London Pub Tour 24 - Strand: Champagne Charlie's (Revisit), Coal Hole and Savoy Tup

A Wednesday after work I decided to make a quick pop over to central (Strand) and tick off a couple more pubs on my London Pub Tour. My first stop though was a revisit to Champagne Charlie's (WC2R 0BA) which I had visited previously, and for my very first time, in London Pub Tour 6. For those of you who haven't (or don't wish to) read my previous visit, I shall give a brief description of Champagne Charlie's. The pub is just off the pedestrian walkway between Charing Cross station and Embankment. The entrance is just a door way downstairs into a cellar bar. The pub is actually quite spacious and serves two ales alongside a few lagers.

Last time I visited around the same time, and again the pub wasn't busy with only 3 other customers in there drinking. The same beers were available as the previous visit (Meantime, London Pale Ale, Old Wallop and Whitstable Bay). As the Old Wallop went down so well last time, particularly with the tankard, I opted for it again, and it didn't disappoint. Served once again in a tankard with a nice head and good flavour, it went down well. I sat in the seating area just to the left upon entering, which gave a view down the corner and a better view of all the seating on offer. Whilst drinking nobody else popped down, and this pub has certainly gone on my list for a nice place to enjoy a quiet read and pint on a early evening.

After finishing up I went back to the surface and down the Strand to the Coal Hole (WC2R 0DW). The Coal Hole is a Nicholson's pub facing onto the main road amongst theatres and restaurants. The pub itself is built into the Savoy hotel complex, but isn't part of nor does it have a direct link to the hotel. The exterior has been kept in good condition and certainly fits with the lights of the surrounding theatres. Inside the pub was heaving. Fighting my way through to the bar I seen the usual lager offers from Nicholson's of Peroni, Meantime Pale Ale, Camden Hells, Carling and others. On the ale front they had Pride, Nicholson's Pale Ale, White Ale and Musselburgh Broke. As I'd never seen the Musselburgh Broke by Knops Beer Company, it was clearly the beer I went for. This was a nice dark Scottish ale that wasn't complex in flavours, and was just simple and easy to glup.

The inside of the Coal Hole is actually very nice, and is certainly more enjoyably when less busy, though this is a very popular pub. This is a small upper level in the pub with some nice paintings but also a view across the pub and of the hanging lights. Sadly this is the most popular area so is difficult to get seating there even on non-busy days. The bar is large but even on busy days like this it's not enough to cope with the competing demands of thirsty customers. As it was so busy and noisy I wolfed down my pint and made my escape onto the Savoy Tup (WC2R 0BA).

I've not actually been to the Savoy Tup previously and never actually seen the frontage to it. The pub is just off the Strand and only a short walk from the Coal Hole. The pub was also busy but not heaving and I was able to find a resting point to put down my drink. The drink selection was varied though only two out of the four hand pumps on, but offering up Hophead and Talisman by Pilgrim. On keg they offered Angelo Poretti, Becks Vier, Riegele, Erdinger and San Miguel. Though I instead was drawn to the the can beers I could see from Backyard Brewing. I ended up selecting The Lawn Mower which came in at 4.8%. It was a pilsner beer with hints of grass clippings taste, which I guess is the reasoning for calling it Lawn Mower, though it was so subtle it didn't impact upon what was a good tasting pilsner.

The Savoy Tup was decorated quite traditional, and had a dinning room and the toilets upstairs. The clientele were mainly suits but the atmosphere didn't come across like many others that way (The Guineas for example). Sadly my quick whistle stop tour of two new pubs and a revisit was over as my phone rang and I had to be on my merry way. The Coal Hole is certainly recommended during less busy times, and the Tup will be one I would revisit for some of the beers I seen there.

London Pub Tour 6 - Charing Cross: Princess of Wales, Ship and Shovell, Champagne Charlie's and The Sherlock Holmes

I've been visiting a lot of pubs in the Victoria area so opted to head slightly further to Charing Cross. Charing cross has many a selection of pubs and my first stop was a Nicholson's pub on Villiers Street called The Princess of Wales (WC2N 6ND). I've always avoided this pub as due to it proximity to Charing Cross station and being on the walk to Embankment tube station, it's always too busy. Well surprisingly the pub didn't look busy from the outside so I opted to go in.

The pub was much smaller inside than I was expecting. There were some high tables by the front window which would seat maybe 8 to 10 people each. Then some smaller tables passing along the wall opposite the bar through to the back. There was an upstairs dinning area which I didn't pop up to see how big it was though I noticed this was a Nicholson' Sausage and Chop House. I've never come across this branding of theirs before but it appears to be their way of offering a simpler menu much like Fullers Ale & Pie pubs, maybe due to restricted kitchen size, which I could understand if the upstairs dinning plus kitchen was the same as the bar area.

There were 6 hands pumps of which only 4 were on. I've had the house Nicholson's Pale Ale and Cotleigh's tawny before, so my decision was between Blackwolf's Big Red or Thornbridge's Wild Holly. I swung towards the Big Red as it wasn't a high abv at 3.8% and I've had quite a lot of winter/Christmas beers in the last few weeks, so it seemed a good time for a break. The beer was smooth but not overly impressive to make me want to order another one. All the tables were occupied so I found a place further towards the rear along the bar I could stand without being an obstruction to others wishing to order.

I moved on afterwards to the Ship and Shovell (WC2N 5PH) which is less than a one minute walk away, even against a rush hour crowd. The Ship and Shovell is down a walkway which you have to pass under Charing Cross station. The pub itself is unique as its actually occupies two separate buildings on the opposite sides of the walkway. The original pub is the bigger building from the 1860s which is always open, versus the newer building which opened in the late 90s but isn't always open. On this occasion the newer building was closed however the original side is the better in my opinion.

This pub is a Halls and Woodhouse pub and as such all ales on tap were Badger. I do like Halls and Woodhouse pubs however, I'm not a fan of Badger beers. There were 4 hand pumps with only 3 on providing a choice of Tanglefoot, First Call or Fursty Ferret. There were the whole selection of Badger beers and ciders on bottle, whilst on tap they had a small selection of mainstream lagers which included Peroni, Amstel and 1664. Also on tap was Badger's own lager, Leaping Legend. I'd tasted all these drinks before except for their pear cider but as I was in an ale mood I went for a pint of Tanglefoot. As stated I'm not truely a fan of Badger beers but I think Tanglefoot is definitely my favourite and it tasted much better than the Big Red I'd had before.

The pub had lots of free tables but I again decided to stand at a quite end of the bar so I could admire the interior of this wonderful pub. The pub had a nautical theme, like many do, with some very nice wooden ship models. There were some old portraits on the walls, of which I'm not going to attempt to guess the subjects and I'm sure can be found elsewhere online. The walls were wood panelled and there was a large section with beautiful mirrors. The pub had some minor screened areas and was full of beautiful wood all round. Halls & Woodhouse and Sam Smith's that I do admire when it comes to tasteful refurbishments of pubs.

After finishing my pint I headed slightly back on myself to an establishment I've passed many times that has a sign stating ales served but of which I always shied away from due thinking, based on its name, it wouldn't be my type of scene nor might I be permitted in. What is this place I talk of, well it's Champagne Charlie's.

After walking through and down the stairs to the basement area, you enter a very dim (mood lighting style) lit bar in front of you. The bar was 2 lagers (Meantime and London Pale Ale) and 2 ales (Old Wallop and Whitstable Bay). I opted for a pint of Old Wallop by Charles and Well and was pleasantly surprised when it was poured into a wonderful looking tankard. I was certainly not expecting that nice touch!

The bar was quite empty with only four older gentlemen drinking lagers and wines whilst standing at the bar. What I assume was a work party came from around a corner and left, which made me realise the place much have quite a big dinning area. Along with this I noticed that the bar area to the left of the entrance was actually much bigger than I gave it credit for as it stretches much further back. I sat at a small table with a view of their big fridge so I could have a nose. There were a few bottles that I perhaps wouldn't mind going back for to have a taste of. During my time sipping the from the tankard quite a few groups of 2-4 young (25-35yrs) people came down into the bar ordering beers and taking up seating in the bar area. I did see that they only served up the Old Wallop in the tankard, so people ordering the Whitstable Bay did miss out.

As the place was starting to get busier with work crowds as it had hit 5pm I left and made my way to my last venue, the very touristy Sherlock Holmes (WC2N 5DB). This pub is only a few metres away from the Ship and Shovell and was completely packed with either the after work crowd or the pre-theatre crowd. Usually the pub is full of American and Japanese tourists however I didn't spot one at all, and everyone had a UK accent which I found bizzare. Now the Sherlock Holmes is a Greene King pub which serves two special beers for the place: Holmes and Watson. As stated before, I'm not a fan of Greene King beers, as there is just something in the flavour that I'm not particularly keen on. Yes it's drinkable but I normally try to avoid their ales. Yet as I was in an ale mood and I had deliberately subjected myself to coming to this bar knowing full well it was a Greene King and what would be on I ordered a pint of Watson. The Holmes stated on the badge 'House Ale' which I've tasted a few times previously in Greene King pubs under other disguises whilst the Watson stated Amber Ale. The beer was as expected of Greene King, which is for each individual to judge themselves.

Looking round the pub it seemed to have less memorabilia on the walls then I remembered. All that remained of the old CRT TVs, that played Black and White out of copyright Sherlock Holmes episodes, were the brackets from the ceiling. As the pub was rammed and only getting busier, along with Spice Girls playing over the sound system, I made quick with my pint, and paid a visit to the lads room before leaving. Looking back at the pub from the road I certainly could admire what a grand and beautiful building it is, and can't help but feel that although touristy, it certainly wasn't a horrible 'tourist trap' like some other establishment. And at least was an introduction for many to the idea of a traditional British pub.