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london pubs

Pride of Spitalfields – a great little boozer

We seem to be connected again, so I can quickly post a few notes about the Pride of Spitalfields, in Shoreditch / Whitechapel.

I used to go there quite a lot, around five or six years ago. Then I changed jobs and wasn’t in the area so frequently. In fact, I don’t think I’d been there for three or four years until I visited a couple of days ago. I was delighted to find it was as friendly and welcoming as ever.

It’s interesting – if you read the reviews, lots of people contrast this “traditional east end boozer” with unfavourable comments about trendy pubs and Nathan Barley types further up the road in Shoreditch.

But actually, there are a fair few trendy types that visit this pub too (we even spotted Tracey Emin once). And that’s my favourite thing about this pub – the fact that it’s genuinely welcoming to all. They don’t care if you’re a bearded CAMRA member, a “suit”, a local trendy or even an avant-garde British artist. They don’t judge you – or at least, if they do, they don’t let on.

The beer’s great too – as well as London Pride and ESB, they also had Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold, an excellent beer in excellent condition. Oh, and there’s a fire and lots of cool photos of the East End. What more could you want?

It can get crowded towards the end of the week, but it’s just far enough from the City (10 minutes walk from Liverpool Street) for it not to become unbearable.

It’s the kind of place that I’d move near so it could be my local. Easily one of my favourite pubs in London.

Notes

The Pride of Spitalfields is at 3 Heneage Street, about 10 metres off Brick Lane. For transport details and map, see the Beer in the Evening review, although please note that Shoreditch station no longer exists.

If you’re a beer enthusiast in the area, you should brave the curry touts on Brick Lane to take a look at the old Truman Brewery buildings. It’s all bars and studios now, but most of the original buildings are still intact, and it’s quite awe-inspiring to see the size of the place. And of course, there’s plenty of curry around for before or after — my favourite places are on Whitechapel High Street rather than Brick Lane itself, but I’m sure you’ll find something tasty.

Boak 

9 replies on “Pride of Spitalfields – a great little boozer”

Nuffin faux-London about me, me ol’ China… Not that I want to be one of those bores who thinks they’re great just coz of where they’re born.

Other cliches I could have used were “a real east-end local” or “an old-fashioned cockney welcome”. But they’re often euphemisms for not particularly friendly places, in my experience.

This is within 15 minutes walk of my London abode and is a favourite of mine, but only really for the delicious Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold, which thankfully replaced CV Pale Al;e some years ago.

But it is a smashing little pub too, though not so good if you are unlucky enough to call when the Brewer’s Gold has all been supped! Then the simple rule applies. No good beer? No point. And Fuller’s just aint good beer.

Hello, Tandleman. Not a Fuller’s fan,eh? ESB, London Pride and London Porter are three of my very favourite beers.

It tells me you are a Fuller’s fan. And now a Shepherd Neame fan. Over sweet beer from the first and over harsh beer from the second.

Both breweries could and should do a lot better, though I did like the London Porter.

I’m by no means a Shepherd Neame fan — most of their beer is very dull — but the porter is good, and I like 1698 (although I had an off bottle the other day which was like drinking golden syrup). Once again, I find myself wondering if there isn’t an element of subjectivity in the appreciation of beer…

[…] so welcoming that they genuinely transcend all of that. We think the The Royal Oak is one and the Pride of Spitalfields is another. Those are pubs where no one group of people rules the roost, and where everyone is so […]

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