Tuesday 27 January 2009

Pubfection

So it's been over 6 years since I moved to London, and it has to be said that very little has remained constant. I no longer wear flared brown cords, share a bathroom with 13 other people, drink a bottle of cheap white wine before going out, watch Neighbours twice a day, or go the Trash/Durrr on a Monday (well, since last Monday; the End's closed). I think that, friends aside, the constants of living in London have all either metamorphosed into more mature habits, or disappeared altogether. But there are two institutions which I still visit regularly; Icco's and Sam Smith's pubs.
Sam Smith's is a Tadcaster-based brewery which owns some 32 pubs in London, mostly in Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia and Soho. They serve only Sam Smith's branded drinks, play no music and despite being linked by their brewery, each pub has it's own selling point. The Angel in the Fields on Marylebone High Street has amazing stained glass walls; The Princess Louise on High Holborn has individual panelled booths; The Fitzroy Tavern on Charlotte Street was a literary haunt (and is also ultra-handy for the aforementioned Icco's); The Champion on Wells Street has stained glass images of champions and The Crown is nicely situated on New Oxford Street. I could go on, but there are 32 across town and apparently more outside of London. I had planned to do a Sam Smith's map and pubcrawl together, but it seems that I have been beaten to it; nonetheless, this is a useful site detailing all the centrally-located pubs. As with Claudia Schiffer and Elnett, for me, they're the best pubs in the world, and where I am likely to be found at least once a week, out with mates and dates and friends.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the ship?!! what about the ship?!

Unknown said...

unfortunately it's not a sam smith's...it's definitely a Staple though.