Sam Smith's

There are 36 Sam Smith's pubs in London, and every one of them is an architectural gem, how does the company do it? They've managed over the last few years to take over some of the most beautiful victorian pubs in London.

I've been in few, and it's my ambition to try all of them, but my favourite has to be the 'Cittie of Yorke', 22 high Holborn, it has a wonderful vaulted beamed ceiling and 'confessional' like snugs.

There are also a number of huge wine vats near the entrance, said to hold 1000 gallons each!

The 'Pure Brewed' Lager is only £2.88 a pint, which is nearly Weatherspoon prices!

Lunch, a beer and English Longhorn Cattle!

Last Sunday we, that is me, the missus and the little one, decided to head up to the wilds of Chingford for lunch.

Near Chingford Station there is a pub called the 'Royal Forest', as near to Harvester hell as you can get! The food wasn't good and came in very mean portions, but the beer garden leads onto Epping Forest and on one side you have Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, built by Henry VIII in 1543. So all in all a very nice view and place to sit in the sun and quaff a beer or two.
Also there are some very nice walks in the forest. The little one was fascinated by the Longhorn Cattle, which have recently been re-introduced to Epping Forest

Unspoilt Gem!

, beer

I met a good mate of mine in 'Ye Old White Horse' , an unspoilt gem near the LSE, the other night for a drink or two. We then meandered through the back streets behind the 'Old Bailey' skirting past our beloved 'Seven Stars' and ended up in the 'Old Nick' in Sandland Street, had a pint of HB, a strange hoppy lager. A nice enough pub with a very friendly landlady. From there we moved onto 'The Duke' in Roger Street, just off the Grays Inn Road, a great 30's art deco pub with a lovely little dining room. And lastly onto the 'Queens Head' in Acton Street, Kings Cross, a classic little victorian pub with a lovely bow window at the front and some original features inside.
All in all a pleasant crawl.

Armin's Arse Rippers!!!

On one of my rare forays outside of London, last weekend I went to Whitstable for their Oyster Festival. What a brilliant place and a great festival. The seafood and fish was some of the best that I have tasted and the beer, produced by the Whitstable Brewery Company, was excellent.

Whitstable is also home to the 'Ship Centurion Arminus', a wonderful pub, run by a loud and charasmatic German named Armin. They have Bitburger, Erdinger and Dark Budvar on tap, aswell as a good selection for the CAMRA lot!, and chilli pickled eggs nicknamed 'Armin's Arse Rippers'. What more can I say!!

I stayed at the Duke of Cumberland, an imposing victorian pub slap bang in the middle of the high street. The room was nice and the view even better, but the breakfast left something to be desired. I had the veggie option, which consisted of 3 small veggie sausages, 2 eggs, 6 mushrooms and a small grilled tomato. The sausages were overcooked to the point of being crunchy!