Last month, after hanging out with some of my coursemates from Anthropology of Food at the Marquis de Cornwallis in Bloomsbury, I wandered westward and met up with my friend Graham, whom I hadn’t seen since the visit to The Landseer. We went to a Sam Smith’s pub in the North Soho/Fitzrovia area for a round, and then we went to The Crown & Sceptre, which was fairly busy for a Wednesday.
It was my round, so I got our two pints for £6.30. The pub sells Fullers ale primarily, it seems, as London Pride was available, which is what Graham had. I don’t remember what I had. Let me explain why: at the Marquis, I had a pint of Old Rosie, which is 7.3% alcohol. That’s a bit high, considering most ales are around 3.5%. Plus, I hadn’t eaten much, and furthermore, I had another cider at the Sam Smith’s pub.
So there you are. I can’t even remember if it was a Fullers ale or guest ale.
We first sat outside for a bit, and then managed to secure a tall table towards the back of the large pub room. I had my final exam earlier that morning, so I was relieved to have a drink without the worry of studying for an exam. It was the beginning of the decompression, and Graham and I hadn’t had a chance to hang out for damn near months, so we had a lot to talk about. Eventually, we did eat, and I had quite a nice meal that was inexpensive (I remember it being just under a fiver). I think it turned out to be a flatbread sandwich or something.
Man, I really can’t remember.
Aha! It was the falafel flatbread at £4.25 that was an ace deal! Yay, The Crown & Sceptre’s website has their menu, and it helped jog my failing memory. Had I taken a photo of it, I would have remembered what I ordered, but since I was so famished that evening, I must have inhaled that sandwich.
The Crown & Sceptre was really cool. I liked it, and I think it’s a nice place to go that’s in the city centre, but not right on any major streets. I can’t remember how Graham and I stumbled upon it, because I don’t think he had ever been there, either. In any case, I recommend you go. The flatbread sandwich is excellent, and the decor kind of goes for that quirky-cool look that pubs catering to the twenty- and thirty-somethings seem to adopt. I see some design similarities with the menus for The Crown & Sceptre and for The White Hart of Cornwall Street in South London, near Waterloo. Am I right?
I have been blog-hopping as I do from time to time and chanced across your blog. I love your idea of the 100 pubs project, probably because I am attempting a 100 photos project.
I have enjoyed browsing around and I shall be back to check on your progress around London :-)
You’re definitely right about similarities with the White Hart. Both pubs are part of a Mitchells & Butlers unbranded chain; here are some more: http://london.randomness.org.uk/wiki.cgi?Category_Castle_Pubs
Aha! Thanks! The Marquis Cornwallis is on there as well! I should visit the other places if the food is as good as The White Hart and The Crown and Sceptre.