The Open Guide to London: the free London guide

According to this article, London's first non-smoking pub. Run by the Laurel Pub Company.

Right next to the stock exchange, this pub shows it's recent heritage of being a city Hogshead pub. It is cleanly but sparsely decorated, with sofas in the front corner, standing tables built around pillars and air conditioning pipes visible hanging from the high ceiling.

They serve a good selection of drinks, including some well kept real ales and Hoegaarden.

Food is from the chain pub mould - with burgers, half chickens and shared platters as well as the more traditional ham and eggs and fish'N'chips. It is reasonably priced for the city, with mains being around the �6 mark.

Toilets are downstairs and are quite small, but are normally clean. There is a lift down to provide wheelchair access.

The pub is quite spacious and there are few freestanding tables apart from on a raised area towards the back (which was the no-smoking area in a previous incarnation), in the back corner and at the front sofas. The rest of the bar is quite empty with a few tall tables the right height for standing at (as well as some tall stools).

The pub is non-smoking throughout which does mean that there is normally quite a crowd outside having a cigarette break. During the summer months people do often fill the road outside anyway, but the bar is well air conditioned.

Staff are friendly and service is quick, catering to the quick lunch and swift-half-after-work crowd very well.

IvorW comments, vising this pub on 3/12/2004:

This pub has hardly changed at all from the Hogshead it was. Some friends from Everything 2 had agreed to meet there. At 7pm, the pub was full to capacity with no free tables and standing room only. The sound system was blasting with some intrusive dance music; this coupled with the echoey accoustics made it nigh on impossible to hold a conversation.

I found the table where my friends were, which was a corner table designed to seat a maximum of 3. We did get to move to a larger table, when another group left. By 7:30pm, the crowd had thinned out completely, making the atmosphere slightly more bearable, but still with the music blasting through.

7:45 several of us were looking at the food menus (a complete copy of the Hogshead menu as far as I can tell), when a member of staff announced that the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes. We promptly made our minds up and ordered food. A barmaid came to our table, informing us that fish & chips was off, and could the person ordering this choose something else. Having taken the amended order, we thought nothing of this until the food arrived - minus the replacement for fish & chips. Apparently the kitchen had closed before the amended order could be taken, so our friend was given a refund - far from satisfactory in my opinion.

After 8:30, the place was considerably more empty. It seems that the bar staff do a sideline in massage. Apparently OK from one of our group.

Other comments: I don't think that the beer range was particularly good or well kept. There was a choice of the ubiquitous London Pride, Adnams or Sheps Spitfire. The beers were too cold and did not taste of natural fermentation - blanket CO₂ possibly?