Randomness Guide to London Menu

Shepherd Neame pub in Hoxton.

The decor is old-fashioned, with bare boards on the floor, a couple of very old and worn rugs here and there, and heavy floor-length curtains held back with ties in front of dimpled-glass windows. The gantry over the corner bar is festooned with dried hops.

Towards the front, huge industrial-style lampshades hang over large wooden tables flanked by basketwork chairs and wooden benches padded with sacking, and there's a darker and cosier area towards the back. There's more seating on the first floor, including a small balcony, plus outside seating at the front and around both sides of the pub.

Kake visited on a Tuesday lunchtime in July 2016. There were 9 or 10 other customers when I arrived around 1pm, most of them sitting outside, though all but one had departed by the time I left around 1:45pm. Old-time music was playing, not too loud.

The four handpumps were all clipped for Shepherd Neame ales: Master Brew, Bishops Finger, Spitfire Gold, and Whitstable Bay. A pint of lime and soda was £1.80.

They don't do proper food, but there's a jar of pickled eggs on the bar, and the staff member on duty told another customer that the next week they'd start doing Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, and pies.

Accessibility: A step to get in. Two more steps to the toilets, and the cubicles are a little cramped (though at least the door opens out).

See also:

• Pubs Galore comments
• Fancyapint review
• WhatPub entry