Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 3 and Version 2 of Commercial Tavern, E1 6NU

An artily-redecorated old pub on Commercial Street in Spitalfields.

All the reviews point to the artiness of this place, and it's hard to disagree. There's a collection of lampshades above, Interview magazine covers pasted to one of the walls, all the chairs are colourfully decorated, and the walls are a melange of pastel. Still, the first thing one notices is just how dark it is downstairs even on a bright sunny afternoon (all the shutters are kept closed). However, spending a little time to adjust and there's no shortage of delights -- and anyway, the upstairs room gets plenty of light and can get correspondingly busy.

Four ale handpumps dominate the centre of the bar, and on a June 2008 visit these were London Pride, Black Sheep Bitter (£3.20/pint), Greene King Ale Fresco, and Old Rosie scrumpy. There are lagers, but they are dispensed from identical stainless steel draught taps, so it's difficult to tell what they are (but a fairly standard range one imagines).

Downstairs are several large solid tables, and about five smaller round ones which are a little too short for the chairs. Outside are a few more tables, on the street. There's also the upstairs room, with its own bar. A room off the side of the bar has a pool table and leads to the toilets.

Time Out mentions food is served noon-9:30pm Monday to Friday, noon-8:30pm Saturday, and noon-5pm Sunday, but there wasn't much sign of any food on a Thursday evening visit (no menus, or other people eating), so probably best to double-check.

See also:

• Fancyapint review
• Time Out review
• Qype comments

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