Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 28 and Version 8 of Imperial, WC2H 7BL
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| Tucked just off [[Locale Leicester Square|Leicester Square]], this is a fairly pleasant and not too busy pub, which is a vast improvement on the nearby chain bars. It is badged as [http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/ Taylor Walker], the slightly upmarket city centre brand of Punch Taverns. |
Tucked just off [[Locale Leicester Square|Leicester Square]], this is a fairly pleasant and not too busy pub, which is a vast improvement on the nearby chain bars. Despite its location, it doesn't quite quite as many tourists and revellers as you'd expect. |
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Despite its location, it doesn't get quite as many tourists and revellers as you'd expect. Even after work on weekdays there's usually been at least one table available on our several visits, and turnover is fairly quick. |
It has three handpulls and at a visit in 2007 had Everard's Sundancer which is a very pleasant light coloured summer ale. On a March 2008 visit, they had London Pride, Bombardier, Abbot Ale and Elgood's Cambridge Bitter ales, as well as Budvar and Leffe (and the other usual lagers), on tap. Butcombe Bitter on a November 2008 visit was £3.25/pint. |
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The lighting is often kept quite dim (just on the edge of being able to read a book on [[Kake]]'s June 2010 evening visit, though it was somewhat brighter on another visit a month later), and they play background music (on both these visits, not quite too loud to allow conversation). |
The pub menu is fairly standard (burgers, sausages and mash, nachos, sandwiches, etc.), though they have a print-out of daily specials attached. A falafel burger was fairly unadorned, but served in a tasty ciabatta bun with chips, so not too disappointing. The pies, though, were excellently presented and looked to be very tasty. |
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There's banquette seating in a booth area opposite the bar with several large tables, as well as lots of smaller tables towards the rear of the pub. There is a big cafe style awning at the front with halogen heaters for the smokers. On our June 2015 visit there was over-aggressive air conditioning, with several customers commenting on how cold they felt in their summer clothes. |
There is a big cafe style awning at the front with halogen heaters for the smokers. |
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It has four handpulls, with London Pride (£3.48/pint as of June 2010) appearing to be a regular. They also have Peroni and Staropramen (and the other usual lagers), on tap. On a visit in 2007, the guest ale was Everard's Sundancer which is a very pleasant light coloured summer ale; they've also featured Elgood's Cambridge Bitter (March 2008) and Butcombe Bitter (November 2008, £3.25/pint), among many others. The lineup in September 2013 was London Pride, Black Sheep Bitter, and St Austell Tribute, with the fourth handpump dedicated to Old Rosie cider. A pint of lime and soda was £1.47 in September 2013 and a surprisingly cheaper £1.10 in June 2015 (and in April 2016). |
They show sport, but not too intrusively. |
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As of September 2013, food is served 11am-10pm daily. The pub menu is fairly standard fare, identical to other Punch pubs in this brand (burgers, sausages and mash, nachos, sandwiches, etc.), though they have a small sheet of daily specials as well <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/9854608925/ photo as of September 2013]</small>. Burgers are somewhat unadorned, served with a small numbers of chips, and a little disappointing. The pies, though, were excellently presented and looked to be very tasty. On a November 2009 visit, [[Ewan]] tried the vegetarian 'fish' and chips (£7.50, recently added to the menu) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/4130566726/ photo]</small>, which was fairly unpleasant, three large chunks of halloumi, battered and deep-fried — the halloumi didn't have much taste and wasn't squeaky, and with the addition of the frying, was just far too much to eat comfortably. The chips and mushy peas on the side weren't much better quality, but offered a little variety. They have a couple of flatscreens mounted discreetly on the walls, though on all our visits here we've only ever seen these in use once, during the 2010 World Cup. As of April 2016 they have free wireless via The Cloud. [[Kake]]'s verdict: This is my default pub in the area. It's nothing special in a London-wide context, but it has real ale and I know I'm likely to get a seat. Accessibility: One step up to get in. Ladies' toilets are on the first floor, and gents' in the basement, with fairly narrow staircases. |
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* [http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub330.php Fancyapint review] * [http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubreviews/22107/ Pubs Galore comments] |
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* [http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-imperial-london-2 Yelp comments] |
* [http://fancyapint.com/pubs/pub330.html Fancyapint review] |
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], April 2016. Opening hours and food times taken from the Imperial website, September 2013.</div> |
<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Ewan]] and friends, 6 November 2008.</div> |
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category='Cloud Wifi,Featured Article,Free Wireless,Pub Food,Pubs,Real Ale,Smoking Area' |
category='Food Served Evenings,Food Served Lunchtimes,Pubs,Real Ale,Smoking Area' |
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formatted_website_text='taylor-walker.co.uk/Ta...' host='94.119.96.96' hours_text='11am-11:30pm Mon-Sat; noon-11:30pm Sun' |
formatted_website_text='' host='82.69.65.56' hours_text='' |
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locale='Chinatown,Leicester Square,Soho,WC2' |
locale='Leicester Square,Soho,WC2' |
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node_image='https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1500/24174853739_bc05aa579b_m_d.jpg' node_image_copyright='Kake' node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/' node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/24174853739/' opening_hours_text='11am-11:30pm Mon-Sat; noon-11:30pm Sun' |
node_image='https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/2353127628_10b6c1232a_m.jpg' node_image_copyright='Ewan-M' node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en_GB' node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/2353127628/' opening_hours_text='' |
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summary='Decent pub just by Leicester Square.'
summary='Decent pub just by Leicester Square.' website='http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/TaylorWalker/pub-food/Imperial-Soho/pid-C0205' |
summary='Decent pub just by Leicester Square.' website='http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/TaylorWalker/pub-food/Imperial-Soho/pid-C0205' |
Tucked just off Leicester Square, this is a fairly pleasant and not too busy pub, which is a vast improvement on the nearby chain bars. Despite its location, it doesn't quite quite as many tourists and revellers as you'd expect.
It has three handpulls and at a visit in 2007 had Everard's Sundancer which is a very pleasant light coloured summer ale. On a March 2008 visit, they had London Pride, Bombardier, Abbot Ale and Elgood's Cambridge Bitter ales, as well as Budvar and Leffe (and the other usual lagers), on tap. Butcombe Bitter on a November 2008 visit was £3.25/pint.
The pub menu is fairly standard (burgers, sausages and mash, nachos, sandwiches, etc.), though they have a print-out of daily specials attached. A falafel burger was fairly unadorned, but served in a tasty ciabatta bun with chips, so not too disappointing. The pies, though, were excellently presented and looked to be very tasty.
There is a big cafe style awning at the front with halogen heaters for the smokers.
They show sport, but not too intrusively.
See also:
Last visited by Ewan and friends, 6 November 2008.
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