Randomness Guide to London

Welcome back! I was off on Monday traipsing around the many fine licensed establishments of Bromley (the one in South London), and then I completely forgot about this update. Here it is, in time for the weekend.



Your featured article this week is The Brookmill, SE8 4EJ. It's a long, narrow pub in an awkward corner site, with jazz on the sound system and five handpulls for ale. There is even a very interesting sounding vegan burger on the menu. Sounds like a nice place.

Lots of new additions this week, mostly pubs! I can but speculate as to this seasonal flurry of additions, but eagle-eyed readers will know this happens around this time every year:
* The Prince, a fine pub and microbrewery in leafy Wood Green, which I very much like, but watch out for the, er, ice;
* The Arnos Arms, in Arnos Grove, a big pub formerly a Harvester, but now it's not a Harvester, so that's already an improvement;
* The King's Arms in Fulham, another big pub, with ornate decor;
* The Foresters Arms, also a boutique hotel and a posh restaurant, in Hampton Wick, where you can expect a black pleather bar and some ales;
* The Henry Addington just by Canary Wharf station -- it's a Nicholson's pub in an early-90s building but it's going for an old fashioned vibe;
* The Wellington Arms (also a hotel) in not-technically-London Watford, but it doesn't sound like somewhere you'd necessarily make a special trip north for;
* The Windsor Castle in Kensington/Notting Hill, a well-divided and partitioned bar with lots of area and character, and frankly it's a surprise it hasn't been on RGL until now. Can't really go wrong, it's a classic pub, just watch out for posh locals I guess?

There's also a new entry for the distinctly not-a-pub Trullo, an Italian restaurant by Highbury Corner. It's very popular, and that makes sense given the quality of the food. Definitely one for pasta exploration.

There are also updates to The Temperance pub in Fulham (cavernous!), Dalchini in Wimbledon (Indo-Chinese food! though be careful), and The Lion in Teddington/Hampton Wick (partly a French restaurant now!).

Finally, reported permanent closure for Kenya Coffee House in Romford, which may yet find a new location.

Hello, welcome back after a brief hiatus. It is that time of year for the Good Beer Guide updates! (Non-GBG-related changes will be in next week's update.)



Our featured article is therefore Category Good Beer Guide 2017. Here is a link to the CAMRA website if you want to see what it looks like and/or buy a copy.

There are many new entries to our database:
* The Beehive in Tottenham (a very nice pub I should have added years ago);
* Brewhouse and Kitchen by Angel station;
* The Broken Drum in Blackfen near Sidcup;
* The Four Thieves, a former Antic pub in Battersea;
* The Hare and Hounds in Greenford;
* J.J. Moon's, a Spoons in Kingsbury;
* The King's Arms, another lovely pub I should have added years ago (it's in Bethnal Green);
* The King and Co. in Clapham;
* The King's Stores in Spitalfields near Liverpool Street;
* The Long Pond in Eltham (see main image above);
* The Penny Farthing in Crayford;
* The People's Park Tavern in South Hackney (a large place);
* The Phoenix in the City of London (Throgmorton Street if you must know);
* The Railway Arms in Oxhey (hey! I hear you say, is that even in London? well no, but it's by Zone 8 Bushey station);
* The Rifleman in Epsom;
* The Shaftesbury Tavern in Upper Holloway;
* The Ship in Gidea Park;
* The Upminster Taproom;
* The Wibbas Down Inn, a Spoons in Wimbledon;
* The Woolwich Equitable.

There's also a stub entry for The Radius Arms in Whyteleafe, which wasn't visited in time to get a full write-up.

A noteable re-entry is the lovely Chesham Arms, which was under threat a few years back, but has reopened and is lovely.

Finally, one that actually entered the GBG last year, but we missed it: The Woodman in Woodmansterne.

Pubs pubs pubs pubs. Go to a pub?

As our RGL administrator will be away on HOLIDAY next week, there won't be another update until the week after, so that is of course the reason I've waited until Wednesday to post this update. There is no other reason, and anyone saying I've been LAZY will be Quite Wrong.



This week's featured article is Xi'An Restaurant, SE8 4PQ, a Chinese in Deptford, specialising in the food of the Shaanxi province, but look we've been over this before in a previous update. Some excellent pulled-style pork, and lots of numbing peppercorns.

Three new articles are: Sabor Peruano, a Peruvian restaurant by the Elephant; Vijay's Chawalla, Indian vegetarian in Upton Park; and Bubbles and Tea in sunny Stratford, for all yr E London bubble tea needs.

There's an update to the entry for Prince of Wales pub in South Wimbledon.

Finally we've heard this week of the closure of Cafe Crema in New Cross, and Pizza Lupa takeaway in Bermondsey (now a Firezza).

This week's featured article is Pollock's Toy Museum, a museum of toys set in a couple of adjoining terraced houses in Fitzrovia, just off Tottenham Court Road.

We have one new addition: Browns of Brockley, a cafe and coffee bar in an area of London you can probably guess.

The entry for Loving Hut, a vegan Chinese restaurant in Edgware, has been updated.

The reported permanent closures are two pubs and two bars: The Brewery Tap in Wimbledon and The Glassy Junction in Southall; Jrink in Soho, and 1802 in Docklands.