Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Viaduct Tavern
126 Newgate St, EC1
T
020 7600 1863,
W
viaducttavern.co.uk;
!
St Paul's; map pp.156-157.
Fuller's pub, on the site of an old jail across from the Old
Bailey, with a glorious Victorian interior from 1869. Check
out the amazing ceiling, the faded oils of comely women
representing Commerce, Agriculture and the Arts, and the
old cells in the basement.
Mon-Fri 8.30am-11pm.
Ì
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
145 Fleet St, EC4
T
020
7353 6170;
!
Temple or Blackfriars; map pp.156-157.
A famous - chiefly because of its historic literary
associations, with patrons including Dickens and Dr Johnson
- seventeenth-century watering hole. Its dark-panelled
25
TOP 5 HISTORIC PUBS
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Fleet Street.
See p.391
George Inn
Southwark. See p.392
The Jerusalem Tavern
Clerkenwell.
See p.390
The Mayflower
Rotherhithe. See p.394
Princess Louise
Holborn. See p.389
bars and real fires make it a cosy maze, popular with tourists
and locals alike.
Mon-Fri 11am-11pm, Sat noon-11pm.
SPITALFIELDS AND WHITECHAPEL
Ì
The Carpenter's Arms
73 Cheshire St, E2
T
020
7739 6342; Shoreditch High Street Overground; map
pp.192-193.
Iconic East End pub - it once belonged to the
Kray twins - with an excellent range of craft lagers and
ales, good home-made food and a tiny courtyard for warm
evenings. A friendly, relaxed place that avoids the hectic,
sometimes forced feel of some of the other pubs and bars
nearby.
Mon-Wed 4-11.30pm, Thurs & Sun noon-
11.30pm, Fri & Sat noon-12.30am.
Ì
The George Tavern
373 Commercial Rd, E1
T
020
7790 7335,
W
thegeorgetavern.co.uk; Whitechapel;
map p.190.
Arty, shabby, dilapidated pub, packed with
history and all sorts of lovely period detail. There's a
bohemian theatre space, and regular, very cool, live music.
Mon-Thurs 4pm-midnight, Fri & Sat 4pm-3am, Sun
4pm-midnight.
Indo
133 Whitechapel Rd, E1
T
020 7247 4926;
!
Aldgate East or Whitechapel; map pp.192-193.
Tiny, dark, grungy bar, with lots of funky art, good
pizzas, interesting music and a decent range of beers, all
enjoyed by a laidback and generally non-hipster crowd.
Mon-Thurs & Sun noon-1am, Fri & Sat noon-3am.
Ten Bells
84 Commercial St, E1
T
020 7366 1721;
!
Shoreditch High Street Overground; map,
pp.192-193.
Stripped-down pub (with Jack the Ripper
associations), with some great Victorian tiling. The hip,
young, local crowd is joined nowadays by foodies here for the
superb restaurant, the brainchild of alumni from destination
restaurants
St John
,
The Ledbury
and
Clove Club
.
Mon-Wed &
Sun noon-midnight, Thurs-Sat noon-1am.
Vibe Bar
Old Truman Brewery, 91-95 Brick Lane, E1
T
020 7247 3479,
W
vibe-bar.co.uk;
!
Shoreditch High
Street Overground;
map, pp.192-193.
Shabby, art-strewn
stalwart at the heart of the Brick Lane scene, with sofas, a big
beer garden and DJs and live bands in the evenings.
Mon-
Thurs & Sun 11am-11.30pm, Fri & Sat 11am-1am.
SHOREDITCH AND HOXTON
Boundary
2-4 Boundary St, E2
T
020 7729 1051,
W
theboundary.co.uk; Shoreditch High Street
Overground; map pp.192-193.
The rooftop bar at this
snazzy hotel (see p.360) is a gorgeous spot, complete with
its own olive tree and grapevines, a covered area for when
the weather's bad and blankets to snuggle under when it's
chilly. You pay for the setting - cocktails start at £9.50 -
but the views are unbeatable.
Daily 10am-11pm.
Happiness Forgets
8-9 Hoxton Square, N1
T
020
7613 0325,
W
happinessforgets.com; Old Street; map
pp.192-193.
Candlelit, bare-brick Hoxton bar with a
Hoxton-via-New York vibe, serving fashionably obscure,
serious cocktails to a cool crowd.
Mon-Sat 5.30-11pm.
The Owl & Pussycat
34 Redchurch St, E2
T
020 3487
0088,
High Street Overground; map pp.192-193.
One of many
old boozers in the area to have been gussied up and
hipsterfied, this friendly backstreet pub has managed to
keep a generally mellow vibe. It can get more hectic at the
weekends, but that comes with the territory. Decent range
of beers, good food and a courtyard out back.
Sun & Mon
noon-11pm, Tues-Sat noon-midnight.
Worship Street Whistling Shop
63 Worship St, EC2
T
020 7247 0015,
W
whistlingshop.com; Old Street;
map pp.192-193.
This theatrical, shabbily opulent and
cocktail bar looks set to outlive London's current gin palace
craze, chiefly because the drinks, composed with unusual
and creative ingredients are works of art, made in their
Gothic in-house lab.
Mon & Tues 5pm-midnight, Wed &
Thurs 5pm-1am, Fri & Sat 5pm-2am.
W
owlandpussycatshoreditch.com; Shoreditch
MILE END AND BETHNAL GREEN
The Approach
47 Approach Rd, E2
T
020 8980 2321;
!
Bethnal Green; map p.190.
One of the best pubs in an
area becoming increasingly well stocked, with a local,
unaffected feel. Cosy and spacious, it offers food and a fine
range of beers, and there's an art gallery attached.
Mon-
Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-10.30pm.
