A quick review of some pubs that I visited in late December 2014.

The first pub is in Bromley, Kent where I met some friends just before Christmas. It is called The Partridge and is a Fuller’s pub.
This pub is spacious and comfortable and, in my experience, always serves a good pint of a variety of Fuller’s beers. I have organised large group Christmas meals here and they have always been up to scratch. On this night I had a few pints of Fuller’s London Pride and obtained a good discount using my CAMRA card. I highly recommended this pub. The website is: http://partridgebromley.co.uk/

The second pub on my list is the Barrel and Horn. It is just around the corner from The Partridge and is a Fuller’s pub in disguise. There is always a very large range of keg and cask ales available at this establishment. They also accept CAMRA cards for a discount on the cask beers. This is one of my favourite pubs, partly because of the beer and partly due to the decor. I drank a pint of Clarence and Fredericks American Pale Ale on this occasion. The website for this highly recommended pub is: http://barrelandhorn.com/

A couple of days after the Bromley pub experience I returned to Petts Wood and revisited a couple of the pubs near to the station. The first was a JD Wetherspoon called The Sovereign of the Seas. It is a spacious and typical Wetherspoon’s pub. I had a pint of Thornbridge Lumford which was very nice and a pint of Minagof IPA brewed by the Caledonian Brewery for a microbrewery based in Guan, It was not to my taste but an interesting beer to try. The website for this pub is: http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-sovereign-of-the-seas
After this I made the short walk to the One Inn the Wood micropub and had a pint of Gadds Number 5 and Kent Brewery Session Pale. Both were excellent. I have reviewed this micropub before and it maintains an excellent standard of beers with friendly staff. It does get quite crowded and so we sat outside even though it was quite cold. They have IR heaters that help stop the chill though. Website: http://www.oneinnthewood.co.uk/

I was staying near York over Christmas and visited one of my favourite northern pubs, The St. Vincent Arms in Sutton Upon Derwent. I like this pub because it always has a good pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord and it offers superb food at a reasonable price. It also always serves Fuller’s London Pride which must be quite interesting for the locals but less so to someone from London. Website:  http://www.stvincentarms.co.uk/

I went to a classical music concert at the Barbican and was fortunate enough to revisit the Royal Oak in Tabard Street near London Bridge.  Website: http://www.harveys.org.uk/pubs-tenancies/find-our-beer/the-royal-oak-london   I have reviewed this before in an earlier post and it is still as good as ever.  I had a few pints of Harvey’s Pale Ale and a fantastic salt beef sandwich which set me up for the concert.  The pub was full but not crowded and had a nice warm atmosphere that contrasted with the cold temperature outside.