The Blackfriar, London EC4

I've had one or two comments about this blog becoming a bit too serious.  I have obviously convinced some people that I actually mean most of the stuff that I write here,  when really,  I am a fully paid up member of Respect and I only write this blog for a laugh.

Anyway,  to make amends,  I have decided to revive the weekly pub reviews.  This week,  we are at the south-western corner of the City of London,  in the Blackfriar on Queen Victoria Street.  This wedge-shaped pub looks like a miniature version of the Flat-Iron Building in New York and it was built at around the same time.  In 1905,  Royal Academy sculptor Henry Poole was let loose on the interior.  The result was an extravaganza of marble and bronze with carved statues of monks playing instruments adorning the walls.  I'm told that it is Art Nouveau,  not that I would know either way.

The beer, however,  is excellent.  Adnams Bitter,  Fuller's London Pride and Taylor's Landlord are regulars but there are usually a couple of guest beers too.  Having been deprived of English beer for three weeks I stuck to the tried and tested Adnams,  which went down a treat with the beer-battered cod,  chips and mushy peas.  The food is simple pub grub at the Blackfriar but it is good value for the area and the portions are large.

Like most City pubs,  it is busy early in the evening but most of the suits go home by around 8 o'clock.  There is a brief lull and then the tourists and long-weekenders arrive.  The Blackfriar is in most London guided pub-walks,  so people come in to have a pint and gawp at the ceiling.  What better way to spend a Thursday evening?

For directions to the Blackfriar,  click here.

Comments

[Joe90]

It is indeed a very handsome pub inside.

Nearby are some interesting alleyways and narrow backstreets, such as Carter Lane. Also St Mary-in-the-Wardrobe church is worth a look, and by the side of it is another good pub, The Cockpit.

That small enclave in one of the most pleasant parts of the City.

[Steve]

Joe, the Cockpit may well feature in a future pub review - unless of course you want to write one. But then you'd have to go there again, which would be a right pain, wouldn't it?

[Irene Adler]

I'm not much for beer or ale but what a handsome example of a flat-iron building!

[Edwin Greenwood]

It was my office local in the mid 1970s. I presume the unique internal fittings and layout are listed, in consequence of which its appearance has changed little in all that time; something which I find vaguely comforting when almost every other pub I remember from that time has either gone or been "refurbed" several times.

Even the Old Cheshire Cheese has lost its original courtyard "lean-to", the Old Bell has been extended, encompassing the former off licence. And as for the Punch tavern!

The beer in the Blackfriar has never been particularly brilliant in my experience, but I believe it is now run by Nicholson's, who are one of the more competent pub chains. I rarely visit the place more than once or twice a year these days, and in recent years the standards have been, shall we say, a tad unpredictable.

[Edwin Greenwood]

The Cockpit is a strange little pub, a bit cliquish but not unfriendly, though I've always had the vague feeling at the back of my mind that it's not quite up to the mark hygienically.

I recall a few years ago it was run by an affable middled-aged gay couple. At least I assumed they were a couple; one hesitated to inquire.

Carter Lane may be changing for the worse. The North Block of Faraday Building (an erstwhile international telephone exchange) has recently been demolished. (Something of an achievement, since part of it was reinforced during WW2 to withstand the attentions of the Luftwaffe.) If they erect some flashy steel and glass monstrosity in its place, such as they have erected along Queen Victoria Steet, then the pleasantly shabby, secretive atmostphere of the lane will be lost.

[Steve]

Edwin, I worked just of Farringdon St for six years and i always thought of the Blackfrair as being reasonably reliable for a pint of good beer. It was certainly good last week.

Nicholson's pubs in general, though, I find very variable. Some seem to keep consistantly good beer, others are pretty ropey.

I have had some very disappointing beer in London this summer - much of it from pubs that I had considered to be reliable. I will give them another chance and if they are still rubbish, I'll name and shame them here.

[Edwin Greenwood]

Certainly in the late 1970s, when we used to repair thither to finish off the Times crossword after work, the beer in the Blackfriar was excellent. Even when served by John the Indian -- the Irish barman who was for ever complaining that "The problem is, there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians."

Standards are indeed very variable. I have to admit that I frequently chicken out and drink Guinness when in unfamiliar territory -- at least now that the Poles have learnt that a two-inch head may look quite pretty and "ethnic" but is not always entirely acceptable to the punter.

[Chris]

Also one of the few pubs in the city whihc doesn't alow smoking inside. I'd much rather have a fag with my pint but evidence that the maket does work and there's no need for a smokling ban.

It's the closest pub to my work, I prfer the Cockpit-merely for the opportunity not to speak to colleagues. The Chesire and Cheddar on Fleet Street is also lovely.