The Wenlock Arms

This is a comfy neighborhood pub which offers a fire, darts, and a large number is hand pulled cask ales. I only went (twice) for drinks. Neither the conversation or music was loud, and there was plenty of room to find a seat (on a week night).

My new favourite spot.
Good ales, ciders, SUPER FRIENDLY staff and even the clientele that is always around look super nice.
It’s just another pub, maybe, but I like to come here when I have the chance :)

Love this place for being a proper boozer. They serve a good range of interesting beers and good on them that they charge normal, not inflated prices for doing so.
It’s fairly small and fits my rule of being far enough of the beaten track so avoids the hipsterdom of Old St (which is just far enough away and not on the radar, so good). The crowd is nice and it’s mixed which is a good thing. One or two characters at the bar ranting off about god knows what and some locals and people who work nearby so has a good vibe. It’s cosy enough with a few seats on the pavement outside. The staff are great and efficient.
Tip: There’s a secret Gents loo behind the mirrored door to the right of the dart board but be careful not to get a dart in your head on the way in or out.
A favourite pub of mine.

Ended up here when we found that the Narrow Boat was closed for renovations. What a great find! Amazing selection of very local and semi-​local real ales. Completely independent and very cozy, its easy to see how one could enjoy many evenings here.

I don’t get up to this part of the world too much– when I told the barman I lived in Brixton, his colleague smirked «Someone has to».
Which was a bit on the rude side. Besides, Brixton’s got more to do with this part of the world than most parts of London, but I digress.
What this place is, is, a proper old-​style boozer. Hidden away. Funky young and old staff slightly cutting up. Sometimes they have food, sometimes not (and it’s pork curry, ‘cos that’s what they make, and no Sunday Roast about it)
9 (9!) casks. With a board, talking about the beers. From all over, where all over is «a reasonable distance». Two draught ciders, which were good.
Full of tat, but the kind of tat you want to see in a pub. Thank you notes from charities and fundraisers. Poppies with names under ‘em. Clear souvenirs of how the bar came to be. Convivial atmosphere.
Don’t go here, Unilocalies. You’ll ruin it with your custom.

A proper british london pub, with a good selection of real ales, and the odd lager or two for the philistines. Pop in for a point before the gastro pubs take over the universe, and support small independent brewers.

Been here twice now. Great place if you’re into this kind of place. The décor is completely ramshackle and unkept, with no apparent rhyme or reason to things, and a fine layer of dust on top of those things. Tons of great beer and brewer ephemera line the walls and surfaces. The clientele ranges from the old locals in the afternoons to the young professionals in the evenings. The bartenders are qute friendly. The food seems limited to packaged snacks, but probably wouldn’t eat anything from this place, prepared or packaged. And the beer is great. Has a strong selection that changes on a regular basis. I love this place, because I love a certain degree of seediness.

The Wenlock Arms is a dying breed of traditional pubs. Not owned by big brands, it is one of many struggling real ale houses that are at threat of going under. Support this great establishment, and keep an enjoyable part of history going.
Keep them open by voicing yourself on twitter at @savethewenlock and on the blog
. Or by showing up and having a pint at their bar!

The beer selection on tap is stellar, and I love the live music. Nothing beats the atmosphere if you’re in the mood for a real pub with real locals. We’ve never tried the food so cannot offer any opinions on that front.
I just heard a rumour that the pub has been bought out by a developer — can this be true???

Wow, another hidden gem.
The Wenlock is tucked away behind a large council estate and looks a bit tatty on the outside. Well, it’s honestly a little tatty on the inside too, but don’t let that put you off. It is how it is. And it is good. Very good.
The large central bar is absolutely lined with handpumps, whose beer is served by people who seemed to know about the beer they were serving. I wasn’t honestly sure where to start, but because it was cold, fancied a darker ale and was recommended a pint of mild (the name escapes me) and it was delicious. They have a fire on one side of the bar so I was able to warm up by it and sample the beer.
I also noticed that they had Thatchers Cheddar Valley cider on draught too. I’ll have to go back and sample that next time.
In a nutshell, the Wenlock is a no-​frills proper pub with an incredible and ever-​changing range of good beer (and cider). They serve pickled eggs and sandwiches too.
If you love the values of a good old fashioned pub, then you will not be disappointed.

2011 update
I think this place has gone downhill a little bit as it waits to be taken to the knackers yard. The beer is still seriously good and the choices rare, but the smell of the Gents has now taken over about a third of the pub and the disrepair it has fallen into over the years seems to have got worse since the owners are just waiting to sell the place.
I don’t like the live music here either. that I have encountered a couple of times, but that is a question of taste I guess. I go the pub for a chat and I get bored if no-​one can hear each other.
So something of a shadow of its former self, but the original was so good that even the shadow is better than the large majority of the pubs out there!
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2009
Wow, what a fantastic pub this is.
It was about time I got here. I’ve lived locally for a while and had heard about this pub, but I was kind of saving it for when a friend came to visit or some kind of special occasion.
Look at all those ale pumps lined up on the barlike a football team during the national anthem. How cool is that. What a great choicealthough mind the stronger brews! Besides that it does other drinks, but this is really a place for ale.
The appearance is good old fashioned pub, but the atmosphere can sometimes be a bit more modern and friendly, I guess due to the place’s popularity. The seats around the front of the bar look comfyif you can get them as it’s often busy. I’ve been past on a weekend night and the pub is packed and they always seem to having a real good old fashioned knees up.
I might have found a place where I can become a regular, if I can squeeze in!

I can now die happy knowing that I’ve been to what can only be described as a «proper British boozer.»
Build in 1835, the Wenlock Arms is literally too legit to quit. 8 beers on tap, a choice of tap ciders, a bar sponsored cricket and football team, jazz nights, pub quizzes, a section for «dogs of Wenlock» on their website, a «food» menu that involves crisps, salt beef and egg sandwiches, and steak & ale pasties, this is precisely the place I wanted to find in London.
I’ll ask you: Does it get more legit than this gem that I came across on their website:
«Upcoming Events: Old Fogeys
The old Fogeys meet at the Wenlock every Tuesday afternoon. If you are of pensionable age and like beer come along and join in — membership is free.
Alternatively, if you are too young to become an Old Fogey, you can join W’OOFTA (Wenlock ‘Oxton Old Fogeys Tippling Association). Membership, valid for life, costs one pint bought for founder John.»
The answer is clearly no.

Rugged with burnt english bricks the Wenlock Arms reminds me to 50’s and 60’s London. The windows still have partly covered lace curtains. Its busy with the neighbouring businesses that quench and entertain themselves here. Its dark interiors exception of the main bar and the dusky smell give it a cosiness very welcome especially when the weather gets temperamental.
Well known for its ales and cider, and reasonable pub food I suggest a non tepid english experience here.

This is a great little bar, perfect for any of you who work in the area and need some liquid refreshment after a hard day of facebooking and looking busy.
Spread over 3 floors and with a small outside roof garden on 2^nd floor, it may be hard to always find a table but if you do certainly think about settling in for the night.
The bar is well-​stocked with an apple beer my friend loves and the normal stuff for the rest of us. There food is also great. You could opt for any of the well made meals but if there’s a group of you go for the shared tapas. We ordered 8 dishes between 4 of us costing £5 each and there was certainly enough to go round and everything tasted really good. The quesidilla was massive, the chipolata’s really tasty and the haloumi spot on!
Service is very friendly and the place has a nice cosy feel to it. We often end up here after training in the gym, thereby undoing all our good work but enjoying ourselves immensely.
Recommended!

this pub is a great find! and I know many who vote this as one of the best pubs in London. They have 8 beers on tap, as well as a selection of ales and cidres. There is certainly something for everyone!
I have been here a few times, and have always had a pleasurable experience. i slightly old mans pub, yet they sometimes have some amazing jazz musicians which helps funk the place up 300 notches. The artists i have seen here have truley been out of this world, I really recommend coming here.