The Bowler, Clerkenwell  

This site has seen a few pubs over the years, one of which was the Surprise, a Brakspear pub. There's still a Brakspear beer on tap at the Bowler, though that's one of the few links to the past here. No surprise then, to find this one following in the footsteps of The Eagle (and The Gunmakers, The Easton, The Green, The Coach & Horses etc etc) as another Clerkenwell watering hole reborn as a gastropub. At the Bowler though, there's a clear demarcation between bar and restaurant area, so that diners and drinkers needn't get in each others way. Oh, and the CDs aired on our visit were a cut above your usual 'Now That's What I Call Gastro' compilations. It's not a bad place all in all, but does this neck of the woods really need another gastropub? And can this one flutter its eyelashes enough so that the Guardian - based just around the corner of course - will put in a good word about it in its food pages? We'll wait and see.

reviewed:
02/10/2005

pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)

a few tables on the pavement

separate restaurant

disabled facilities

ATM on premises

WiFi hotspot

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