It is a fairly small pub, steeped in history. The pub was established in 1546 (yes, I can read the sign!), and is located in an alleyway between Ely Place and Hatton Garden. Blink, and you'll miss it. I did the first time I went searching for the pub.

Inside, the pub is full of dark wood panelling with the bar located centrally between the front bar, back bar (saloon bar?), and the entrance. The selection of beers is excellent. This is the first place I tried Sharps Doom Bar and have been in love with it ever since. When I visited this year I drank Seafarers by Fullers and Deuchars by Caledonian. Lovely beers, both of them.

The food in the Mitre is very simple, and really helps keep the warm homely atmosphere, I feel. There is no kitchen in the pub, so the offerings are limited to what can be heated in a toaster, or microwave. We always have a selection of pork pies and scotch eggs there, but they also provide toasted sandwiches and sausage rolls. I told you it was simple. But you don't go to the Mitre for a gastropub experience. You go there to drink some really well kept beer, and soak up the 460 plus years of history.

Hole In The Wall, Waterloo

The Hole In The Wall
5 Mepham St.
London
SE1 8SQ

Phone: 0207 928 6196

 

 

Last night I met up with a friend in the Hole in the Wall pub next to London Waterloo station. It wasn't my first time there, nor will it be my last. I quite like the HITW. It is just obscure enough to never be overly full. If there aren't any seats, there is usually ample standing room for you not to get jostled too much.

The pub is situated in an arch beneath what I believe to be the one of the main routes used by trains to enter Waterloo station. Every few minutes there is a rumbling throughout the pub which is not due to the food.

The food is very simple fare, chips, burgers, baguettes. This is never going to be a gastro pub, but it fills a gap.

The pub does have a rather large selection of beers on tap. There are five ale hand pumps, but I did not get to see. They also do Leffe Blonde on tap, which is one of my favourite beers. I was rather disappointed to see that they no longer serve Peetermans (of the Stella stables). It is a great tasting lager, which I try to drink whenever I can.  Other beers on tap include Hoegaarden, and Becks Vier, the latter of which I have never really been impressed with. Tastes like someone has watered down a normal Becks.

The staff are quite attentive. I was there during a football match night, and it never got deeper than three at the bar, which was during half time. Whenever I ordered, I barely had time to look around (hence missing what ales/bitters they served).

Overall, a good pub to go to for a nifty-swifty before your train, or for a full on meet up.

Beer Blogging

I have mentioned before that one of the blogs I enjoy reading is The Beer Nut. His link is on the right. Through one of The Beer Nut's posts, I have started reading Stonch's Beer Blog.

I find Stonch's writing to be informative and concise. Since starting in January 2007 Stonch has covered quite a diverse amount of topics including international beers, beer festivals, home brewing, and pubs reviews. He has a London Beer Map which is very helpful. I am currently working on getting a map of the pubs I have visited onto this blog as I feel it will add an extra element. I recommend giving his blog a read.

While writing this post, I realised that I have never said anything specific about The Beer Nut's blog. Given that I visit his blog on a minimum of a weekly basis, I feel that I have not done my duty in pointing out a very well written and informative site about various types of beer. It appears that there is no beer that he is not willing to try and give a well thought out review of.  If there is a beer you have seen but are unsure what it will taste like, go to The Beer Nut's blog to see if he's tried it. That's what I do.

The Atlas, London

If in the Earl's Court area, perhaps for a show, I recommend paying a visit to The Atlas pub which is  less than five minutes walk from the exhibition centre. This small pub does excellent food and has a nice welcoming atmosphere. The prices are a bit steep, but what do you expect for a pub just around the corner from Earl's Court.
There are the standard ales on tap (Spitfire, London Pride), as well as the usual suspects for regular lagers, including Hoegaarden.
The food was excellent. I had their steak sandwich which was filling and extremely tasty. Their oxtail stew also looked quite nice.

Click on the picture to see the pub's location.

The Temperance Pub and Dining Room

First, and I guess appropriately, in the Lifelong Pub Run is the Temperance Pub and Dining Room.

The Temperance Pub and Dining Rooms

This pub is located on the corner of York Street and Seymour place. I encountered this pub while walking between Euston and Edgeware Road stations. The inside of the pub is clean, it looks to be recently updated.
The beer on tap is of the commercial sort. It was also nice to see Leffe Blonde on tap. This is one of my favourite beers and is highly recommended.

As a first article on my Lifelong Pub Run I feel that this may not be the strongest. Over the next few articles I will attempt to settle on a style and will hopefully revisit these articles. One thing is for sure, if I revisit a pub I will update the pictures/information accordingly.

This entry was originally shown on Mouse's Musings.