Heaven for Real Ale Lovers
April 29, 2008
The Wenlock Arms is not a particularly photogenic pub, and neither is its clientele, but it is something special to find in London without a doubt. Upon entrance, you are confronted with not the reasonably common four or five taps, but an entire row of at least a dozen different real ales on draught. With a rotating selection, and a lot of short-run choices, there is always something new to try.
The upside of this is that you get to sample a variety of high quality beers. The downside is that sometimes a beer will be tapped in the morning and gone before 5pm, so it is advisable to call ahead if you are looking for your favourite (the proprietor told me that he gave up on updating the website two years ago, so don't look for advice there).
This bar is all about beer, and although they have spirits behind the bar as well, I didn't see any cocktails in the hands of any of the punters. They were, with the exception of one group of two ladies, all men, by the way. It is definitely a workers pub. But as long as your expectations are set right, and your belly is ready to fill up with a delicious range of real ales, then the Wenlock Arms is a genuine treasure.
Keywords: real ales galore