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London's best bars
and pubs
The City
Liquid
Best bar
for doing the world some good while simultaneously getting stinking
drunk.
It's organic everything
at Liquid, from the fruit juice with bits floating in it and
the wonderfully naturally gaseous beer, to the inventive food.
Even the DJs plying their trade when you walk in tend to look
healthy, though if you want to appear in the best light you'd
best venture downstairs to the sound-free zone where the lights
are dimmer. A home-grown gem of a one-off for all who've had
their fill of chain pubs.
Liquid, 8 Pitfield Street,
EC, 020 7729 0082
Tube: Old Street
Map: Click here
The Bricklayers
Arms
Best Shoreditch pub in which to get off with Tracey Emin cast-offs.
One of those places that attracts people because it attracts
attractive people - there're more arty types here than have slept
with Tracey Emin. They have to share one of this recently trendy
area's most popular haunts with their more mundane media cousins
and even a few locals of long-standing, which makes for a good,
boistrerous, mix, especially on weekends. The decor is nothing
out of the ordinary, but then it doesn't have to be, given the
people-show on offer. Added bonuses are the music (varied) and
the food (understatedly creative), the latter being available
upstairs.
The Bricklayers Arms
63 Charlotte Road EC2, 020 7739 5245
Tube: Old Street
Map: Click here
The Evangelist
Best Bar in Which to Praise
the Lord While Getting Drunk.
Boasting a range of twenty wines, The Evangelist should be the
first port of call for the connoiseur of fine wines. But for
those who prefer a good strong pint, worry not as there's also
draft lager as well as traditional ales. Relax with your favourite
tipple in the unique surroundings of old church tables, 1950s
seating and a striking velveteen red lounge while a glass drop
chandelier hangs down from the ceiling. Just a stone's throw
from the Thames, after one visit this holier-than thou pub is
guaranteed become a sacred part of your boozing routine. Just
watch those Bloody Marys!
The Evangelist, 33 Blackfriars Lane 020 7213 0740
Tube: Blackfriars
Public Life
Best pub to take a piss
in without losing out on the full venue experience.
True to its name, this place is a public toilet with a life of
its own. The acoustics have wooed a gifted bunch of DJs to spin
their tunes beneath the thick glass ceiling, and the cost of
the beer is as small as the venue. Space-efficient enough to
corner any one you like (though not so good for hiding out and
holing up in) this is, quite literally, a great place for a piss
up. Site-specific chic has never been such fun.
Public Life, Commercial Street, E1, 020 7375 2425
Tube: Liverpool Street
Map: Click here
Ye Olde
Cheshire Cheese
Best pub on Fleet Street for literary types to reminisce about
the good old days.
The Cheshire Cheese is the oldest surviving pub on Fleet Street
and is well placed for a a refuelling stop after a visit to Dr
Johnson's House (in nearby Gough Square). The good Dr, inventor
of the original English Dictionary in 1755, is but one of an
impressive tally of past clientele. Other patrons have included
Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Mark Twain,
Arthur Conan Doyle and Theodre Rossevelt. These days you are
more likely to bump into law bores or merchant bankers. However,
it remains the meeting-place of choice for old-time hacks nostalgic
for the days before
newspapers bailed out downriver to Docklands. And it still serves
a fine selection of real ales.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Wine Office Court, Fleet Street, London EC4
Tube: Blackfriars or Temple
Map: Click here
Staying
In?
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