The Blackfriar, Blackfriars, London

A really unusual pub located close to Blackfriars Bridge and opposite Blackfriars Station. It has big statues of black friars (unsurprisingly) outside and is really spectacular inside as well, if a bit cramped. The food and drink are both good but service is slow at busy times. It can get really busy in the evenings and at weekends so people tend to end up standing out in the street so wrap up warm if you are determined to come here. It is worth coming just to have a look inside really as it is so nice.

This is definitely one of the best pubs in the area. A beautiful old building (saved from demolition lord knows how many times) that always has a busy feel but rarely seems overcrowded - that’s probably down in part to the large outside area that is always popular, especially in summer.

The ales are nothing out of the ordinary (Landlord, Fullers, etc) but it occasionally offers a pleasant surprise with some interesting and uncommon guest ale choices - obviously what you get depends on when you go. The same goes for the food - the sort of pies / fish and chips / ploughmans range you come to expect from this sort of pub.

Staff are invariably good-humoured and deal well with the pressure of a relatively small area and plenty of punters. Hopefully the impending closure of Blackfriars tube station won’t kill off its post-work custom.

Before the smoking ban this pub was a nightmare.

Since it is a joy - it’s a small pub so most of the clientele stay outside (next to a busy motor junction) but the interior of this pub has to be seen to be believed. It is truly amazing.

It was built in 1875 near the site of a thirteenth century Dominican Priory, which gives the area its name and was the inspiration for the pubs design.

The Blackfriar serves a good range of beers, ales and spirits and for a city pub is quite reasonably priced.

You could easily breaking your neck going to the loo though!

Apart from a rather unglamorous location (right on the busy Blackfriars bridge approach - north side of the river) this pub is a bit special. In good weather, city folk crowd the paved area in front of it sipping some of the great wines and knocking back pints of real ale (Timothy Taylor being a favourite).

In the winter though, this pub is at it’s best. The interior is brim full with local history and ornate carvings of, well, friars. You have to see it to believe it really - lots of freshly polished wood, beautiful door frames and a real log fire when it’s cold.

The service is pretty good - almost always with a smile - and the menu is one of the best pub menus I have come across. It is attractively designed, easy to follow and full of choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. with desserts and hot drinks on the list too.

They do a spectacular fish and chips, some great snacks (they don’t give you much hummus with their flatbread and crudites snack but I asked for some more and they willingly complied), proper jacket potatoes…..and pies. I haven’t yet sampled one of their famous pies, but they look fabulous. They have about 10 different choices, all freshly made, with all the trimmings.

Give it a try on a dark September evening.

After a lovely little guided tour around Blackfriars we found ourselves here. I don’t come to Blackfriars often and this pub is cute.

It was a perfect summers evening and the beer flowed freely. For some reason I was drinking shandy. I really have no idea why but I blame summer. Though it means I don’t feel qualified to comment on the quality of the beer. There was ale and lager and usual stuff though. Nothing out of the ordinary that I could see.

The outside courtyard bit was rather lovely. Although the pigeons above in the trees were pesky. There were ten of us there and THREE of us ended up getting pooed on. There was pigeon poo in my hair. I know this isn’t the pubs fault though and actually, it was quite funny.

The pub is very ‘old fake’ as it’s an old theme pub. But it’s got some cool bric a brac and looks fairly interesting. It’s also a welcome change from all the bars around the area chock full of lawyers and city types. It’s amazing how close you are to the city and this pub makes you forget that.

So why only a four? Well I much more intrigued by the little wine cellar bar next door and must go there next time I’m in the area, and when we migrated into the bar it had a really funny ‘loo smell’ which wasn’t nice at all. But the whole experience is making for some interesting tags in this review.