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.

Welcome back to another week with RGL



This week's featured article is Crate, E9 5EN, a microbrewery and pizzeria alongside the River Lea or Lee canal, in increasingly-trendy post-industrial Hackney Wick. The pizzas are good and the beer is decent. It was good over summer when you could sit outside on the banks of the Lea.

There are two new articles this week. The first is for a refurbished gastropub in Kentish Town, The Grafton, well worth a visit if you're in the area, though it doesn't quite match the extensive ale selection of nearby Tapping the Admiral. The other new entry is for chain restaurant Giraffe in Kensington, a chain known for being particularly child-friendly.

Finally, our reported closure is Dos Tias tapas restaurant in Deptford, which I think probably closed a few years ago, but nevertheless now confirmed.