Wenlock Arms, City Road

pub details:

print this

tell your friends:

location:

City Road

address:

26 Wenlock Road, N1 7TA

phone:

0871 258 6253*
* calls cost 10p/minute, click here for more about 0871 numbers.

nearest stations:

Old Street railway station London Underground station
(770m) - zone 1

Angel London Underground station
(820m) - zone 1

Essex Road railway station
(1Km) - zone 2

Barbican railway station London Underground station
(1.2Km) - zone 1

Farringdon railway station London Underground station
(1.4Km) - zone 1

bus route:

394

how to find it:

On leaving Angel tube turn left and walk down to the junction and head right down City Road. After a ten minute walk or so, turn left up Windsor Terrace which leads on to Wenlock Road. From Old Street tube: follow the exit for Moorfields Eye Hospital and walk up the road to the Hospital. Pass the hospital then turn right up Shepherdess Walk. Then it's a left on on to Micawber Street and a right up Wenlock Road.

click for directions to Wenlock Arms from wherever you are

click here for a larger map

nearby attraction(s):

Host Gallery (850m)

Sadler's Wells Theatre (870m)

Bunhill Fields (930m)

Street View - click to see the area around the Wenlock Arms

On paper this pub could be awful: hidden off the City Road and hard to find, its in an area filled with factories, warehouses and a council estate. Once part of the Wenlock Brewery Co., which used to be situated in this road, the décor doesn't appear to have been updated since the brewery was closed by Bass in 1962. Once you've found it, however, it's a gem. Boasting the largest selection of real ales in North London, you'll easily find quirkily-named, rare brews from obscure companies. The turnover is pretty high, so the selection could well entirely change between visits - even in the same week. Weekend nights are especially popular, with a trio of elderly gents usually in residence playing some fine jazz, while the Thursday quiz night attracts the crowds to an already very busy pub. The locals create a genuinely friendly atmosphere, just like a real pub should, but it also comfortably caters for younger, newer N1 residents and a regular stream of CAMRA members. Highly recommended, with one minor reservation; there's a rather pervasive smell of the bogs everywhere in the pub. It's something we've noticed in one or two other real ale emporia, why is this? It's almost a case for bringing back smoking. Nevertheless, it's probably worth it to try some interesting brews you won't find in many other pubs. Oh, and don't flash your 2,000 quid laptop around on the way there.

reviewed:
10/03/2010