OUR NEW SERIES! Our round-up of our favorite London pubs on or near the routes of our London Walks. We’ll be posting reviews, giving recommendations and directions and from time-to-time delving into the stories behind the pubs and pub names. As always, we want to hear your suggestions, too. Send your Best Pub In London suggestions to the usual address or leave a comment below.
The French House, 42 Dean Street, W1 (Tube: Leicester Sq/Piccadilly Circus)
Somewhere in the realm of dreadful folk
songs there’s a “comedy” ditty – as funny as an orphanage on fire – about “The
Pub With No Beer”. And while the French House certainly isn’t that – try Becks,
Leffe or Budvar by the bottle – they won’t serve you a pint. Why? Is this the
fabled and erroneous French rudeness? Nope, they just don’t serve ‘em is all.
Take this perfect opportunity to adopt a when-in-France approach – go for a
Pastis, or a Breton cider. For the lil’ ol’ wine drinkers, try a perfectly
acceptable bottle of Merlot for around the £15 mark or, for around the same
price, a half bottle of Chablis. This legendary, wooden panelled single room
bar (a haunt of de Gaulle and his Free French comrades during WWII) is bedecked
with pics and characatures of the ghosts of barflies past and is simply a
London legend. Vive le French House.
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A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
