London
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14 Winchester Walk
London SE1 9AG
+44 (0) 20 7407 0557
1 review
1 review 1 review
2 reviews 1 review 4 reviews 1 review 1 review 1 review 1 review
July 29, 2009
I am not a beer drinker, never have been. But at the Rake, there were two beers in particular that i am dreaming about. The mango beer, sounds tricky but it was actually really great. Then there was the coconut beer, it was a perfect combination of frothy coconut and bitter sweetness; plus it was served in a little coconut cup!
The place itself is located just around from Borrough Market and they have a nice big outdoor seating area. The inside is cool too because its very small and light and has little beer trinkets everywhere.
They did have a rude bone in them, though. Perhaps all that lovely beer has gotten to their ego...
But alas, I do dream about that coconut beer...
March 24, 2009
Last Friday night I finished my WSET class early, and to celebrate this, plus the amazing weather, I was going to take my boyfriend for a drink at The Rake. He had never been, I had only been once a few weeks before, and I knew he would like it because of all the great beers they have to offer. I was excited to sit down in the warm spring air and enjoy one of their delicious beers. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. I rolled by bike into the back patio, where one of the staff was raising the large patio umbrella. After waiting patiently for him to get it high enough for us to pass, I sat down, and my boyfriend headed inside to get us a drink. My boyfriend opened the door not realising that it was hitting the not yet fully raised umbrella, and continued inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. The staff member who was raising the umbrella, was not pleased and actually yelled out in front of all the customers enjoying the spring weather "close the f***ing door!", and then walked over to the door and kicked it shut with great force! At that time my boyfriend having not heard what the barman had yelled at him, realised that he did not have any cash on him, and turned to head back out, when the door slammed shut narrowly missing his fingers! I explained what I had witnessed to my boyfriend and we decided that we just couldn't stay and spend our money there. Such a shame, because I really did want to have a beer at The Rake, but now I know for sure my boyfriend won't be back.
Caitlin
February 09, 2009
And now for a party-like broadcast from The Manager of the best pub in the world!
Here are the reasons why you should drink at the rake.
1, The manager is really hot!
2, the beer range is second to none in south london
3, the staff are friendly, knowledgable, a bit ugly but hey no-ones perfect.
4, We have a great Welsh Beer Festival coming up march 1st - march 8th.
5, we love the environment
6, The manager is welsh and wales are the best at rugby.
7, The tables wobble
8, railtrack are doing their best to put us out of business.
9, Cheesus lives!
10, We really are a great place to drink, meet new people and learn about beer.
This is shameless I know but I felt like writing it.
Glyn Roberts
Manager, The Rake
January 30, 2009
The Rake is changing the face of beer in London for the WAY better. They sell some of the very best, mostly craft beer from around the world. Some like BrewDog, Dark Star & Thornbridge come from the UK, but much comes from the US, Belgium, Austria. They have something like 150+ beers available, mostly in bottle, but a bunch of taps as well. The place is small, but has a really good outdoor space with heaters. The staff are all cool and knowledgeable about beer. In fact, they also own Utobeer in Borough Market where they retail and wholesale; and lovebeer@borough where they hold tasting events.
And here’s a tip: it’s next to the market so on Thu/Fri/Sat you can coordinate with worlds best eating and food shopping.
January 28, 2009
I love the Rake, particularly for their brilliant beer selection! There are really not a lot of bars and pubs in London with great Belgian beers, but the Rake is one of them. Moreover it's right next to Borough market, usually not as crowded as the Market Porter on Saturdays, so it makes it the ideal choice of a watering hole after visiting the market.
It's very small though cosy, and it had a really cool outdoor area that is particularly great in the summer. Try out some awesome (And strong) Belgian beers such as the 'Trappistes Rochefort', 'La Chouffe' or 'Karmelite'. They also have a good selection on tap.
Definitely worth it!!
January 11, 2009
This is the best pub in Borough in my opinion. The bar itself is very small but there is a heated decking area out the back. A no-go area for smokers 'when the umbrella is up'!
What makes this place special is the wide selection of speciality beers. The brew dog selection is my favourite, I love the Punk IPA and the Punk Smokehead - a massively string 10% beer, which is aged in whisky barrels for a truly unique and totally intense flavour, almost like a stout but much tastier I reckon! They only serve it in halves as it's so strong. I don't know anywhere else in the area where you can buy the Punk beers on draught.
The staff here are always up for a chat and the atmosphere is intimate and friendly. Just don't all rush down there at once, the place will fill up and there will be no room left for me!
November 27, 2008
Pretty descent pub but kinda feels like a bar maybe more than a traditional pub.
They have some great beers and ales on tap which I always drink too much of.
There is also a pretty descent outside area, although this is best used in the summertime.
It's nicely tucked away behind Borough Market so never feels too touristy.
October 09, 2008
Got royally stupified here by imbibing the finest choice beers to ever grace a hangover. Staff were tipity-top, good advice, steered me a away from sour beer, interesting to taste but i personally wouldn't want a pint to drinking my way around the taps and interesting lagers.
Venue is proper boozer, little in the way of unneccessay decor, just tin beer signs and thats your lot. Loved the no-smoking beer garden and the vibe was classic real London, a few locals, a few suits, a few students and a smattering of tourists.
Shared some top sandwiches with my pals, roast beef and spanish tortilla i think, v hearty and v tasty, loved the pickles which accompanied.
This is on my hot list, ie a place so send people to for an expereince when they are in town. Feedback from my friends so far is excellent as they love the drinking of finest ales in sight of the Cathedral and the fact it is slightly hidden from the market madness. We will be back, repeatly.
August 28, 2008
There's always a worry that if you mix your ales you'll end up with insides like gravel being thrown at a crepe paper awning. But if you realise that that's more to do with the spinning-stick meat-extravaganza that you followed your beer buffet with, then you're ready for The Rake. Never have I seen such an inviting array of interestingly named (and probably tasting) beers: from a handful of guest beers (stouts, bitters, lagers, ciders) to vast fridge of bottles that look like baubles without a tree to hang on. It's a little on the pricey side, there is no seated smoking area and the nearby church bells ring until you feel like burning down every ecclesiastical venue in Christendom, but the clientele are harmless, it's off the main street and the staff are nice. A great little nook.
August 28, 2008
Ugh I love this place soooooo much. I've only been here a couple of times but its completely my favorite place in the area. I don't know whether its true or not whether you can tell the quality of beer by the type of hangover it gives you but I got good and drunk here last night and felt awesome this morning.
The actual interior bar bit is pretty small, there's a couple of tall tables and a bit of standing space but you either want to be out in the no smoking terrace or hanging out by the bins / toilets having a smoke.
So the guy that owns this place also runs a stall on Borough Market that sells imported beer which explains the rediculously fucking huge selection of beers / ales / stouts / porters on offer here. Seriously its rediculous - most of them I've never heard of but it seems that a lot of them are American but then there's loads of Belgian, German and various other countries. I seem to remember the owner saying something about only selling beers that were brewed in their country of origin, like for example they'd sell Asahi Black because its actually brewed in Japan but not Asahi normal as its brewed in Chelmsford or something.
They have a good selection of draught beers, Veltins is pretty good and they usually have some kind of Sierra Nevada on tap - last night it was Sierra Nevada Torpedo ale (aptly named as its 7.8%).
Anyway if you like drinking you'll love this place - no questions.
If you like smoking then you'll also like this place as the back smoking area backs onto a kind of industrial car park with loads of wooden palettes which you can use as tables. Hanging out by the palettes smoking fags and drinking beers made me feel like a real man, the type of man that might have just carried all those palettes from one place to another - this is a good feeling for someone that spends most of their waking life in front of a laptop screen.
Also if you don't like smoking there's a very civilised covered deck area with seats and the pesky smokers aren't allowed in that bit.
My friends had a sandwich which cost a fiver but looked delicious, the beers are more expensive that your local nondescript boozer but its completely worth it.
If you ever go make sure you check out the back by the palettes, I've pretty much decided to spend all my non working waking life drinking beer from this pub by the palettes, smoking fags.
