Latest reviews from Smithfield

“Visited a couple of times for private weekend parties when the pub would otherwise be closed. Beautifully tiled Victorian styled pub over two open plan floors. Fullers brews available.“

ManVsBeer 33 days ago

“Good spot. Old world aesthetics with modern beer range. Solid offerings across cask, keg and bottle/can. Friendly enough service. Fair prices. Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in the neighbourhood.“

Leighton 407 days ago

“Old school London boozer with a nice old style feel and a nice mix of locals and people passing through. Cask range is very good and the quality if outstanding. The pub is now starting to host some interesting nights with brewers like Mills Brewing, and is also stocking some real beer nerd choices such as Kernel on cask and Deya/Hook Norton collaborations. Definitely has a growing status in the London beer scene.“

EdKing 799 days ago

“Fuller's pub close to Smithfield Market in a former grand bank with part tiled floor, wood panelling & chandeliers“

Jerseyislandbeer 920 days ago

“This is a great pub, mixes the traditional London feel with an educated selection of craft ales. They always have new ales on both Keg and Cask. Not sure it’s still a Fuller’s pub, certainly little evidence it is. Foods OK too.“

CiderRates14 2200 days ago

“Opposite the Smithfield Market, this single ground floor room is perhaps a restaurant and eatery in the day, whatever in late evening. The actual beer selection is limited with perhaps a few bottles of note to compliment its fairly regular keg selection of mostly lagers. However, the house lager is made by Harviestoun and I couldn't find a suitable rebadge for it, so maybe there is something not found too often here.“

ManVsBeer 2212 days ago

“In early on a summer night in 2017, but despite the weather being good, this place was empty and lacked atmosphere for it. The upstairs craft beer bar had a barman desperate to do something. I visited Smiths of Smithfield a number of times in the early 2000's, and when it does get busy it does have a decent atmosphere to it so I'd recommend coming here late in the evening, or if you're with a mainly lager drinking crowd of revellers as this gives you some decent options in that respect. It's mainly bottled brews.“

ManVsBeer 2221 days ago

“Visited on a Tuesday evening, was quite busy without being too busy. Good atmosphere. Tap selection ok without being amazing, but has one of the best if not the best bottle list in the area (a mix of London, national and international bottles and whilst the brewers may not be too obscure, there were a fair number of beers available I'd not seen before). Service was very good, prices a little high but not unexpected for this type of place (£5.50 for my bottle of Kona Koko Brown). Quite atmospheric/dark with candles on tables and limited lighting. Music playing was a little loud but ok. Couldn't help but like the place even if it's not normally my kind of thing, and whilst I'm sure the typical visitor might not be a beer geek there's enough there to keep them (us) happy for a while too.“

Grumbo 2304 days ago

“Early evening visit in the run up to Christmas. Place was busy and it's design (a long narrow building with the bar taking up half the width) made it quite difficult to navigate. Beer range appeared to be restricted to 3 Youngs pumps and a few unexciting taps, bottles and cans. My choice was a can of the Roadie - certainly poor value at £5.70. Not a destination pub and nothing I experienced would make me want to revisit given how much other choice there is in London.“

Grumbo 2344 days ago

“Visited on a Monday evening in November. Surprisingly busy, all tables downstairs taken and private party booked upstairs. The 4 SN beers on tap were uninspiring as were remaining taps. But a bottle of their Christmas Ale which was in the fridge caught my eye (£5.30) and whilst it was too cold it was nevertheless was the best choice. Atmosphere was good, service adequate. The pub layout is pretty simple but serves its purpose. Judging by how busy the place was it's clearly popular and doing well but they're not here for the beer!“

Grumbo 2368 days ago

“Nice place, for me en route to Liverpool Street station and close to Smithfields market. Busy friendly atmosphere (visited early on a Wednesday evening). Warm welcome and very attentive at table service. Beer menu offered 4 taps and 12 cans/bottles. Found a new to me London brewer - Wolfpack. Tapas style kitchen menu - chose the chorizo which was really good.“

Grumbo 2373 days ago

“Not sure when this pub dates from but appears very old. Has a few taps and about 10 bottles from the Sam Smith's range. Quite busy on a Tuesday evening, service a bit slow but the guy behind the bar was on his own and doing his best. Heritage interior is eye-catching. Upstairs dining and a darts board available.“

Grumbo 2374 days ago

“Nice old pub. But totally uninterested staff - probably something to do with the usual clientele being as described in the previous review. It's on my route from office to station and normally rammed after work spilling out onto the pavement beyond the area that's roped off for drinkers. But I was a little earlier today and it was quieter so popped in. Not a big range of cask ales and taps and nothing bottle wise. On this occasion they did have a couple of autumn specials to compliment the usuals. The couple of times before it was nothing but common Fuller's. Ambience was ok but for me not helped by the chap on the table next to me telling his friend in graphic detail about the best way to kill cows (haven't built that into the score...). Quite expensive.“

Grumbo 2422 days ago

“A lovely old building full of loud snobs drinking a crap selection of beer. Better pubs nearby.“

b727trijet 2429 days ago

“Previous review is pretty fair - this place is a longstanding city venue with a variety of formats spread over four floors. The ground floor is a pub/bar which gets pretty rowdy late on and has a moderately decent beer selection with six or seven taps and a similar number of bottles. The first floor is the new craft beer bar as detailed below, good selection of London craft but nothing too rare. The top two floors are more restauranty with beef/steak the main event and prices increasing the higher up you head. Beer selection on the top floor is minimal, have to say I didn’t stop on the second floor. Overall it’s a good fun place, more a place to go with a group and find good beer rather than a beer destination per se, but as a beer drinker it’s a bit silly that each floor seems quite separate so you can’t access the 70 craft beers with your high end steak. Oh well...“

JorgeLee 2588 days ago

“A small Samuel Smith pub that is located in a Victorian Smithfield street that appears to have survived WW2 intact. Boards on the floor, ornate woodwork everywhere and friendly and efficient service. The beer selection is only Samuel Smith, but lifted by what appeared to be their full bottle selection. It’s very different from some of their other London pubs and it is quite cosy and a great place for a chat with friends or colleagues. I love going here with colleagues from outside the UK to show them what a proper London pub looks like. There is food, but I haven’t tried it yet. I really like this hidden gem and it is worth a visit if you are a fan of Samuel Smith beer.“

Davros IX 2588 days ago

“Just off a small road on the north side of Smithfield Market, this is a thin pub with a small front with the bar on the left side just after you walk in. With a number of people in here it’s probably a cramped affair, but once you have your drinks there’s a lot more places to seat and sup at the rear. There’s a couple of rows of ales, one for the Youngs regulars and another for guests. It’s traditional in style, has a good ambiance and there’s a hotel here too. They were showing Euro 2016 football on my visit.“

ManVsBeer 2589 days ago

“A big place opposite Smithfield market offering a variety of drinking and dining options over four floors. I’ve walked past before but not taken much notice. This time I noticed a sign outside promising 70 craft beers so thought I should take a look. I don’t know whether this is new or I’ve just not noticed it before. The craft beer bar is on the first floor. It’s an open, rather sterile space, especially when it’s completely empty. However it may have been empty because it turned out this bar doesn’t open until 5pm and it was earlier than that. Most of the beers are bottled. There are only three taps - two from Purity and Seventh Step Czech lager from Zatec. As the place wasn’t actually open I didn’t get much of a chance to survey them but, if their online list is accurate, all but fifteen of them are from London brewers. Nothing much there that the London RB nard core wouldn’t have had before but it’s possible they have other epehemeral offering that that they don’t bother to put on a static list on the website. The bar downstairs, which was open (and also empty), didn’t have anything of interest on tap. The upper two floors are restaurants. Not really my sort of place but I’ll explore the craft beer range more thoroughly when the opportunity arises.“

chriso 2616 days ago

“Visited on a week day during rush hour... doh! Very busy. Fair selection but I doubt most of the young clientele could distinguish between an IPA and a geuze...“

b727trijet 2773 days ago

“Half cafe, half restaurant, half bar. Janice is whoever you want her to be. Pretty much opposite Smithfield’s Market, this trendy and minimalist little establishment can be found en route to the Old Red Cow from Farringdon Station, and is worth a stop. Eight decent keg beers (Mondo, Camden, Five Points) sit alongside a small and not particularly tick-friendly bottle selection. Flights of 3 third-pints for £5. Seasoned Londoners may not bother but yokels like me can get a bit of joy.“

jjsint 3128 days ago

“A large, light and airy bar with a relaxed feel and friendly service. The beer selection was quite good, with around 16 kegs and four casks (one of which was off). Although it’s in an old building it’s been sympathetically updated and the decor is largely modern - wooden floor, scrubbed pine tables and an open, horseshoe shaped bar with shelves fashioned from copper piping. As I visited on my own on my way back from a meeting in the city I had plenty of time to admire the large pictures on the wall, some of which required a double take and proved to be rather macabre. (Visited 7 July 2015).“

Boudicca 3189 days ago

“Visited on Thursday 18th December around 4.30pm, specifically to pick up the new Buxton CDA (they had a Buxton takeover the previous night). Harrild and Sons is a sizeable enough single roomed venue (there may be some kind of smokers patio out back?) accessed via a small flight of stairs from street level. Nice bar with brass top that you can navigate most of the way round, large glass windows to the front, wooden floor and muted lighting. The place was already busy, probably due to the run up to Christmas, but the service was very good from the off and more staff appeared as the crowds grew. You can sit around some parts of the bar otherwise there are plenty of tables to choose from though most had filled up by 5ish. At the business end Harrild and Sons has 14 keg lines, half craft, half macro stuff, plus 4 cask lines. Most taps of interest were occupied by Buxton stuff on my visit, due to the afforementioned take over. Other options I noted included Wild Beer Co. The bottle list is pretty good here, 130 or so Craft offerings, solid picks from the likes of Mikkeller, Partizan, De Molen, Left Hand and many more. The menu is organised by style. Clientele was pretty much all city workers chugging Estrella (I’ll be) Damned. I really liked this bar and will definately return, a fairly refined place and not an obvious beer geek destination but someone here obviously loves good beer!“

Theydon_Bois 3425 days ago

“Visited on a busy evening before Christmas, place was wedged catering for the City crowd (Pub is not far from City Thameslink station). Huge single room with bar in the middle, got served quickly and had a good range of Craft and Cask beer, beer I had was good, would like to visit when quieter.“

WingmanWillis 3428 days ago

“I really like what they’ve done with this place in terms of decor etc. The only real problem with it is that it gets extremely busy and every time I’ve been it’s been standing room only. Good draft offerings but only 3 cask lines. A very good bottled beer list though, okay it’s not exactly Craft Beer Co, but it’s very respectable nontheless. Extensive range of wines and spirits available too which makes it a decent option for visiting with non-beer-loving friends.“

alovelydrop 3635 days ago

“Another live rating Sat’19th April 2014. We are the other side of Smithfield Market now and on a small street with two pubs on one side a set of gates at one end and a view towards the market looking back west ’ish’ (guessing with the direction its probably south west. Lovely tilework on the outside entrance and mosaics on the floor. As you enter the bar is immediately in front of you on the left hand wall. The pub appears to be narrow and long and with a lot of wood. Beer choice ran to six casks with Great Heck, Vale Ilkley and St Peters amongst those on offer. We had a Great Heck Powermouse a superb 3.6% offering. A large screen showing the footie was one negative but barman friendly and seemed a nice place, we chose to sit outside. On the music front Crowded House - ’Don’t dream its over’ played however we wished that it would be over.“

Fin 3686 days ago

“Good selection of draft beer (Magic Rock, Dark Star, Kernel...) and bottle (including the U.S.) Friendly service. Very tasty food (lobster, shrimp).“

goodzon 3689 days ago

“Classy pub/hotel with outstanding 1898 Art Nouveau tiled facade. Long front bar and small separate panelled rooms at the rear. Opens early for breakfast. Six unusual cask beers in good condition.“

robbgg 3808 days ago

“Very decent spot. Has a classic old school aesthetic about it. Worn wood for days. Well dressed barmen. Six casks. Worth a visit. Would make a nice stop on a crawl around this part of town.“

Leighton 3839 days ago

“Pleasant enough aesthetically but aside from that it’s a pretty mediocre haunt. A pint of 3.5% bitter will run you north of £4, and the bar lady will make you feel like it’s quite an imposition on her. Not a place I’m in any rush to revisit.“

Leighton 3971 days ago

“A proper old school Victorian Fullers pub in the City. Awesome decoration with wooden fixtures, mirrors, murals etc. There’s also some spurious haunting story which I guess gets the tourists in. So it’s a nice place to drink beer. The selection was unremarkable, just Fullers, but I had a great pint of Wild River and apparently the Pride was in good nick too.“

JorgeLee 4347 days ago

“Very average pint of Sorcerer, not keen on the pewter jugs, whole place seems dirty. I remember a far cleaner and busier place a couple of years ago.“

wellinformed 4799 days ago

“We love coming here for an early morning traditional English breakfast and their unusual well kept real ales. I still can remember the absolute delicious TT’s Landlord I had a couple of years ago. This time we had a remarkable fresh and tasty Adnams Ghost Ship from cask. There were six hand pulled ales from Adnams, St Peters, Sharps, Harviestoun, Nethergate, and from the Camden brewery at our visit. Friendly service, as always, in classic and tidy surroundings. Fox & Anchor is an excellent start to pub crawls in this part of London. On our Holborn area pub trail started here, continued to Hand & Shears, visited Ye Olde Mitre, tasted all the cask ales at The Castle, had a great time at Seven Stars and ended up at Edgar Wallace and even had a short stay at the new German place called Bierschenke (Monday, 04.10.2010).“

Rune 4955 days ago

“The London branch of my company has an office down the road, and I stayed in a dumpy hotel up the road. I spent the better part of my weeknights (with workin the morning) hopping from pub to bar to pub looking for a place with good/great beer (almost all of them provide tick marks, although this one may just have put me at my Fuller’s limit). Anyways, this place does have a vintage feel (1940) as opposed to a classic feel (1740). It also had a surprising girl-guy ratio (not commenting on the quality, but quantity for the neighborhood was solid). As mentioned, a Fuller’s bar they also had some unknown (to me) Czech beers on tap and some Belgians (not many, maybe 10) in bottle - but they were of some quality (kriek, duvel, etc.)“

KUEric 4991 days ago

“An old boozer with wooden tables. Reminded me of some places in Prague. If you like Fuller’s this place has four taps for Fuller’s beers. The Frank Boon; Orval, Chimay red and blue, Budvar were all in the fridge. The place was a meet up place for a lot of people after work. Ideal venue for walking to Islington Academy from Liverpool St which I was. There is food but I didn’t have any. Oh an odd rare Czech pilsner on tap I don’t see much too.“

tdtm82 5215 days ago

“A nice traditional boozer with a 1950’s feel and a few modern quirky touches. A good mix of locals, passers by and after work drinkers. 5 pumps, all Fullers, plenty of crap lager and InBev tat on tap to please the uninitiated. Thankfully in the fridge I spied Duvel, Chimay, Liefmans, Frulli (whatever), a couple of Czech Pilseners and... Orval. 10 months old and served with the proper glass I might add. The service was attentive, friendly and helpful too. The main reason for me adding this place, other than it honestly being decent is that it is litterally 30 seconds walk from Barbican tube station. Just the place to stop for a quick one when you are on the way to a show and the weather is preventing you from having one by the Barbican fountains.“

MesandSim 5341 days ago

“Interesting to find a pub with the name of an ale. It’s not all that far from Ye Olde Mitre, so worth a stop after the Mitre. Compare the modern BF with the oh so antique Mitre. Anyway I’ve never had a bad pint at the BF.“

bhensonb 6171 days ago

“Used to be a real ale mecca, when the stuff was rarer in the dark days of the 70s. Nowadays an attractive, well-run city pub.“

Stonch 6203 days ago

“Twenty five years ago, the pubs in Smithfield were largely populated by market porters, thirsty from pushing around barrows laden with animal carcasses, and staff from Barts hospital, plus a few journalists from the Mirror who were already so sozzled that they accidentally wandered in the wrong direction on their way to their regular watering hole "The Stab" in Fetter Lane (but that’s another story). The Bishops Finger was largely a Barts pub and Richard Gordon (who wrote the "Doctor in the House" books and was a doctor at Barts himself) was a permanent fixture. It was just about the only Shepherd Neame pub in London. Nowadays, Smithfield is more of a party scene and the hospital and the market are on the wane. The Finger has had a bit of a spruce up and has a less traditional feel. It still serves Shepherd Neame beers in good condition, but there are plenty more options for getting Sheps beers around town. Worth a visit if you need the Sheps beers and are in the area.“

chriso 6738 days ago

“Inspired by Nuffield (only to find it was entered by SilkT) I ventured into it today. If you’ve never head Sheapards Neame then your assured of at least 5 rates. On the other hand as a tied pub the beers are farely static, bar the odd seasonal beer. It’s a pleasant and quaint place and if I had my beer tour published it would probably make it for SN but you have to venture to the free houses with the sticky floors to get amongst the variety. Food looks like decent English fare but I just had the Original Porter“

Spiesy 7418 days ago