The Tom Cribb

January 20, 2010 | Map

And I thought London’s tourist hotspot was largely void of decent real ale pubs…enter Tom Cribb. Named after a famous 19th century boxer who ran a pub in the same street, this pub is now owned by Shepherd Neame. It is very small, and given the location, you would expect it to be crammed after work. It was full indeed, yet we were incredibly lucky to secure a small table.

Tom Cribb, by Ewan-M via flickr

Unsurprisingly, they don’t do food, but the folks behind the bar were top notch: even though the bar was constantly blocked by two rows of punters, they easily spotted those in need for a fresh round – no need to use your elbows to push your way to the front row. If you did, your drinks would already be waiting for you when you finally got through; that’s how speedy the service is.

For some reason, breweries tend to offer the best ales in winter. This place was no exception, with a malty, full-bodied, sweet and delicious winter-warming Amber Ale on draught. Why do they only serve this fantastic ale in January and February?

Anyways, even though this pub is right between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, I hope it is hidden enough to be left to locals. Encouragingly, there were not many tourists around on this Wednesday evening, and the locals already did a good job in filling this small pub to its limit.

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