The Princess Louise, Holborn

A word of advice about the 'reviewed' (ie, hiked up) Sam Smith's pricing to be found here. Unless you order an Old Brewery Bitter or Taddy Lager be prepared for a shock.

The whole point of using a SS pub like the Princess Louise was for the keen prices. Well, at least that used to be the case. The above beers are around the £3-3.25 mark. Try anything else (such as the organic beer or cider) and you're looking at an eye-watering £4.25 a pint. Yes, in a Sam Smith's, supposedly the foolproof home of a recession session.

If you want to drink designer beer, you might as well drink elsewhere. Otherwise, the Louise is a good staple and a decent boozer with some character. Just be careful what you order if you're watching the pennies.

18 Dec 2012 00:58

The Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak

I went for a couple of pre-Forum gig pints here and found a lovely oasis of tradition.

Good beer and in 'proper' 70s style pint pots. Very busy, even at 7pm on a Tuesday, so be prepared. I had a hot roast pork roll which was nice, and the pork pies looked tasty - and popular too.

Fair play to the hard working staff, incidentally. There's a real lack of pretension to The Southampton Arms which is a rare respite from copy and paste gastropubs colonising London. Let's face it, a pie, a pint and a convivial atmosphere is all you need, isn't it?

Just one small thing: It's cool to have the vinyl records playing, but you couldn't actually hear the music. Just a wee bit louder and this would be as perfect as a pub could be.

23 May 2012 23:48

The Ship Inn, Wandsworth

I went there this evening to the public bar area for the Irish music session.

Really pleasant atmosphere and service with a smile from an attractive, friendly barmaid from Bulgaria. Good to see they have Sambrooks Pale Ale on tap which is hard to find in most pubs. Ship ahoy!

I'll be back.

9 May 2012 01:02