Tuesday, October 16, 2012

London Town....

Went to London yesterday on a book and book care/repair materials buying spree. (And that's what I like to do on my day off!) Walked from Charing Cross to Baker Street, across to New Oxford Street, Covent Garden, up to Holborn and then back to Charing Cross via Covent Garden. Had a lovely pint in the Sun Tavern on Long Acre which is a place I used to frequent around 25 years ago when I worked around the corner in Drury Lane. The place has hardly changed in all those years. The price has gone up though. PB will perhaps not be too shocked if I say that it was £4.10 for a pint of Alfred Wainwright's Best Bitter. I told the barmaid that the last time I was in there a pint cost around 90 pence! Even so it was very welcome after all that walking. Very pleased with myself that I can still manage to walk around quite a wide sweep of London without a map or other navigational aid.....

1 comment:

Paul Bailey said...

Welcome back TB. Actually I am shocked at the £4.10 you were charged for a pint of Wainwright's, (excellent choice of beer, by the way, and very appropriate for someone like yourself who likes walking).

I was in the big city myself, just under a fortnight ago, and called in at three very different pubs. However, I didn't pay more than £3.70 for a pint.

Your best bet in London, especially if you want a pub with character and a lot of historic features, is to choose one belonging to Samuel Smith's of Tadcaster. It's a while since I last called in at a Sam's house, and they've probably broken the £2.00 barrier now for a pint of their Old Brewery Bitter (still served from wooden casks!), but their pubs definitely represent real value for money. In addition their other beers, such as their lager and stout, whilst obviously keg, are also very good. They even go so far as to stock their own brand of crisps!