9 – Bunch of Grapes

The epitome of a great London pub. When you next stroll towards Borough Market, take a left rather than a right, because Bunch of Grapes is well worth a visit and has become a firm favourite on a Thursday night. Always busy, the pub enjoys a rather mixed clientele from white to blue collar and everything in between. The gem is the outside area at the back, a strange labyrinths of high tables, low tables and wicker armchairs. You never have to wait too long for a seat, and they provide plenty of places to plonk your drink if you struggle. It’s not a looker from the inside, in fact it’s fairly bland, but it’s the atmosphere that will keep you coming back time and time again. No doubt I’ll be there next Thursday night.

9 – The Woolpack

While I lack the frazzled hair style, the skin tight jeans and the waistcoat, I understand the concept of trendy, even if it’s not the first thing you would think of when seeing me. Well… this place is trendy. Surprisingly big, it still could not accommodate us a table inside, but the outside covers managed to keep us dry despite the random onslaught from the clouds above. It’s a bit further from London Bridge than you would expect, but mainly because Bermondsey Street is fairly long. Still, well worth the extra exercise.

A good selection of beers and wines, and a great selection of ‘alternatives’ left me fairly tipsy before we moved on to grab a bite at ‘Fish’, but put very simply, I liked it! If I was trendier, I would only hang out in places like the Woolpack, but I’m not. None the less, I will no doubt find myself back in there, taking shots of Marmite and Chilli Vodka to my heart’s content.

7.5 – Gordon’s Wine Bar

Let me first off clarify that if Gordon’s sold lager, it would probably have been an 8, if not 8.5, yet alas, as a wine bar, it only sells the drink of heathens. Fortunately I occasionally venture into the heathen world and enjoy a glass or two of white. The wine selection is vast and excellently selected (so I’m told), but the best feature of Gordon’s is the dark cellar like rooms in which one must duck to navigate to a table. The whole ambiance is snug and warming and yet if you stopped to think about it, it’s actually quite grotty. My best times here have been in the summer, enjoying the narrow walkway that separates the park from the bar which is buzzing on most summer afternoons. If you can stomach the same homeless folk coming up to you every 5 minutes, whether you have given them change or not, it’s a great place to sit out the afternoon.

8 – The Plumbers Arms

Having ventured here twice now, I must vent my frustration that I can never seem to find it first time. It should be a simple, left out of Victoria and right, but it always seems more convoluted than that. But, I won’t let my ineptitude for directions hinder what is otherwise a really nice pub. It has that lovely feel of a real pub, one that’s been around for a long time but isn’t in desperate need of a refurb. The selection of lagers is narrow yet well chosen, with a slightly higher focus on cask ales. There was a very friendly bouncer both times I visited on a Thursday evening, which seemed needless but at the same time reassuring. The atmosphere was great, busy without being cramped and the toilets, well… the toilets smelled like a fresh bed of roses on a summers morning. It’s the little things that keep me happy. Well worth a visit if in the Victoria area.

8 – The Red Lion

The Red Lion was a distant memory where I once met an American investor before a night out. Some time had passed and I felt the need to revisit, so off we marched from the Bell & Compass (I told you it’s only good for a meeting place), and arrived surprisingly quickly at the Red Lion’s doors. I seemed to remember liking the place, and my memory was not let down. It’s a pretty standard small pub but with a touch of class and sophistication that so many lack. If I could remember more of the night, I would possibly tell you there was a good selection of brews, but I have no idea, so let’s suffice to say, I enjoyed the beers, the company and the pub. I will definitely return.

5.5 – Bell & Compass

Ok, so the Bell is in one of the best spots known to a south east commuter like myself. Just 20 seconds from Charing Cross, and the gateway to Covent Garden, the Bell & Compass is one of those great meeting places. A good selection of beers, although they never quite taste how you think they should (the pipes probably need a clean), this pub has nothing really going for it, apart from the ability to watch London’s populace drove by in their thousands. I ashamedly admit, I visit far too often, and moan about the strange tasting larger every time. But with change from a fiver, and only a few needed before the whole party has arrived, it serves its role rather well.

6.5 – Cooperage

The Cooperage joins the many pubs scattered along Tooley Street and is certainly one of the better. The atmosphere is exactly what you would expect from an old city pub, and you feel like it may have been there since the very foundations of London. My only problem is that it is a two and a half second walk from Skinkers, which has the same rustic character, but just feels a little cleaner. Cooperage certainly out does Skinkers on drinks choice, but then so would water cooler. Cooperage is good and not a bad venue if a change is in order, but the extra 5 yards from London Bridge Station is sadly at any other time not worth it.