please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A tiny little pub hidden away round the back of Borough market. Two changing ales on pump plus four other taps that usually contain continental lagers, ciders or perries. Also, a large selection of bottles in two fridges behind the bar. All part of the Utobeer shop that is actually in the market which is also well worth a visit. Highly recommended when it's not busy.
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Tiny little bar with about the same size outside drinking area to the side. This area is no-smoking when the sun shades are up which is good. Unbelievable selection of bottled beers, 2 ales on tap (Westerham & Twickenham) plus 4 interesting foreign beers. I like it when you drink beer from the correct glass which is the norm here. Helpful and cheerful girl behind the bar is something you don't often come across in these parts! My first choice now when in the area.
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What declining standards at the Market Porter?
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A good antidote to declining standards at the nearby Market Porter, this is a clever enterprise in making available a wide array of continental and American beers, plus a real ale and cider on tap. Friendly staff and an enjoyable outside seating area make up for the lack of opportunities for cat swinging in the interior. Without sounding like my Mum, the one black mark at the moment is a serious one: filthy toilets that remind one of what Southwark must have been like in Shakespearean times.
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Perhaps a victim of its own success in a way - the place is tiny and rather impersonal when busy.
However the range of foreign beer (plus two guest ales) can't really be faulted. The price of the real ale is fair, although as noted elsewhere you need to be clever when buying snacks...
Worth going to, but at a time when it's likely to be quiet - definitely NOT 9pm on a Friday!
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If the Market Porter is too busy come here instead if you're a beer drinker, although Veltins lager is available, none of your Fosters/Carling/WifeBeater etc. Usually two UK ales on tap, plus some foreign beers, loads of bottled beer of all origins. For some of them though you're better off bringing a rich mate with you if it's their round. The staff are an 'interesting' bunch, in general knowledgable about what they're selling.
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I went to this pub after work last Friday. It is a tiny bar but it does have a good size under umbrella area outside. The beer choice is significant if some what intimidating. Definitely worth a couple of visits to discover the vast array of beverage choices.
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Have just spent a nice evening in The Rake, sat outside under the tent. Enjoyed a few Belgian bottled beers, girlfriend had the Weisse beer on tap. Staff very pleasant, prices not too steep for quality beer. Would come back again.
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Is this place expensive? You pay less for a bottle of exceptional beer than you would for a glass of very average wine in any pub in London. Bar staff are knowledgeable and helpful and very friendly. OK only two real ales, Ballards Wassail and Twickenham Naked Ladies tonight but with SNPA, Maisels Weisse, Cantillon Geuze and an unknown 8% beer who cares. Bottled range is excellent, anywhere with Rochefort 6, 8 and 10 can't be faulted. Told Simon and Cat I could only give this a 9 because of the lack of real ale but thinking about it can only be a 10. Hope to be back here soon.
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This place is ace.
One of the tiniest pubs around, but with the best selection of beer that staff are happy to let you try before you commit to a whole glass.
Staff are always friendly and I think this is a bit of a gem in London Bridge.
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The Rake causes me problems.
Don't get me wrong - the beer selection is excellent. Tehre are some weird and wonderful ales here - I went there yesterday and had a Sierra Nevada which while tasting too much like a Mickey Mouse (Lager and Bitter in one glass for those not acquainted with poor drink choices) it was still pleasant. Such a wide range means you're unlikely to ever have drunk all the beer, plus you are among other beer and ale appreciators which is always nice.
The decor too is reasonable - if that's your thing. Neutral, not unpleasant and plenty of space to get a seat either indoors or in heated patio.
When I came to order, I didn't6 know what to have and the barman even gave me a taster of the Sierra Nevada. With hindsight, I should have refused to have more of it but was just surprised with this gesture of generosity in London.
Worth a look. However the cost is high, and the Makret Porter is around the corner. Or the Brew Wharf (where someone who reviewed there thinks I'm a member of staff......I'd read the review and judge for yourself).
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This is one of my favourite pubs in London, shame a couple of other people have had bad experiences. I’ve always found the staff very helpful
A great selection of beers on tap and in bottles. True it's not cheap, but if you think that then I'm sure there's a Wetherspoons nearby which has a pint of Fosters with your name on it. Note, I'm not a city type with a 5 figure bonus, I just know what I like and that's unusual specialist beers which you generally won't find elsewhere.
Spent quite a few Friday lunchtimes in the summer there (and a few since), we'd grab some food off one of the stalls and then sit outside on the decking drinking fantastic beer. The ale they have on tap is good, but my personal favourites are the US micro-breweries, Sierra Nevada (on tap) and Anchor Steam or Goose Island in bottles - don't let memories of 10 bottles of p*ss-water bud when you were a teenager let you think that's the standard for US beer.
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Really suprised by the comments. I've never had anything but excellent service and excellent beer. The bar staff have gone out of their way to make suggestions and provide samples of what is on tap.
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If you put a drink down for a minute, have it removed and then watch the bar staff laugh in your face as you ask politely for a replacement, this can onyl mean that they refuse to take their customers seriously. A venue which rates itself , and its over-valued novelty beers, more highly than its customers. To be avoided.
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got to say the ales are not that well kept, last time i just walked out (they didnt have anything on at all) and this is the Time Out bar of the year (joke) go to the Market Porter instead. U less you want overpriced Madagascan lager in a bottle
anonymous - 13 Oct 2007 00:13 |
Canastajim - being accused of pulling a fast one when a member of staff took away a full bottle of cider and we then complained about it is not deserving behaviour in my mind. The bar staff then accused us of lying to say we wanted a free drink, I wouldn't have minded if I hadn't just paid out of £40 for the round which they had just served me at the bar. Like you said when you pay good money for a drink you don't expect it to be taken away before you have finished drinking it.
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The Rake has been going for over a year now and has extended its opening hours and seems to attract a healthy amount of punters. Fantastic range of bottles available and always some interesting stuff on the fonts/pumps. Have never had any problems with the barstaff, male or female. I suspect those who have had bad experiences here probably deserved it, I've seen the odd wally come in here. Prices are on the high side but par for Central London. The £3 crisps to my mind are poor value but they had sold out of them on Saturday last. Give it a try!
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I think if they sacked the twunt of a barman then this could be one of the best bars in London. Until they do, I know a huge amount of people will not be going there.
anonymous - 6 Sep 2007 17:01 |
Was tipped off about this gem by a worker of the Utobeer stall in the market.
A massive range of bottled beers (and correct accompanying glasses!), the couple of ales on tap were also tasty and in good nick.
It's so small, but that's what I loved, the knowledgeable barman Tony and the two barmaids there were excellent company! Birthday traffic light shots on the house were a nice surprise! ;-)
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Topdog please give this laudable venture another chance. The date on any 'refermentée en bouteille' beer is there for EU regulations compliance. It may just be x years after the brewing date. Like wine, these beers can mature for many years often developing a much more complex flavour. Some specialist bars in Belgium e.g. Antwerp's Kulminator offer them by certain vintages. It doesn't sound like the barman gave a very plausible explanation. But don't be put off by the date - unless the beer isn't of the bottle conditioned variety in which case certainly give it the swerve.
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Nice bar area although a bit small and the outside garden is a gem (although why is the umbrella up now it's almost Summer?) But the bar staff have to take the award for most pretentious beer snobs I've ever come across. Fair enough you don't serve Stella - but if someone asks for it don't address them as if they've just crapped on your living room carpet! Pork pie is good too.
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Three quid for crisps? Someone, somewhere is laughing all the way to the bank.
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Andy, was the beer you had bottle conditioned? If it was, the fact it was two months past the sell by the brewers are legally required to put on the bottle is probably a good thing, and certainly not a bad thing.
anonymous - 7 Mar 2007 18:10 |
If you're interested in beer and you live in London, you'll probably already know about Utobeer at Borough Market. The guys who own it have been importing fine beer from around the world for years, and with the demise of the Pitfield Beer Shop their pre-eminence is unchallenged. Last year they opened a bar in a disused building in the middle of the market. I first visited a few months ago. Back then, they hadn't really got things going properly and I wasn't overly impressed. I've popped in a few times since, and noticed steady improvements each time. Yesterday I had my first proper session in the place, and this time I was really feeling it. Now I'm definitely a fan.
The bar itself is tiny, and always seems to be buzzing. Most of the seating is outside in a covered, heated patio. They now offer two cask ales and there's a steady turn over of guest keg beers from Belgium, the US and elsewhere. Yesterday, the imports on tap included Géants Ducassis (Belgian fruit beer), Van Honsebrouck Bacchus (a Flemish sour ale), Anchor Steam (a Californian craft lager) and Gordon Highland Scotch (a Scotch-style ale from Belgium). Because none of the usual suspects are available (there's no Stella or Guinness here, chum) everyone has to get involved and try a variety of beers. The staff are knowledgable and make first class recommendations, so don't be afraid to ask if they unfamiliar draught line-up and fridges full of bottles intimidates. This is a perfect addition to the already excellent scene down in Borough, the food and drink mecca for Londoners.
The occasion yesterday was my old pal Hyth's first visit to London for a while, and our first meeting for a year. There were six of us in The Rake and everyone enjoyed it. Suicidally, I found myself drinking the Gordon Highland Scotch steadily for about four hours, eventually finishing the keg off for them. At 8.6% abv, this strong but smooth dark ruby ale isn't perhaps the best session beer, but it really was great on tap and I couldn't help myself. I was worse for wear when we moved on for the night, and I'm still feeling the effects today. You'd think I'd know better. It's been a heavy weekend, but as Hyth is fond of saying - nobody said it was gonna be easy.
[NB to the site administrators - this pub is in Southwark / The Borough - there is no such area as "London Bridge". It's a bridge and a train / tube station.]
anonymous - 7 Mar 2007 18:09 |
I've been here about four times now in the past month and was going to profess my undying love for the place, but.....
On Saturday I was served a beer a good 2 months past its best-by date. I questioned it, only to be told "Oh...that's only when it's BEST by. It doesn't really go off".
Might be true, might not be true. However, if I'm going to pay about £4 a beer, I expect it to be at it's best, not just still drinkable.
Any place happy to serve sub-standard beer can sit-and-swivel for all I care. I'm not going back.
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cold, uncomfortable and soulless, is it a pub or a style bar? I don't think it's decided.
anonymous - 12 Feb 2007 12:47 |
Been dropping in since it first opened - draught beer quality is usually OK though I've had a few tired pints there.
Decent choice of bottles but they're kept far too cold, especially the stouts and porters. There must be some middle ground between neo-frozen and tepid that they can achieve?
Bar snacks limited and expensive...
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Visited on Wednesday 17/01/07. Superb HopHead with a fruity hint only discernable when kept at 98% form or above. Very friendly, enthusiastic staff. Vast selection of bottled and draught beers from abroad suppliment the two handpulled ales. This pub merits mandatory inclusion in any London Bridge pub crawl.
An excellent discovery.
10/10
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Bit on the pricy side - obviously aimed at the foodies visiting the adjacent Borough Market. But it did have O'Hanlon's "Thomas Hardy's Ale" (11.7%) on draught when I visited - usually only available in bottles.
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A new must-visit pub in London. Intimate place just behind the Borough Marked. Very friendly staff and well kept real ales on cask and bottles.
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A nice small pub in the outskirts of the market with an outdoor seating and a very good selection of foreign beers - both on tap and on bottle.
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The Rake
Have just spent 6hrs at the rake today and although they ran out of Chimay beer that was the only thing I could fault them on. Great staff, I think one is named Tony, looked after us very well indeed, the outside seating are with its heaters and parasols is cleverly designed and was full even on a day with wind and rain.
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No separate entry for The Rake yet but it's well worth a visit. Friendly knowledgeable staff and fridges that are to beer drinkers what The Chocolate Factory was to Charlie! Fantastic place - see you again next week !!
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Recently opened by the guys that run the Utobeer stall in Borough Market.Surprisingly bright with white walls and pine floors. I would've thought they would have gone for the smokey, dark feel of Belgian bars given the vast and sometimes unavailable belgian beers. However the outside decking area makes up for this with a superb view of Southwark Cathedral
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The Rake is a my new favourite bar! Fantastic little place that offers a staggering range of bottled beers and ciders and keeps a regularly changing selection of draught beers. Been in here a couple of times this week and enjoyed some lovely pints of O'Hanlons Royal Oak bitter. Very friendly bar staff, always willing to explain all about the bar and its beers. Top place!
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I broadly agree with Stonch. We had a fine time at The Rake a couple of weeks ago, drinking tip-top O'Hanlons Stout before exploring the Belgian and german bottled beers with the friendly help and advice of a knowledgeable bar-person. They closed the outside at 10.30pm and ushered us indoors to continue drinking in the tiny bar.
Will go back again when I've saved up enough beer money. Choose wisely, and you'll find the prices are roughly in line with other venues... (They were, however, offering Thomas Hardy Ale at £6.60ish a bottle in the same week Wetherspoons were selling it at £2.80 or thereabouts...)
F.Y.I. moclips2002: there's no "Hophead" brewery; it's a beer from The Dark Star Brewery, Moonhill Farm, Burgess Hill Road Ansty, Haywards Heath.
If the beer is truly in poor condition, point this out to the staff. Try this next time; no self-respecting beer outlet would tolerate a reputation for ill-kept ale, and my impression is that The Rake is a place commendably interested in its reputation for beer and ale.
Cheers,
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To be fair, you are completely wrong about the beers here being chosen for "novelty value" or some kind of "around the world in 80 beers" guff - for that, go to the Porterhouse.
The beers here are extremely well chosen - they haven't tried to cover the globe, so you won't find many (if any) beers from countries that just produce fizzy holiday lagers. The emphasis here is on Germany / Belgium / USA / UK - i.e. the countries with the interesting and diverse beer scenes.
The prices are too high though.
anonymous - 31 Oct 2006 10:14 |
this is a comment on the Rake as i doesnt seem to have a separate entry here yet - nice cosy place, has a large rather expensive range of beers sourced from around the globe - principally for novelty value it seems - i suppose there are people who would like to boast about drinking lager from Mozambique (and pay a pretty penny for the privelege) The real ales (from Hophead brewery on my visit) were in truelly awful condition so over all your better off debunking to the Market Porter - finally beware off the odd opening hours...
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Noticed this one wasn't up yet. A small bar but very light with a few high stools inside. Outside is a platformed kind of terraced area. Good for the summer. It was pretty expensive but the selection of world beers was extensive. They had 2 real ales on (both Dark Star ones at the time), a kolsch, belgian pale ale, wheat beer and something else on draught, if my memory serves me rightly. Loads of bottles. If you like beer, you'll like it.
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A tiny pub in Borough Market - allegedly the smallest bar in London. A long time ago it was the King's Head and is now a modern bar serving a wide range of beers from Britain and abroad, as well as Dark Star mild and Old Ale on the pumps. A large outside area caters for smokers. Very trendy but also very good beer.
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Opened by the folk at the excellent Utobeer stall on the nextdoor Borough Market. Allegedly London's smallest bar, it also has some decking outside.
Quite pricy and *all* the beers are chilled a bit much to the same icy temperature, but a fantastically wide selection of bottled beers from around the world - there's nothing much like it in London.
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The owners have now opened their small bar - The Rake - within the precincts of the Market on Winchester Walk, by Vinopolis. Very small and bright one room bar with a slightly bigger decked area off the side. Sells unusual beers on tap (Liefmans Jan van Gent, Liefmans Kriek, and an unusual German lager and weissen were on when I visited). They also plan to sell two or more cask beers at a time but nothing as yet. About a hundred well chosen bottles in the fridge. Space is limited, prices are high, but there is no doubt that this place is unique and should be checked out by anyone who is seriously or just moderately fascinated by world beer - which should include everyone reading this bar me old mucker Conniwot.
anonymous - 31 Aug 2006 07:40 |
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