The Quest for the Holy Grain - Best Beer Bars
England

 

 

London

Oxford

York

 

 

The Last Drop Inn
27 Colliergate
York YO1 8BN
United Kingdom
+44 1904 621951

The Last Drop Inn is the outlet for the York Brewing Co. located near the traffic- restricted pedestrian zone of York.
There are several other pubs in York which serve as outlets for the brewery as well.
There are 5 York beers on tap as well as about 10 guests... some on cask.
One enters into a square room dining area and walks through to several stairs to an upper level where the bar and a few more seats are located.
As with many English pubs there are no seats at the bar, but room for perhaps 8 to stand with drink in hand.
Smokers can go out a back door near the kitchen to a tiny area that has a picnic table and a few seats.
Bar policy dictates there be no jukeboxes or video games...nothing to disrupt peace and quiet.
The bartender wore a York Brewing shirt and was quite enthusiastic about the York beers, telling me in great detail about each one.
He encouraged me to visit the actual brewery, less than a mile away, but I pointed out that as a tourist I was time-restricted. Maybe next time.

It appears that The Last Drop Inn is still open, but is now an outlet for Black Sheep Brewing.

 

 

 

 

Brewdog – Waterloo Station
Unit G, Waterloo Station
01 The Sidings
London SE1 7BH

I am in the Brewdog in Waterloo Station. It's way in the back behind the trains. It's supposed to be the largest bar in England. I believe it. 

One enters from the station. The to-go cooler is at the front door. There is a long corridor with booths on the left and on the right, tables along windows to the outside world.
At the end is a standard-size Brewdog bar with the typical large white beer list.
Including everything, they have 25 taps.
Beyond the bar, there is a warren of rooms and alcoves and stairs to other levels. From my seat I can see another large bar on the floor below.
Inflation hit hard here. Beers average about £7.00 a pint. Here is a picture of the front door.

 

 

 

 

 

Moor Vaults & Tap Room
71 Enid St
Bermondsey, London SE16 3RA

Moor Vaults is a taproom for the Moor Brewery located in Bristol.
The Tap Room, midway along the Bermondsey Beer Mile, has 18 drafts available, including Moor offerings and some guest taps. The place seems to be known for their cask beers and sours. There are also about 30 cans and bottles available.
One overheard comment stated that Moor Vaults was cheaper and less pretentious then some of the other places on the Beer Mile.

 

 

 

 

EeBria Taproom
15 Almond Rd, London SE16 3LR

EeBria is a beer bar located along Southwark's Bermondsey Beer Mile.
EeBria has 8 rotating craft beers on draught, picked by their team choosing from over 600 breweries.
They also boast 2 large fridges containing hundreds of bottles and cans for on-site consumption or to take home.
There is room for 30+ patrons inside, and over 40 can be secreted in their beer garden outside.
EeBria is dog-friendly and pram-friendly, and declares that you will find their staff likeable too.

 

 

 

 

Beer Hawk South Bank
Unit 6
The Gallery Tower Estate Stamford Street
South Bank London SE1 9LS

Beer Hawk is a beer bar in the high end district of Southbank, London.
They have 12 taps, some of which are Euro-macros.  
Those guests are the only beers over 5% abv.  
They do have about 40 beers in their cooler for those who want to drink in their room later. 
Although Beer Hawk has another location, this one was the first.
It is just south of the Thames near Blackfriars Bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

The Stage Door
28-30 Webber St.
London SE1 8QA

The Stage Door is a traditional English Tavern next door to the Old Vic Theater in Waterloo, London. It's just a stone's throw from Waterloo Station.  
Stage Door has about a dozen taps, 4 of which are hand pull casks, on both sides of the large “U” shaped bar. Casual atmosphere with neighbors watching the rugby.

The Kitchen provides a selection of pub food, and in good weather, one can relax on the rooftop garden.

 

 

 

 

The Hop Locker
Queen's Walk, under Hungerford Bridge

Yes, this is what you think it is...a beer stand. 

The Hop Locker is a beer stand in the South Bank outdoor food court.  They have no facilities, but restrooms are available in the adjacent Festival Hall.
 
Hop Locker has 8 taps, and about 40 cans and bottles available for immediate consumption or take away.

They are only open Friday thru Sunday afternoons, and are at the mercy of the weather.

 

 

 

The Waterloo Tap
Sutton Walk
Lambeth, London
SE1 8RL
Tel: 020-3455-7436

The Waterloo Tap is a beer bar in a railroad viaduct arch about 100 metres north of the Waterloo station.
Waterloo Tap's mission is to showcase the beers from top brewers in the UK and abroad, at a more affordable price than other craft beer bars.
The outer sides of this arch are glass.  The bar runs most of the length of the north wall.  The opposite wall has several booths.  In between are about 10 high- boy tables seating 2 to 4.  
Waterloo has over 20 taps, some on cask, covering a variety of styles.  
This is a good first stop for any visiting Questor. 

A shock to this visitor….probably due to COVID, Waterloo Tap, like most bars, no longer accepts cash.  Thus one charges a £4.00 beer to one's account every half hour or so.  
Doesn't seem right. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Defector's Weld
170 Uxbridge Road
London W12 8AA
T: 0208 749 0008

Defector's Weld is a restaurant in the trendy Shepherds Bush neighborhood of London.
The door opens to the corner of a large room dominated by a three-sided bar which has no seating.
There are booths and tables on each of the three sides, and some sofas in the back near the rest room doors.
Each of the sides of the bar has 15 taps, but some are repeated so that there are only perhaps 20 different beers, including 5 casks. The menu is typical English pub, with big portions; lots of people were eating.
Defector's Weld describes their patrons as "eclectic clientele of all ages," and suggests stopping by to "grab a pie before the match."
The barmaids were friendly and could speak of the beer, offering samples to help one decide on the next beer.

 

 

 

 

BrewDog -
Shepherds Bush
15-19 Goldhawk Road London W12 8QQ
United Kingdom
+44 20 8749 8094

BrewDog - Shepherds Bush is one of many in the growing chain of BrewDog brewery-affiliated bars.
Want to open one up yourself?
Literature for becoming an investor is on each table in each location.
This particular location is in the trendy London neighborhood of Shepherds Bush.
One enters into the center of a very large room, with the bar across the back. There are no barstools along this long bar. There are some booths by the windows as well as several tables scattered about, with lots of space between.
An alcove with sofas and the doors to the rest rooms is to the left of the bar.
The short menu contains only a few sandwiches, but no one was eating.
There are 17 BrewDog beers on tap, some probably unique, as well as 23 guest taps.
BrewDog claims that 40 taps makes them tops in the city.
The barmaids were friendly and knowledgable about the beer. BrewDog would seem to be a kids' bar as no one seemed to be above 30 years of age.

 

 

 

The Sheaf
The Hop Exchange
24 Southwark St
London SE1 1TY
United Kingdom
+44 20 7407 9934

The Sheaf is a beer bar down the street from the historic London Bridge Station in downtown London.
One of it's claims to fame is that it is in the subterranean vault of the historic and beautiful Hop Exchange building.
The other is that The Sheaf is the reincarnation of the popular pub, The Wheatsheaf, which was forced to relocate from Borough Market.
The Wheatsheaf was so well-loved, that it's last days were recorded in a book, The Wheatsheaf RIP. The photos from this book now grace the walls of The Sheaf.
The pub is down a few steps into the basement and has a modern sports bar motif. During our visit one side of the bar was watching the local football (soccer) match, the other side the local rugby game.
The Sheaf has about 30 taps but many are duplicates.
They do have 10 real ale casks with some unique beer. Food was available.

 

 

 

 

Bavarian Beerhouse
190 City Road
London EC1V 2QH
Phone 0207 60 80 925

The Bavarian Beerhouse is a replica of a German-style drinking establishment with about 30 picnic tables set up for eating and drinking.
The seven draft beers are all from Munich.
When I pointed this out to the waitress, she said every one that worked there was from Munich.

 

The Dove
19 Upper Mall,
Hammersmith, London, W6 9TA

The Dove has the smallest bar in Britain, maybe 4 feet across, with a service bar only slightly bigger, and two small rooms inside.
The poet James Thomson composed ‘Rule Britannia' here. 
King Charles II wined and dined his mistress, Nell Gwynne here at The Dove.
Walk outside to the one-and-a-half patios, and enjoy a wonderful view of the Thames. They have six European beers and 4 Fuller's handpulls.

 

Porterhouse Pub
21-22 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London WC2 E7NA
Tel: 020 7379 7917
Int'l: 00 44 20 7379 7917

Porterhouse is one of a chain of Irish pubs.
This location, in a busy tourist area, is rather new, and large for an Irish pub, but has lots of small rooms and cozy nooks.
Porterhouse has ten of their own beers, all made in Dublin, at the Porterhouse Brewery.
They also feature about five guest hand pulls, and an enormous selection of bottled beers.

 

Churchill Arms
119 Kensington Church St.
Kensington, London, W8 7LN
020 7727 4242

The Churchill Arms, a bar in the Notting Hill area of London, is a classic bar very popular with the locals.
The many frosted windows let it be both light and dark inside due to the dark paneling and many Churchill memorabelia.
The full line of Fullers, with duplicates, highlights the 19 taps.
There is also a portrait gallery of American presidents, and a butterfly collection.
Children welcome in restaurant only.

 

 

Sun in Splendour
7 Portobello Road,
Notting Hill, LONDON, W11 3DF
Tel. 08713322456

Sun in Splendour is a bar deep in the tourist area of Notting Hill.
With throngs of tourists, and probably some locals, the bar is crowded.
With many windows, it is brightly lit, and sofas, upholstered stools, and other comfy seats crowd the place. The bar is standing room only. The prices on the food menu were quite reasonable, but they don't serve food during what would be happy hour. Sun in Splendour offers 13 taps of European beer.

 

 

From Foamee's Guide to Oxford:

The Red Lion
14 Gloucester St
Oxford OX1 2BN, UK

The Red Lion, formerly called The Goose, is only a block from the tourist trail, but contains locals watching the telly and smoking. With 35 taps it seems like a real beer bar, until one realizes that they have the 6 European beers repeated a total of 5 times, plus 5 local handpulls.
The Red Lion also boasts one of the city's biggest beer gardens.

 

 

King's Arms
40 Holywell Street
Oxford OX1 3SP



The guide book says the Kings Arms is a good place to meet "professors and gays", so tourists abound. They have 6 European beers and 5 handpulls in a comfortable setting.
The King's Arms is the oldest pub in Oxford, having stood in this same spot since 1607.
Thsy also claim to be Oxford's smartest watering hole, having the highest IQ per square foot!

 

Turf Tavern
7 Bath Place
Oxford, OX1 3SU
01865 24 3235

The Turf has been in it's present location since the 1700's, with a "liquids concern" on the site since the 1300's.
It lies just outside the walls of Oxford.
Down a maze of alleyways, it's worth the trip.
The main bar room is rather small, but they have three levels of sitting rooms as well as three separate patios that are heated when need be. Turf Tavern has 11 different hand pulls on an agressive rotation.