rglondon | Entries tagged with off licences

Good morning / nearly afternoon!

This week's featured article is Grape Variety, a wine cafe (as opposed to wine bar?) and off-license in Chipstead. If you fear not the wrath of grapes, no need to w(h)ine - stop by to to sample their fine wares. They also offer charcuterie and cheese boards, as well as sweet cakey treats.

We've one reported permanent closure this week - Thai Silk, a Thai restaurant underneath the railway arches behind Southwark tube station.

mrs_leroy_brown

Hello friends and welcome to another randomness roundup :)

This week’s featured article is the Greystoke, a Good Beer guide pub on the border of Ealing and West Acton. Unsurprisingly, it’s a CAMRA-friendly joint with plenty of real ales to choose from, and a menu of pub classics to help soak it all up.

Three new articles have been added. Urban Gui, an Indian cafe and tea shop in Thornton Heath - if, like me, the idea of a fried potato dumpling served in a bun with chutney makes your tummy rumble in anticipation of carby goodness, then check out the wada pau. Grape Variety (NOICE) is a wine cafe and off license in Chipstead with a small menu of charcuterie and sweets. Canvas Cafe in Shoreditch serves vegan food in a chilled, arty setting. I visited for my birthday a couple years back specifically to try the freakshake, which was exactly as delicious as it was sugar-laden. Recommend!

Updates have been made to the Owl and Pussycat pub in Shoreditch.

We’ve three reported closures - Cote D'Azur, a French and Mauritian fusion restaurant in South Croydon, Providores And Tapa Room on Marylebone Hight Street, another fusion restaurant, in this case New Zealand/Asian, and the Common Room, a pub near Ealing Common Station.

katstevens

Little Green Dragon, Winchmore Hill, London N21

Happy new year from all at RGL! I hope your 2019s have all been good so far.

Kicking off the featured articles for the year we have a friendly micropub in Winchmore Hill: the Little Green Dragon has plenty of real ale, real cider and real pickled eggs. It comes well recommended by our reviewer, so worth a visit if you're up that end of Green Lanes.

There's a new article for Nick's Cafe bang in the middle of Bromley Mall, a good lunch option that does Turkish breakfasts, and cheese that 'actually tasted of something'.

I'm sad to hear that Kris Wines in Kentish Town has shut for good - it was a great little spot for acquiring unusual beers. The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green is also closing its premises, as the business is moving to online-only. That worked out well for Mr J. Bezos in the 90s, so fingers crossed for them.

ewan

Welcome back, and once again I fear I'm late in the week adding this update but here we are anyway!

This month's featured article is a pub, the Eel Pie, TW1 3NJ, named for the local island (or eyot?), and not for any kind of local delicacy. Expect all your favourite Hall & Woodhouse Badger-themed beers, and probably some rugby on the TV?

Three new articles! There's Blue Haze Arts and Crafts in Chesham, a friendy local craft shop if you live in Chesham. There's also Craft Beer Shop, featuring crafts of a more alcoholic variety in Little Chalfont, which I can exclusively reveal is not very far from Chesham. Finally, in nearby Amersham is Mad Squirrel Amersham, another bar and beer shop run by the brewery of that name.

There's a big update to Rucola, an Italian restaurant in Little Chalfont! Guess who's been to Chesham recently?

Finally, temporary closure reported of the Green Dragon, in Croydon rather than Chesham, but it will be open again before the end of the year fear not.

katstevens

Hullo RGLers! This week's featured article is for the Penny Farthing, a friendly micropub in Crayford, with plenty of real ale and real cider. If you happened to be walking from Wroxter to Canterbury along the old Watling Street Roman road, it would be a perfect 162-mile pint pit-stop.

There are a couple of new pages, one for Potli in Hammersmith, a reasonable Indian restaurant/takeaway, and one for Cafe Shack, a greasy spoon in Old Coulsdon (decent deep-fried sausage but maybe give the milkshakes there a miss).

Mayfair lost a couple of Michelin stars in October with the closure of Hibiscus - I had a cracking bowl of soup there once. I never had a decent bowl of soup from the Chiswick branch of Oddbins, but that's closed too. Finally, Lancaster Gate tube station is shut until July, while they sort out the lifts.

ewan

Hello, and after a bit of seasonal break, welcome back to a new year, 2017!

Lulu's Caribbean Cuisine, Finsbury Park, London N4

This week's featured article is Lulu's Caribbean Cuisine, N4 3EN. It's pretty small and colourfully painted, and if you're there for a weekday lunchtime you may find yourself the only one. Generous portions and flavourful too, worth checking out we think.

There are three new pages: A&N Brothers Cafe in South Croydon (decent breakfast); Steakout in Norbury (neon pink, but decent steak); and The Fox pub between Coulsdon and Caterham (more a restaurant than a pub, but you can drink there, and the food is... decent).

Our two reported permanent closures are Bottledog on Grays Inn Road, and The William Jolle pub (a Wetherspoons) in Northwood Hills.

ewan

Another week, another round-up of RGL updates for you!

Our featured article this week is Bob Wines, SE26 5EU, no relation to the bob of this parish. Instead, it's a very handy shop for those living in Sydenham who have need of alcoholic sustenance, offering local 'craft' beers, as well as fine wines, including English ones and a tasty viognier. You can get refillable wine bottles too.

Two new articles are: The Masons' Arms, a pub in Kensal Green which has real ale; and Bread Ahead, a small bakery in Covent Garden with some excellent sweet things.

There's an update to The Thatched House pub (really a restaurant) in Upminster.

Temporary closures are reported at The Lucky Rover in Chessington, and The Crown on Blackfriars Road.

Closed more permanently are: Doukan, a Moroccan restaurant I have enjoyed in Wandsworth; Si Mangia Italian in East Dulwich; and McLaren's Cafe Bar and Grill in leafy Honor Oak Park.

Finally, just a note that The Armoury pub in Wandsworth has reverted to its original name of The Crane, with a refurb to boot.

katstevens

Evening RGLers! After last week's Good Beer Guide pub deluge, here's what's been happening everywhere else.

Our featured article is for Mr Chilly, who is neither an underprepared arctic explorer nor an anthropomorphised ice cream but a small North Indian restaurant near North Harrow station. Try the biryani!

We've got lots of new articles. Let's kick things off in Morden, with a branch of Wimpy and the Morden Hall Bookshop, which sells second hand books from an old National Trust building in the park. Up the Northern line a few stops is Vijaya Krishna, a South Indian restaurant in Tooting, while back down in the other direction there's Bamboo Basket, a Chinese/Malay tea shop and cafe in Epsom. Ram's in Kenton is a veggie (and Jain-friendly) Indian restaurant that has a buffet with unlimited puri (mmm, delicious carbs), while all the way over in Eltham, the Yak and Yeti does a reasonable lunch deal.

Of course there are some pub updates too: the Duke of York in Surbiton and the Albert Tavern in South Norwood (both owned by Greene King), the Cape bar in Wapping, the Cricketers pub in Croydon (great for tram watching), the Barley Mow in Epsom, the Villiers Arms in Oxhey (as confirmed last week, Oxhey is indeed a real place) and the Railway Tavern in Bexley. I judge it would be quite a challenge to create a (theoretical, even!) pub crawl to visit all seven of those in one day, even though you would be unaffected by the temporary closure of the Gospel Oak to Barking line (it's shut until next February).

Finally, some closures to report: Italian restaurant Tentazoni has moved from Bermondsey to Notting Hill, while the Charlotte in Crayford, the Dover Castle (a Sam Smith's) in Marylebone and the branch of Spirited Wines in Putney have all closed.

ewan

Welcome back! This week's featured article is The Willoughby Arms, KT2 6LN, a pub on the north side of Kingston. Of course, you knew that from the postcode, so I need hardly say. It's a handsome building from the photo, though what were once separate rooms seem to have been knocked through somewhat (as is the style). Go to drink Twickenham ales and watch cricket on the TV, still lovely despite a musty smell.

Two new articles are Sun Luen Snack Bar in Chinatown, with eggy egg tart; and House of Bottles, an off licence in Brixton.

There are big updates to veggie favourite The Gate (their Angel Islington branch), and post-work vertical drinking favourite The Hope Fitzrovia, which used to be a nice pub once upon a time. Still, sounds like it might just be fine on a weekday afternoon if you're ever there at such a time.

Finally, just to mark the reopening of Camberwell's The Bear pub, for which our write-up is sadly rather out of date.

ewan

Big update this week, mainly thanks to Oddbins. Anyway, here we go...

Our featured article is Tram Stop, CR0 6RD, which is not in fact a tram stop but is right next to one (Addiscombe tram stop that is). It's a small coffee shop and cafe. It's child-friendly, and offers newspapers and bookswap books. The food is seasonal and good too!

Two new articles are: Magma, a small Ghanaian restaurant in Thornton Heath with a fine palaver sauce; and Gojo, doing Ethiopian food in a North Kensington basement, better than it sounds.

Four reported closures we've caught up with are: the Marylebone High St branch of Nicolas wine shop; the Barnes branch of Spirited Wines; Just Falafel in Covent Garden; and Japanese restaurant Kibou in sunny Wimbledon.

Those Oddbins renamings (generally from Spirited Wines or Nicolas) are:

* the Oddbins Beer Shop in Blackheath;
* the Notting Hill branch;
* the Wimbledon branch;
* the Kew branch;
* the Baker Street branch;
* the the Crouch End branch; and
* the East Dulwich branch.

ewan

This week's featured article is The Whistle and Flute, SW15 1SQ, a Fuller's pub somewhere in between scruffy and gastro. It has the usual range of Fuller's beers and ales, so it'll do you fine if you're in Putney for a drink.

Lots of new articles this week, as certain maintainers of our community have been getting out and about in London. We have Amasi, a Middle Eastern cafe on an industrial estate in Perivale, so er yes, if you find yourself on an industrial estate in furthest West London, now you know where to go. We also have Shree Krishna Vada Pav, an Indian cafe in Harrow.

There's new entries for drinking establishments too: Ward's Freehouse, a pub in Harrow lacking any real ale; The Hussar at the edge of Hounslow, ditto; The Earl Haig, also in Hounslow, also no real ale; and The Beagle, a cocktail bar/restaurant in trendy East London's Haggerston/Shoreditch boundaries.

There are significant updates for The Old White Bear in Hampstead, and Au Lac, a Vietnamese restaurant in Highbury.

Two reported closures are The White Swan, one of Golders Green's few remaining pubs, and, sadly, an excellent East Dulwich wine shop/bar, Green and Blue.

ewan

Hello! This week's featured article is The Dartmouth Arms, SE23 3HN, a gastropub in Forest Hill with good food and very expensive lime and soda.

We have one addition, the Two Brewers in Chigwell, added by my colleague and countryside walker Kat. The beer is well-kept and it's all very in keeping with the general area (upmarket Essex), it sounds like.

Closures are the Crooked Billet in Barking, as well as various branches of Nicolas wine merchants (branches in Kingston, Putney, Southfields, Fulham, Hampton Hill, Bloomsbury and Norbiton).

A number of the remaining Nicolas branches (but not all of them) have been taken over by Spirited Wines and renamed as such. Therefore, there's now a Spirited Wines category.

ewan

Hello! Unusually this week the featured article is not a place but a category: the Good Beer Guide 2013. Every year on the release of this guide, Kake uploads the 2013 pub information, and as a result a number of new pages are created in RGL (which she and other contributors try to visit before the publication date).

It's worth pointing out that the new articles that have been added as a result do not represent all the new 2013 GBG pubs, just the ones which didn't already have a page on RGL.

The new articles which are not GBG-related are: Dost, an Indian street food restaurant in Uxbridge; Bookworm, a second-hand bookshop in Carshalton; Raizes, a Brazilian restaurant in Bethnal Green; and Cafe Z Bar, a greasy spoon cafe in Stoke Newington.

So, those new GBG articles:
* All Inn One in Forest Hill;
* The Angel in Hayes End;
* The Argyll Arms in Soho;
* The Barnsbury in, er, oh guess;
* The Beehive in Bedfont;
* The Black Lion in Essex's Epping.
* The Botanist in Kew;
* The Coal Hole on the Strand;
* The Elm Park Tavern in Brixton;
* The Forester in West Ealing;
* The Grenadier in Belgravia;
* The Greyhound in Keston;
* The Hare in Bethnal Green;
* Howl at the Moon in Hoxton;
* Noble Green Wines, an off licence (not a pub) in Hampton Hill;
* The Old Sergeant in Wandsworth;
* The Queen's Head in Downe;
* The Railway Hotel in West Wickham;
* The Rising Sun in Surrey's Epsom;
* The Sir Michael Balcon in Ealing;
* The Sun in Carshalton;
* The Sussex Arms in Twickenham;
* The Swan in Hammersmith;
* The Three Greyhounds in Soho;
* The Walnut Tree in Leytonstone; and
* The Windmill in Mitcham.

No closures reported this week.

ewan

This week's featured article is a pub in Soho, The Queen's Head, W1D 7HN, which has come under new management, and seems to be okay.

Notified closures are: Fitzgerald's, an Irish pub in Lower Clapton; Zorya, a bar/restaurant in Chalk Farm; and Nicolas, the Chiswick branch of this chain of wine shops.

Finally, Quilon, the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, is temporarily closed.

kake

Image © Ewan-M

This week's featured article is Kris Wines, N7 9LW, an off licence at the top of York Way, about halfway between Kentish Town Station and Caledonian Road Station.

Despite its name (and they do stock wines), Kris Wines very much specialises in beers, which come from all over Britain and around the world. ewan describes it as "excellent", high praise indeed.

Recent additions to RGL include City Caphe, a Vietnamese cafe on Ironmonger Lane near St Paul's; the Orchard, a vegan-friendly bar in Brockley; and the Ravensbourne Arms, a new Antic pub at the Ladywell end of Lewisham.

kake

Image © Ewan-M

This week's featured article is Viajante, E2 9NF, a modernist restaurant in Bethnal Green.

Recent additions to RGL include Teapod, a tea shop in Covent Garden; Kris Wines, an off licence in Camden Town; and Dial Arch, a gastropub in Woolwich.

One reported closure: Stone Horse Paper Cow near Liverpool Street.