The London Traveler

There’s a superb piece in the Independent today looking at the decline of the traditional English pub, and featuring interviews with landladies, a pub quizmaster, and regulars.

It includes  one lovely old favourite that every Londoner should try once – the Wenlock Arms in Islington.

But I’m not so sure that the great British boozer is on its way out. Look at the Jerusalem Tavern near Farringdon tube station – owned by Suffolk brewery St Peter’s. When I first started drinking there, Farringdon was still the wild west of the City, and the spit-and-sawdust feel of the pub was not post modern or ironic, but really down to earth.

Now, real ale seems to have become trendy. Amy Winehouse lookalikes and smart lads in suits crowd the pavement outside, and they’re not drinking lager. (Though you might not get grapefruit flavoured beer or honey mild in many old style boozers.)

Photo credit: James Cridland on flickr 

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