George Inn

In attempt to share my love of beer to those who read the blog, I am going to try and share my experiences about a different pub about once a week, discuss the beer and the vibe and tell you my (and usually Erin's) verdict. We've been to a good dozen old pubs in our three weeks here, but I wanted to find a truly great pub to start out this series that will extend until play time is over and its time to go home. Most of the info I'll include these posts is from my observations, talking with locals or barmen, or consulting the Good Pub Guide or various pub websites. However, it sounds like Cooper Irish Pub is a good 1st ring Minneapolis suburb substitute for the 300 year old pub experiences I will share. Congrats Kieran on another Mpls pub opening.

On to the older stuff.  George Inn is a London institution dating to the 16th century, yes thats the 1500's my friends. It is London's only surviving galleried Coaching Inn just off the foot of the London bridge, easily accessible from the London Bridge tube station. Once you get off the tube, take the Borough High Street exit and head left along Borough High Street for about 1.5 blocks and you'll see a gate and barely catch a glimpse of the 300+ year old pub from the street. Take a left to the lively courtyard with several long picnic tables where you can enjoy your pint outside on hospitable days and evenings, the view from the courtyard is perhaps the best, with the creaky bar and her well preserved galleries at your back.

The George is owned by the National Trust, with the current bar dating to 1676, rebuilt after the great Southwark fire of 1676, and when approaching and entering, there's no question why the National Trust took it over, as the atmosphere takes over when you approach and enter the bar; one can easily imagine Charles Dickens sitting in the coffee room, where he is rumored to have spent countless hours during his days in the city. You can definitely picture the carriages from the days of old pulling up to the pub and tipping back a couple before moving on to their destinations. Unfortunately the "old bar" was closed on Saturday afternoon when we visited, but we found a great nook in one of the several other cozy rooms to cuddle into our beers for an hour. I'd like to go back in front of the fire and play a game of steel-tipped darts in the old bar.

The beer itself is relatively standard by English standards, with all the Greene King beers on hand pump (which is obviously cool itself), including IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Royal London Traditional Ale, and the George Inn Ale, also brewed by Greene King.  There are 1-2 others on CO2, but who cares when you can have a traditional hand pumped ale.  I tried the George Inn Ale, which was a fairly standard english ale, but I am not usually one to send back a beer.  Erin had the Royal London, which had a similar result. Given the choice of the Greene King beers, I'd go for the IPA or the Abbot, which posses much more character.

All in all I would highly recommend the pub, if anything for the galleries, which are truly unique to a pub in our day, let alone central London. Combine it with a trip to the famous and nearby Borough Market, which is open Thursday to Saturday and has a lot of everything you would possible want to eat for lunch, or bring home to make a dinner or picnic.

George Inn
The George Inn Yard, 77 Borough High Street, Southwark, London SE1 1NH
Telephone +44 (0) 207 407 2056