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london pubs

Pub matures with clientele

Even though we no longer live in London, we’ve got a special reason to be excited by the news that the Red Lion in Leytonstone has reopened. It was Boak’s teenage haunt, and we’re very much enjoying reports of its Phoenix-like re-emergence from the friends she used to go there with.

These aren’t beer geeks, you understand — they are thirtysomethings, most of them now parents, who fondly recall that the last time they drank there they were “kitted out in an outfit sourced entirely from the shit heaps of Camden market, drinking things that should only be used for the cleaning of toilets, and smoking cigs… ponced off someone else”.

The pub, we are told, now features such amenities as toilet paper, windows and lighting. It also offers what, for that neck of the woods, is an exciting sounding range of beers. Let’s hope it lives up to its promise and can cope with what promises to be enormous demand.

3 replies on “Pub matures with clientele”

popped in last night, seems promising – from memory, 5 hand pumps, 5 for “craft keg” or cider, plus the standard cooking lagers (sensible move, not sure Leytonstone could take a Southampton Arms style ale-or-nothing move). not sure the sparse interior will seem very inviting (or warm!) in winter, but possibly more work is planned. also the music was unnecessary, and at that irritating level where it’s too quiet to hear properly but loud enough to have to talk over, and they serve all ales in dimple mugs, which seems to be the default for trendy beer places now…

I’ve only had a brief, beer-free look in. Have to say it looks very promising and probably the most exciting thing to happen to The ‘Stone since the M11 protests. Hoping to have a ‘proper’ visit tonight or over the weekend.

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