London Pub Tour 46 - Barnsbury: White Swan, Brewhouse & Kitchen and Famous Cock Tavern

This was an unprepared London Pub Tour. My train route had delays so I got off at Highbury & Islington and decided to pop into a pub there and wait for the rush hour traffic to die down before getting my train home. I decided to pop into the Spoons - White Swan (N1 1RY) as it was only to be a quick drink whilst waiting for the trains to sort themselves out. This spoons is always popular with arsenal fans prior to and after the game so I wouldn't recommend visiting on a home match day. The pub takes the ground floor in an office block and to enter you walk up a few steps. The pub is very much to the spoons style with a large open plan floor stretching back quite some distance. The difference being that there is a mezzanine area with more seating which looks directly over the bar area. Underneath the mezzanine section there are low tables aimed more for the diners whilst the tables in front of the bar are all high tables with stools. The carpet is red with orange and black patterned leaves. Wood wavy blocks feature throughout on the walls, the bar and support columns. The pub certainly has that art deco feel to it, though the art on the wall looks like block patterns from Minecraft.

The queue at the bar was quite big and there wasn't an orderly service though I did get served by the nice assistant manager who was my name sake. As to be expected from a Spoons the normal keg range was available including Guinness, Shipyard, Carlsberg and Fosters. They also offered Asahi, Four Hour Session, Erdinger and Tuborg. Thankfully the Bud Light was off. There were 10 hand pumps which were serving Pride, GK IPA, Black Eel, Golden Host from Jennings, Via Ferrata, Ghost Ship. Abbott, Jamboree Elb, Doombar and Market Porter. I selected a pint of Four Hour Session from Hop Stuff Brewery which came in at £3.75. The beer is 4.2% abv and certainly wasn't hoppy in the way that I was expecting. The hops came with light floral taste and not the big hop hit I perhaps was expecting. Though the pub was busy there were plenty of tables free so I found one to drink my pint on. Whilst there I noticed there was quite a bit of natural light coming in for a spoons and realised there was a large floor to ceiling window opposite the bar and along the mezzanine staircase. Having the natural light really does bring more colour to the pub. Whilst sitting I noted that European Football was on tonight so texted a mate and decided to make an evening of it.

Now I've been to Highbury and Islington a few times but it's always to the same two pubs next to the station (the Famous Cock and the White Swan). I opened up WhatPub.com and decided to see what other places were nearby that I could visit. The one that stood out for me was the Brewhouse & Kitchen (N5 1JJ) which was directly across the square. When walking towards you see the large sign at the top of a building which you assume is the pub. As you enter the pub grounds you realise that the ground drops down to a lower level and into the large brewpub area and the stairs up to the hut like building are not where you're heading. I understand the upstairs does also have a bar and seating but on this day it wasn't deemed busy enough to be opened. The main downstairs area though was busy with quite a few people outside and all the tables inside taken or reserved. The pub had a very industrial look, with pipe work, exposed brick walls, vents, bottle lights hanging down on chains and more bottles used to make a tree of lights.

The bar is against the left hand side wall and offers up a selection of lagers from different breweries on the large copper pipes on the bar. There are also beers being dispensed from the taps on the rear wall. Sadly the own brewed lagers were all off but the house ales were on. A board on the rear displays what is available but is a bit confusing hence why it wasn't just me that enquirer about the house lager due to seeing it on the sign. For those who wish to know for a future visit, if there is a number next to it, its on, if its on the board and no number, its not. I guess I'm just used to signs showing what is on. There was a very large bottle selection. I'll just list everything that I could see available on keg and hand. So of the 8 hand pumps there were 2 off. The ales on were Trashed, Goal Scorer, Astronomer, Illustrator, Old Major and Orchard Pig Ginger Chili (I guess bag in box and not hand pump). On the keg there was Tongeelo Blond, Whistable Bay Black Oyster Stout, Aspall Suffolk, Sam Adams, Oranjeboom, Weihenstephan. There were some further keg beers on the back bar as see in the photo above. As I'd never come across the Whitstable Bay Black Oyster Stout, and the house lagers were off, I went for that. The beer was more creamy than their Double Stout but was of a similar good quality. It was to me a delightful beer and one I would have again.

As there were no seats I stood at an empty end of the bar and had my drink. The bar had a smooth stone top which was chipped in a few sections behind the bar. There were tiles around the bar floor but wood everywhere else. The cooper tanks for brewing were at the far end of the pub. Down the sides of the pub there were soft seating and tables, whilst the middle row houses high tables. The furniture was laid out where everyone had space, and I'm certain they could have added additional tables and seating if they wanted and still be spacious. There was an open kitchen area, and besides this there were a selection of boards games. Towards the front there was a large open raised fire pit, which wasn't on, but would certainly be a draw on a cold day. The pub was slightly dark as is normal with the element light bulbs some pubs use now days.

Sadly I was only able to stay for one as I had to rush across to the Famous Cock Tavern (N1 1RU) right next to Highbury & Islington station, to meet a mate to watch football with. As football was on the Cock was busy and no tables were free. But as the match had already kicked off there was no queue at the bar and I was easily able to order. There were 6 hand pumps with only three ales on - Landlord, Doombar and Atlantic. There was more choice in keg with Carling, Groslch, Sharps Orchard, Sharps Pilsner, Wolf Rock, Doombar, Budvar, Cheiftain, Blue Moon and Stowford Press. I got my pint of Wolf Rock and stood by one of the large centre pillars which had space to rest your pint. The beer was a sweet red ale which was fruity but not sessionable.

Down the middle of the pub were high tables, whilst on the side were booths. Towards the front it was just low tables and wood chairs. There were multiple screens in the pub, with a large projector towards the rear. The bar in this pub is actually towards the rear, probably because the closest entrance from the station is here. There is a covered beer garden out back, but at present due to construction work there are no tables out front of the pub. The bar is a dark wood and the floor has worn wood floorboards. There are some nice hanging lamps above the bar, and you almost don't notice the dark red paint on the walls and ceiling. This isn't a pub generally you would head to for a night out, and is more a pub for watching football or a quick pint whilst waiting to meet someone at the station.

After switching to the Pilsner and having a few pints, I actually went back to the Brewhouse and Kitchen. I managed to grab a table near the front door and had a pint of their ale. Goalscorer. It wasn't that great tasting but that could perhaps be my taste being affected by a mixture of drink by this stage. All in all it was nice to finally stray a little further in an area I do often stop by, but never explore. It's certainly an area that needs more exploring based on the Whatpub.com results.

London Pub Tour 38 - Pimlico: White Swan and Morpeth Arms

It was Paddy's day I decided to keep it local to work and visit two nearby pubs that I knew wouldn't be overly busy. My first port of call was The White Swan () a Greene King pub near to Pimlico station. The pub is on a corner street with the front facing the main road and the side facing into a cul de sac. The front door on the corner had been decorated with a red telephone box poster (no idea why). There was a green mat on the floor leading all the way to the bar past many multi colour balloons that were up. I assuming this was their attempt at St. Patrick's Day though non green balloons and union jack flags with a small green walkway doesn't quite scream St. Patrick's Day.

There are lots of low tables and seats in the pub at the front and rear. There are two raised seating areas, one at each end of the pub, which are carpeted. There is sofa seating along one of the side walls. There are no stools at the bar. The pub is quite dark and not much light gets in normally, but with flags and balloons it felt much darker, and wasn't helped by the lights seemingly dimmed to the level that their practically off. The pub was busy but not rammed however, it did take a while to order at the bar due to only two bar staff working. On the bar there were 10 hand pumps which were in two separate blocks of 5. Both sets sold the same ales which were IPA, Little Haka, Belhaven Grand Slam, London Glory and 1730. The keg offering included Stella, Spartzan, Heineken, Over Easy, Fosters, Amstel, Peroni, 1664 and Hells. After quite a wait I went for a pint of Little Haka which was by the Little Brewing Corp. This was the second beer of theirs I had, with the first being a keg beer, and I wasn't disappointed. The beer was only 3.5% but as it used New Zealand hops it had an amazing smell on the nose, and this comes through in the light, sweet and bitter taste. This was certainly a session beer to enjoy a night on.

I opted to move on to my next pub Morpeth Arm (SW1P 4RW) a Young's pub right near the Thames. The pub lies on a busy main road that runs along the Thames and unfortunately its on the wrong side so as no river side views. The pub itself looks very nice from the outside with the white rendering matching the local building style. I entered the pub through the main corner entrance behind the outside gates and benches. The bar is then diagonally across from you in the next corner in a rounded L shape. The pub was busy and there was standing room only left. Generally there isn't much seating in the pub with the front area holding about 8 to 10 tables which were all taken. The side space of the pub beside the bar is mainly standing due to being a narrow space and the route to the toilets.

The pub had five hand pumps, all on, offering up Young's Special, Gold and Bitter, Grandstand and Hop Stuff's Fusilier. The keg beers included London IPA, London Lager, Hells, 1664, Guinness, Peroni, Fosters, Estrella and Aspall's. There was a very good selection of bottle beers from London breweries including Mondo and Yeastie Boys, alongside the Well's beers such as Banana Bread Beer, Double Chocolate Stout and Sticky Toffee. I spotted a bottle of Digital IPA by Yeastie Boys and immediately opted for this. I couldn't believe my luck that I had selected another New Zealand hopped beer which had that same amazing sweetness and beautiful aroma, but this also had an excellent hop kick to it. As the bottle was only 330ml it went down quite easily and I added on a half of the Hop Stuff Fusilier from cask. Sadly this was quite a gritty bitter and wasn't to my taste.

The Morepth Arms like most of the Young's estate have re-branded their sign outside to be focused on the first letter in the pub name, and have relevant symbols then included to build up the letter. I'm not a massive fan of this style by Young's but it's certainly different and stands out from other signs, currently. Surprisingly for Young's the pub interior is carpet with red walls. There is a downstairs cellar area which can be hired for private parties or dinning at Christmas. Within the pub they actually have a screen showing the CCTV from the cellar as it's rumoured that a ghost walks the cellar. Although this is a much smaller pub than the White Swan and it was just as busy, the bar service was excellent and queuing was kept to a minimum. But that's what happens when you have 3 to 4 bar staff on a St Paddy's day.

I called it quits for the pub tour here as I had elsewhere to head to meet mates for a few Guinness, as tradition requires.