London: Beer & Custard
 

I'm going to be in London next week for a couple of weeks and have am wondering:

I love beer and am an occasional home brewer and have been looking for information on whether there are many (any?) brewpubs in London. I know of CAMRA and "real ale" but would really like to find some ales that are brewed on-site and can't be found anywhere else. Any tips would be appreciated.

And now kind of a silly question: My wife and I enjoy the series "As Time Goes By" - the Lionel character enjoys eating custard tarts and I'm wondering if these are readily available in the stores? Are they packaged up like our Hostess fruit pies or with the cookies or in the frozen section?

Thanks!

There are some brewpubs in London but they seem to come and go fairly quickly. This website has a list to start you out. http://www.johnamer.freeserve.co.uk/london.htm Camra's Good Beer Guide has a list of brewpubs and breweries in the back -- we've used that on many trips (and the Good Pub Guide will often list brewpubs, although not systematically). A few weeks ago there was a post about favorite pubs, you might look there -- although imo it was a pretty typical list. We've not visited Zero Degrees http://www.zerodegrees-microbrewery.co.uk/. The Porterhouse brews their beers in Dublin, but their location near Covent Gardens is worth remembering.

Although not a brewpub, the Jerusalem Tavern is the London tap for the St. Peter's Brewery and it is worth visiting. They brew a wide selection of innovative good beer.

It is possible to find London pubs with more than just Fuller's or Young's, but you've got to make an effort. Have a great trip and post your list of pubs and beers for us!

"eating custard tarts and I'm wondering if these are readily available in the stores? Are they packaged up like our Hostess fruit pies or with the cookies or in the frozen section?"
The custard tarts will be in the cream cake section in most supermarkets or bakeries.

Hi
You are sure to spot Marks and Spencers shops when in London. Head for the food section, and then the chilled cakes/pies etc. They do packs of 4 custard tarts for 99p, and they are the best!

You could also try

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001113.asp
http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk...ustardtart.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/life...ard_tart.shtml

Thanks for the responses!

The Porterhouse definitely sounds like it's worth a visit or two.

For others looking in on this thread here's a couple of links to good pub guides that I've found:
http://www.pubs.com/
http://www.fancyapint.com/

I think I will try to keep a pub diary and report back here.

The last time I was in the Porterhouse they had no real ale on and the staff looked liked they didn't know one end of a handpump from the other.

London is not big on brew pubs but there used to be an organic brewery out near The White Horse (a fine pub in it's own right and known to the locals as the Sloaney Pony!) on Parsons Green.

Two pubs worth a detour:
1) The Seven Stars in Carey Street behind the Law Courts in the Strand. Tiny with great home cooking and run by the wonderful Roxy Beaujoulis.

2) The Guinea Pub & Grill in Mayfair. A Youngs pub with the best Steak & Kidney pies in the land (Officialy!)

There's also the Ship & Shovel under the arches at Charing Cross (Hall & Woodhouse beers - unusual in London) and the Wenlock Arms not far from Old Street Station, a true local with jazz and a great beer range.

Wherever you are staying, you won't be far from a good pint and if you want a local (well, Watford) to buy you one, please contact me at [email protected] or
[email protected]

The search function on this forum drives me crazy sometimes. A year or two ago I posted a question myself (it might have been part of another thread) about Lionel and his custard tarts.
I've tried to find the topic via all kinds of reasonable searches but I can't find it. Anyway, the essence of it was that these are indeed supermarket items, a little old-fashioned, but still available.

Elaine, is this what you were looking for? http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...&tid=87162

Time flies, 5 years ago!

Custard tarts are usually soggy pastry with some overly eggy anaemic slime in the centre. They're vile, don't waste your time on them. Have some patisserie at Sketch that far surpasses these revolting affairs.

ron
that is indeed it, and I apologize for my crankiness to the search function, because that thread title had come up in my search and I dismissed it, thought it was too old! It's my brain that's too old.
thanks

Hi
Your previous poster has obviously had bad experience with custard tarts! They ARE an acquired taste, and you have to get over the texture which, I confess, could be described as cold slime. However.........the Marks and Spencers ones are very nice - short, crisp pastry, a lightly flavoured egg custard filling and then a dusting of nutmeg on the top. They are generally eaten cold or room temperature. And if you don't like them at least you've tried! I don't know the TV programme you are referring to, but egg custard tarts are generally considered quite an old-fashioned thing to eat - in other words not trendy! A bit like vanilla slices (Mmmmmm) but they need a thread all to themselves! But the fact that egg custard tarts have been around so long shows that there is still a market for them.
M

Homer Simpson Voice: "Mmmm... soggy pastry with some overly eggy anaemic slime" :-)

No, I didn't expect custard tarts to be the pinnacle of pastries but since we're staying in a self-catering apartment, I thought it would be fun to give them a try.

The TV show, "As Time Goes By" (as it's called here when shown in the US) starred Judy Dench as Jean Pargeter and Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel Hardcastle.

It makes sense that custard tarts are considered old fashioned and that Lionel liked them as his character was very curmudgeonly and old-fashioned.

Out London adventure begins tomorrow!

They used to sell a custard pie, which I could never really tell from the smaller custard tarts, at the Tippins Pantry chain here in the mid-US. Not so easy to find now, but we still look, as my wife misses them (I find them just ok).

They're tucked into the rack of many small bakeries there still.

The Orange Pub in Pimlico make there own beer and dish up good food. There is also a modern brew 'BAR' at the bottom end of Great Portland Street near Oxforn Circus but the name escapes me. One at Seven Dials Covent Garden. Freedom Brewery i think. For custard pies look to a bakery shop take makes cakes. The big food halls in Harrods and Selfrides are also good.
Good Trip,
Richard
http://www.franceinfocus.net

I think the Orange stopped brewing a couple of years ago, although we didn't visit on our trip last summer.

I can only speak for the poster house in Dublin but you should like it. They have a large selection and provide beers from around the world ao you can try many different beers on offer. A beer lover will like this place.

I, too, love the show, 'As Time Goes By', as it closely follows my own parent's story. They fell in love, conceived me, drifted apart for 30 years, and left it up to ME to find him again and get them together -- at which point they finally married :D

The whole story is here, for those interested (it's quite romantic, really)...

http://members.fortunecity.com/green...hotoalbum.html