The Water Poet

This place was a real surprise to me. I’d never heard of it, but as I walked in I was greeted by a lovely collections of barmaids….but wait….that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. This pub has several distinct areas, including an outside area, most of which is sheltered. The décor is really unique. I’m not good at describing it, because interior design is not my strong suit, but if I was trying to sound intelligent I might say that I appreciated their use of mirrors. Whatever…it is different….in a part of town where you can be beaten to death by conformity.

I went here for the 2 for 1 lunch today with high expectations since I really enjoy the Water Poet as a pub. Immediately we could see that there was not enough staff and when we did order our food took a fairly long time to arrive (a 1 hour lunch became a 2 hour ordeal, and that’s not because we were enjoying ourselves so much in the 30 degree heat that we lost track of time). Our shared starter was a beetroot, greens, and goats curd salad which was literally a 1/4 of a bag of spinach, one beet quartered, and about 6 oz of goat curd splattered with some balsamic vinaigrette (stingy). For our mains I ordered salmon and my friend ordered the burger… the fish was questionably cooked (just short of raw) and his burger was cooked to death (medium rare fish and well cooked beef sounds to be the opposite of what one would want…). They were nice enough to take my fish back and redo it. I think the sticky toffee pudding (and cold beer/cider) was the saving grace of the meal.

I really do find the Water Poet to be a great pub with original, eclectic decor and a decent crowd, but I will NOT be returning her for their 2 for 1 lunch if I can help it. Even at 2 for 1 it is NOT worth the £££.

Great city pub with huge sheltered smoking area for those of us still unwilling to give it up. It gets very busy at night but there is generally enough staff working to cope with the bar.

Was there on Sunday and I enjoy the pub itself but the meal was way below par for the price. The mackerel starter was cracking, and the lamb meat was delish (although I like mine with a bit of salt and garlic) but the roast potatoes and veg was awful and let down the whole meal - All the veg was undercooked and the yorkshire pudding was sloggy and presented like slop on a plate.

They were super busy and maybe the kitchen was overworked but its a shame as if they sort out their kitchen and Front of House services this would be a cracking pub. Keep the head chef but give the sous chef a whack on the head with the soup ladle for making school boy errors.

Love this spot! Have come for a 2 for 1 lunch twice which is the best time to go for grub. The steak sandwich is lovely (slightly touch but you get a good hunk of steak) and the gorgonzola lasgna is cheesy gooey delicousness. Good food and great cozy pub atmosphere. Gets rammed after work which is always good fun for a wind-down pint.

Great space with huge outdoor lounge area. Avoid avoid avoid on week nights when the place is overrun by suits, it's a great place to chill on the weekend - particularly on Sunday when they have a very good selection of roasts.

The layout is quite quirky with lots of little rooms - only down side is that they occasionally throw in a bad pop song and there is a TV showing sport, but it is easy enough to avoid that by finding one of the many other rooms to sit in.

The Water Poet, Spitalfields, London is a quaint pub and restaurant. We got rib-eye steak sandwiches were perfectly cooked - and gigantic!!! Fab desserts of Bailey's and white chocolate cheesecake, and a sticky toffee pudding (one of the best I have tasted). Pleasant staff. Pub has a nice patio area, which will be great in summer (also had patio heaters when we went). We will definitely be going back.

Top, top boozer this and I don't even booze (which is story in itself if you've ever got a couple of years to spare, believe me).

Anyways, The Water Poet is huge and spacious and friendly and manages to be located bang in the heart of the city and yet remains as warm and friendly as a saucy Cornish fisherman whose necked one too many drug-laced rums. The Sunday roast is damn impressive, and the landlord being of good Irish stock insists on sourcing only the most succulent and finest of meats.

Venue wise, there's a downstairs room that makes a perfect location for a private shindig and often hosts events (Witty in the City used to be here), a pleasant outdoor terrace that doubles as smoking area and a pool table. Combined with the aforementioned hearty welcome, a better pub in our very own financial zone you'll be hard pushed to find.

Very nice pub with a good atmosphere. A place where you can easily spend a lot of time.

Food wise it's not bad, I've only tried the fish and chips but it is pretty good with nice light beer batter and a very well cooked fish inside.

If I am in the Liverpool St. area and in the mood for fish and chips or just a nice pub to go to this is a very good choice.

A fantastic pub hidden away a few mins from Liverpool Street station.
The massive beer garden out the back is the real pull for me, great place for a smoke

This might be my new favourite pub in london. Really good food in absolutely massive portions and 2 course for £10 at lunch. I had the steak sandwich with chips which was delish and Baileys and white chocolate cheesecake.This didn't taste of baileys at all so while it was a very nice cheescake next time I might pick the sticky toffee pud instead. Book because it's rammed and ask for a table along the side, if you sit in the middle you get jostled by all the servers. The chairs were a bit uncomfy but really that's my only quibble. Lovely friendly service too.

Great pub just on the tip of The City, which manages to strike a great balance between City and Shoreditch, without melding the two together uncomfortably.

There are 3 separate rooms, housing a dining area, pool table area and general boozing area

There is also an excellent outside area that has two covered sections.

Food is also very very good, and they do a great deal of two courses for £10

This pub is located conveniently near where I work, so it's the common after work pint stop. While the 5-8p rush can fill the place quickly, coming for lunch (especially in the summer in their massive outdoor space) or a Sunday roast is definitely worth the stop. The food, especially the roasts, are well prepared in typical British fashion. The burgers are also quite tasty and filling.
The staff is always polite and on-the-ball, which makes the place all the more enjoyable.

A city pub but not really full of "city boys". A bespoke charming bar, pub, restaurant with an awesome outdoor area for the smokers. Had a great night last night..cool staff as well.

We only came across this quirky pub by chance wondering around looking for the Dennis Severs’ House and glad we did. The staff are very chatty, friendly and they know how to keep their customers happy. The London Pride wasn’t pulling well and they got it sorted out no moans or groans, and kept us chatting away. Ordered some food which came quickly. Décor is a strange mix, look out for the manikins heads, freaky but fun, comfortable seating and large dinning area. A pub to visit again for sure. Could be busy for mid-week lunch time with city workers.

I’ve given it a '2’ in price because, while it is very pricey (about £13 for a roast dinner!) it is absolutely delicious!

I took my sister here for her 15th birthday so didn’t want to make a fuss when they charged me for the food, but, in fairness, I didn’t really mind by the time I finished eating it. Large portions, succulent meat and wonderful stuffing along with all the sexy trimmings!

Next time I’ll stick to tap water though ;-)

A very nice pub. Good quality bar food plus a sperate restaurant. Big beer garden in enclosed courtyard. Well kept beers, even a couple of pool tables. All the qualities of a traditional pub with god, fresh food and excellent service. A nice escape from the noise and bustle of Bishopsgate.

I’ve been going to the Water Poet since before it was even being called the Water Poet. Back in those days, it was a lot dingier and there was some classy pornographic graffiti in in the mens loos downstairs. If you organised drinks there, half the crowd would get confused and go to the other Poet down the road. Nowadays its a lot cleaner, with more TV screens but the vibe is still the same. The staff are friendly, and there is an excellent little beer garden at the back - a small haven in the noisy city. On weekends in the summer they fire up a barbecue. Hehe, once upon a time you could ask the barman for his homebrew chilli vodka.. now that was an experience!

I’m always wary about venturing into the City for a drink so I was pleasantly surprised by this place. It’s a strange mix of Hoxton cool and functional city bar. We headed to the back room which has its own bar (and you don’t have to queue - it’s like no one knows it’s there!) which is far more pleasant than the packed out main section of the pub. And the reason this place has a 4th star is that they have a large covered outdoor bit, with tables and chairs and lights and heaters which is probably the most civilised set up for smokers I’ve ever encountered! Plus there was a paved garden area too. Nice decoration, and if you shut your eyes you can forget that you’re surrounded by suits.

Can a pub be too perfect? Yes in this case. During the week it’s a scrum at the bar and if there’s a football match on forget about having a quiet conversation about Boris Johnson’s latest blunder. Having said that there’s often good comedy on during the week and at weekends it’s a different story. The beer garden is massive which is a rare treat for this part of London and there’s the usual selection of premium beers including Leffe. The sunday roast is just over a tenner but it’s certainly up to scratch.

Give it a try but check the latest football schedule first…