London Pubs Reviewed

A couple of weeks ago we made the trip to London for a bit of a impromptu Uni flat reunion. The trip was also a great opportunity to rate some London pubs.

We left the tube at Oxford Street and after a bit of a wander we found ourselves at The Montagu Pyke. This is more or less your typical Wetherspoons but might be of historic interest to some as it was the location of the Marquee club in the early 80s.


It was then on to Piccadilly and our travels took us to the Tiger Tiger bar. This is a more exclusive kind of a venue including a special roped off VIP area. Unsurprisingly it was also very expensive - £4.20 for a pint of Stella!

A wander past Buckingham Palace took us towards our final port of call and the focal point for the Hertha 139 Flat Re-union 2010 - The King's arms. Located just around the corner from Victoria Station this was much more of a traditional pub.

Maybe it was the fact that I was quite beered up by this point and the reminiscing of our old Uni days had reached a high point but I really liked The Kings Arms. Sure its a bit rough around the edges and the 'retro' decor might be frowned upon by some but nobody can deny that this place has character. And the Fish and Chips we had there was pretty good too.

There was talk of a more extended London booze up for the Hertha 139 crew in the not too distant future and as ever we'll take the opportunity to review a few more pubs in the process.

Away Day Pubs - Chesterfield v Hereford

Hereford United are due to visit Chesterfield's brand new B2net stadium on Saturday so we thought we'd ask some Chesterfield fans over at the Bob's Board forum for some away friendly pubs.

DalekPete says there are a number of pubs within comfortable walking distance of the ground ranging from the modern food-based pubs through to the more traditional venues offering a choice of real ales. As its still early days for the new stadium there are no official 'away' pubs yet but most places should be accomodating.

Keith emailed us to suggest The Donkey Derby which is the largest pub near the stadium. This is mainly a food pub but welcomes football supporters. As an added bonus you can park at the pub too - usually this costs £5.00 but if you eat there they'll apparently refund your fiver.

Closer to the Stadium, Keith also mentions the Rose and Crown but this seems to be mainly for home fans on match days.

DJS recommends The Derby Tup as a must visit pub. Its located just 400 yards north of the ground and features a selection of real ales at the bar. It should be open from mid-day and is a traditional drinkers pub but Keith warns it can get a little cramped.

Update 19/08/2010 - Hilary from the Derby Tup has emailed us to say they'll have 13 real ales plus lager on tap on Saturday. Also, although they don't serve food everyone is welcome to bring in food purchased from other outlets.

Further along is the Travellers rests and just past Lidl is The Red Lion which might also be worth a look.

Several other visiting fans have also recommended The Rutland. This features in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and is ideal for those travelling by train. Also serving good food, The Rutland is located in the city centre just next to Chesterfield's famous crooked spire.

Many thanks for all the contributions from the forum and for Keith's helpful email. If you are travelling up on Saturday and visit a pub don't forget to send us your reviews.

Rise in Beer Prices

Last week the newspapers were full of stories about how the price of beer is set to rise dramatically. This is chiefly attributed to a poor barley harvest in eastern Europe and Russia's decision to lower grain exports. However, with the increase in VAT imminent and the associated alcohol tax increases next year many experts are forecasting a £4 pint by 2011!

To read more on these stories click on the following links:

• Metro.co.uk
• Telegraph.co.uk
• Guardian.co.uk
• The Drinks Business
• Bighospitality.co.uk
• Dailystar.co.uk
• Dailymail.co.uk
  

Even more Hereford re-reviews

Last week we continued our quest to find the best pub in Hereford by re-reviewing 4 more pubs, just click on the pub names below to read the reviews:

• Wetherspoons- The King's Fee
  

This is a nice enough pub but it depends on what you're looking for as to whether you'll like it, there's good cheap beer- with lots of guest ales, but I would say that the place lacks a bit of atmosphere due to the lack of music, tv's, pool tables etc. but that being said the pub is ideally placed (at the heart of Commercial Road) to start your night out here and maybe move on to look for more entertainment later on. As such it scores an impressive 73% which puts it 3rd in the rankings.

• The Merton
  

Almost directly opposite Wetherspoons is The Merton, and it couldn't be more different. This is a quiet, cozy bar which is nice enough and it does have a strange selection of lagers on tap! It scored a pretty average 55% which leaves it in 36th place.

• The Old Market Inn
  

Just round the corner from Commercial Road is The Old Market, this is a fairly modern refurbed pub and is as good now as it's ever been. However, on this visit all lagers were off and no explanation was forthcoming- otherwise very nice though. It scored a creditable 65% which puts it just outside the top ten in 12th place.

• Saxty's
  

This is another nice town pub that had a refurb a few years ago, it seems to be aiming at a "classier" clientelle than the pubs around it- which is fair enough and it is always welcoming enough. It scored 59% which leaves it in 21st place.

Litten Tree and Exchange Reviews

The other week I visited The Litten Tree and The Exchange with one of our semi-regular reviews- Jo. To read the Official HM Pub Guide reviews click on "HMPG" and to read Jo's assessment click on "Jo" below.

• The Litten Tree- HMPG; Jo

We started the evening here, mainly because we were hungry and the food deals looked good- and they were! There were lots on offer, both food wise and at the bar and 2 for the price of 1 on deserts. Although I felt that the pub needs a pool table- hence our visit to ....

• The Exchange- HMPG; Jo
  

This pub has real character, after a few games of pool (where I won) we settled down a corner and made use of the jukebox- which Jo was particularly impressed with.



These are two great pubs in the centre of Hereford, they are ranked 4th and 5th in our league table and would recommend you all to try them out- and if you do then why not send in a review of your own!

Away Day Pubs - Crewe v Hereford

The football season kicks off on Saturday and Hereford United's first match is an away day at Crewe Alexandra. With this in mind we asked the friendly forumers over at Crewe Mad for their tips on pubs for Hereford fans to visit pre and post match.

Chalkdust suggests The Hops on Prince Albert Street and The Borough Arms on Earle Street (both around 1 mile North of the ground - click map to enlarge). Both pubs are great for real ales and foreign beers and The Borough Arms was recently named South Cheshire Pub of the Year.

Also in this area of the city is The Kings Arms which has good value beer from the Beartown Brewery, plenty of entertainment on offer as well as lunchtime baps if you're getting peckish.

Nearer the ground is The Last Orders Inn which CrewieBoy suggests is well worth a visit. This is very popular with away fans and just 5 minutes from the ground. Beer is available from £1.40 a pint which can't be bad and although they don't serve food the landlord allows food to be brought in from the many takeaways along Nantwich Road.

The Barrel and The British Lion are also recommended as well as The Brunswick which is a Greene King Pub. Chalkdust also says the chippy next to the Alex is pretty good.

PaulNevitt1981 recommends the Cheshire Cheese which is just up Gresty Road beyond Mornflake Oats (Crewe's shirt sponsor and main porridge provider in the UK), under a bridge and round a bend. This is a nice surburban pub with a good selection of ale and two for one meal deals. There is plenty of parking available and its just half a mile from the ground.

For the less adventurous, a Wetherspoons can be found near the centre of Crewe near the bus station.

Thanks again to all the contributions from everyone at the Crewe Mad forum. If you are travelling up have a safe trip and here's hoping for a winning start to the season for The Bulls. And if you do visit one of the pubs mentioned why not send us your own review in the usual way.