Heading South, Balham Bowls Club

So let’s head South …

As you may know by now I am actually a South Londoner (not originally though) so I do have many favourites down this way.

It’s also great to have so many great pubs to call my local, that are all stumbling distance from home.

I’m going to start in my current hometown Balham, a lovely smallish town about half an hour (by tube) out side of Central London.

A definite recent desirable place to frequent and reside, with some lovely boutique style shops and cafes and have course some great boozers.

First on my list...

The Balham Bowls Club

My first love of Balham, the place where I’ve had many pleasant evenings, met many pleasant people and been to many exciting events.

The history of the Balham Bowls Club is a fascinating one, first established in the late 1800’s and became a social, Bowls club and meeting place for the residents of Balham.

In the beginning ladies were not aloud inside the main building (tut,tut) unless invited by a member and only on special occasions. The ladies were then built a pavilion house out the back were they could meet for maybe they're weekly WI meeting.

The Balham Bowls Club now is just a pub and restaurant but they have tried to hang onto their community spirit, with a display of local events, groups and misalliances posts on their notice board in the hallway.

They are of course apart of the Antic chain of pubs that reside around most south London boroughs these days, but like most of the Antic pubs it does hang on to its individual charm and character, that was once an actual Bowls Club.

With many different rooms/areas to sit and investigate the experience at the bbc is an exciting one. The bar has been kept in a social club nature, small, old school bar top with old wooden frames and metal shutters. 

The beer they have on offer is of a good variety, Heineken, Amstel, Grolsch, Blue Moon, Guinness, Meantime PA and an ever-changing selection of Cask ales on their pumps. Beer prices range from £3.95 — £4.80 for draft beers to £3.50-£4 for cask ales.

They also have a decent wine menu, ranging the regions from France – Argentina; they also stock a good selection of spirits.

The food is very good and offers a variety of hearty food, good to see a seasonal menu and you can’t fault the Sunday roast (served every Sunday 12-4pm),

The restaurant is always packed so get in there quick and reserve if you fancy going for dinner. Food costs £4.50-£8 for starters, £11.50-£20.50 (for a ribeye steak), puddings average around £5.

Every time I go the garden out back gets bigger and on a sunny Balham evening it’s a great place to chill and relax with a pint.

If you do like quiet boozers then I wouldn’t recommend heading here on a weekend, they are normally very busy and it gets very loud. Good days for a quiet pint or date would be a Monday, Wednesday, possibly Thursday and a Sunday evening.

If you like to get involved with something a bit different then why not check out their events, Indeedy Musical Bingo has a monthly regular slot and they're monthly craft and vintage fair is back on Sunday, October 5th 2014, 12-5pm.

Most of their events take place in the fantastic ballroom upstairs and they have even added an extra function room (The Barantini Lounge) for smaller parties.

The staff... What a bunch of lovely folk, young energetic and fun. They do make it a fab place to visit and hang out. This is the main reason for my many returns.

Oh... the Balham Bowls Club, you are close to my heart and will always remain that way, so keep up the good work and keep it rocking.

4.5 pints out of 5

LPD xx

The Balham Bowls Club (not Bowling Club), 7-9 Ramsden Road, Balham, SW12 8QX.

02086734700

www.balhambowlsclub.com

Heading to East London

Over to East London…

As you may know from reading my previous blogings, East London is rather a fond favourite of mine. I’ve made many trips to new resto’s, bars and breweries over East and for the third year running still finding some of my favourite places in London.

I'm now looking to find a mix of cafe's and restaurants who also serve beer, which is mixing two of my favourite things in life... coffee and beer. So firstly I would like to introduce a great little cafe, bar and restaurant The Hackney Pearl, nicely tucked away around the corner from Hackney Wick over ground station and in the heart of Hackney Wick. 

Once you find it you'll have no regrets.

It first opened its doors in 2009 and has kept growing in popularity from then on. Hackney Wick is rather a cool place to be seen with trendy warehouses, studio spaces and a very interesting nightlife, so this trendy little place fits in well.

The feeling is light, open and cosy, with an open kitchen next to the bar.

The bunk seating with vintage cushion covers gives it a great place to chill, drink coffee, use the free WIFI and later meet up with friends.

I enjoyed rather a boozy night here, but had great fun catching up with an old friend and learning about cool places to go round this neighbourhood.

The coffee is delicious here and made to perfection, they take this very seriously and you can tell by the pretty leaf picture created on the top of the foam. They also have an impressive selection of cakes and cookies to nicely add company to your coffee. 

We had cocktails as it was 2-4-1 The Basil Berry Spritz and The Hot Dark & Stormy, which both tasted great and fresh, the hot meaning a chilli kick. They have cocktail happy hour from 5-7pm every Monday to Thursday, so a great way to start your evening during the week.

The cocktail menu is seasonal and so is the delicious food menu so always changing and always new and interesting ingredients to be tried. They make all their own syrups for their cocktails and all their foodie ingredients are sourced locally but often with a European twist.

I was of course happy to see they stocked a healthy selection of craft beers, Meantime on draft (Yakima red, Pilsner and Pale Ale) Pints costing £4.50-£5, bottle beers seemed to be all from London, Beavertown Gamma Ray 5.5% abv, Kernel Table beer 4.8% abv, Five Points Railway Porter 4.8% abv, Pressure Drop pale ale 5.1%. All bottles cost between £4.5-£5 and all from local London Breweries.

If you’re joining them for brunch then I do recommend the brekky bap, a delicious combo of streaky bacon, house made egg mayo & chilli jam, served in a bap with rocket, Also a fond favourite are their scrambled eggs.

Why not check out their menu and see what’s going on here www.thehackneypearl.com.

The Hackney Pearl truly is a fab little gem to the Hackney Wick community and loved by many around the area, if you like good food, good coffee and decent brews then come check it out.

Food prices range from £4-£5 for sandwiches, £5-£9 for brunch, there is a mid-week lunch special for £8, dinner for two people 3 courses with drinks would cost between £70-£90. They also do a set dinner menu mid week two courses for £15 and three courses for £18.

Another great thing about The Hackney Pearl is the staff, they are a great bunch that only want to help and make your experience here a good one to remember. Good work guys!

Hey Hackney Pearl I will be back for more very soon.

4 out of 5 pints.

The Hackney Pearl

11 Prince Edward Road, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5LX

www.thehackneypearl.com

LPD xx

If You're Thirsty For More

Beer Lovers… are you ready??

North, South, East, West, London!

I’m back from another beery quest!

My newest finds, best beers, trendy hangs and some cheeky snacks to keep you going along the way… Sounds good ah??? 
Well if it does then read more…

I’ve been rather busy for the last few months finding the best and newest places to satisfy my beer cravings.

I’ve been to the North, East, West and of course the South of this magnificent city, in order to bring you the finest of London’s newest and best beer hangouts.

So first I venture up to North London, Highbury and Islington to be precise, a short stretch up from the lovely Angel tube station and I’m making my way to find The Taproom.

It was recommended by some North London local friends and is a relatively new craft and cask beer house that opened last July 2013. It was described to me as ‘having loads of beer and right up my street’ so I can barely contain my thirst as I head up towards 163 Upper Street in Islington.

The Taproom Creatively started out as a pop up in 2012, which now has a permanent spot in the very place the vision and dream was created.

It is a truly fantastic and fully dedicated beer haven with the main focus being the back bar with nine cask ales housed in a bespoke glass and chrome stillage with the best local and British ales ready to go, along with a delicious variety of carefully chosen lagers, Pale Ales, Stouts and craft beers. The building is decked out with exposed pipes and striped back brick walls, the occasional artwork by a local artist gives the theme of a Brooklyn warehouse bar. There is a smaller room downstairs for more room to drink, eat and chat, (which also looks as though it could turn into a dance floor on the weekend) but all in all it fits in well with this trendy part of town.

The long bench tables (Imported From Germany) big glass windows and long wooden bar make it a very sociable experience and a great way to get people to chat and share a taster flight of thirds and a beery experience.

They serve some tasty snacks that compliment the beers, the well trained bar tenders will help you chose a bite to eat if you’re not sure what would match?

We tried a selection of Cask and bottle, some of them are as follows; Partridge, by Dark Star Brewery, 4% a classic Bitter and hoppy ale, The Kernel Pale Ale (mentioned before in my previous blog, but always worth another taste) Madness IPA, by Wild Beer Co, 6.8%, west coast hops, warm and dry in flavour. One of my favourites was the Imperial Stout again by Dark Star Brewery, a risky 10.5%, by the bottle, a delicious full packed stout, rich, smooth and long lasting taste of hops and all things good.

The Taproom was a tremendous find and I have already recommended it to many other beer bloggers and friends.

The Average pint will cost between £4-£6 depending on its abv, but you are getting quality, fresh, a high ABV and a few lessons to learn about some fine British beers.

Highly recommended for beer lovers.

4 out or 5 pints.

163 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 1US

Find out more here www.thetaprooms.co.uk

LPD xx

Still up North…

Next I visited SmokeHouse a fresh new craft beer and grill house from a small pub company called Noble Inn’s, again in the delightful Islington.

Slightly off the beaten track you will be happy to discover this gem and be even happier to call this your local.

With top grill chef Neil Rankin in the kitchen, who helped create Pitt Cue Co and other meaty establishments, this really is a match made in heaven.

Beer and meat, probably my two favourite things in the world and wherever these two things are done well, it will always be a hit with me.

The décor is fresh and simple, with animal heads and horns dotted about and some nice big black boards promoting the beer selection of the day.

I couldn’t believe the piano like back bar, which conceded of over 20 craft beer taps and hand written names, it made an interesting change from the usual over the top beer fonts and pump clips. I took my fancy to a few new Beavertown beers I hadn’t tried, Black Betty, the black IPA, at 7.4%, extremely delicious and drinkable on a sunny day, very dark but light in flavour, hoppy with German malt and The famous Gamma Ray, American Pale Ale, 5.4%, using juicy American hops with a big bold taste and aroma.

Both very good, but rather dangerous on an empty stomach.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay for dinner but did try some homemade beef biltong, this went down so well with the Black Betty.

I really love this place and need to come back ASAP for more beer and dinner.

I need to find a meat and beer loving date???

Lovely place with exciting tastes in food and beer.

I’ll be back before you know it Rankin, tasting your food and adding another section to my blog.

Can’t wait to come back for more!

4 out of 5 pints (but only for Beer)

63-69 Canonbury Road, Islington, London, N1 2DG

Find out more here www.smokehouseislington.co.uk

LPD xx