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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Detail Pages
Woodins Shades, Bishopsgate, EC2
EC2
EC2M 4PT
Pub Type
Nicholsons (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Woodins Shades
Nicholson's pub on a street corner, with Dirty Dicks just across the side road and Liverpool Street station just over the other side of Bishopsgate.
Its convenient location always ensures that there will be a few people in.
I've been less than impressed with the Nicholson's chain of late and this visit further cemented my views. St Austell Nicholson's Pale Ale & Sharp's Doom Bar are the regular ales. Guests were Fuller's London Pride & Titanic Plum Porter.
The Plum Porter was a slight bonus on what I was expecting. But the foreign barmaid looked fairly clueless. When I asked for a half of the Plum Porter, she immediately rang it up on the till as £5.10, at which I replied I wouldn't pay that amount. That seemed to horrify her. But I honestly was not going to pay this amount for a half.
Clearly language was the barrier here and once I'd managed to communicate that it was only a half that I wanted, the price became much more reasonable. However, she still struggled to find the correct handpull to use for the Porter. A very simple task was made much more difficult than it needed to be.
The pub will always appeal due to its location. But walking a little further away from the station is beneficial for a better drink.
On 16th March 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Delboy 20 left this review about Woodins Shades
Very busy on my Sunday morning visit with a lot of football fans having a pre match drink. I could only see 2 beers on with a few clips turned round. The choice was London Pride or Wainwright's. I went for the latter at the strange price of £5.05 a pint. It was drinkable but not great. Handy for the station but not worth seeking out.
On 6th October 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1656 recommendations about 1556 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Woodins Shades
A good sized Nicholson’s pub on a street corner plot just around the corner from Liverpool Street station, it consists of one single, open plan room although with some small wooden partitions incorporating stained glass to break up the space slightly.
It is perhaps slightly gloomy internally with dark blue/grey wood panelling on the lower part of the walls, the same colour plasterwork above and a very dark ceiling, although this is offset to some extent by the large windows. Narrow wooden boards were on the floor and there were a few iron supporting pillars for the high ceiling and a small fireplace at one end, although this was not in use. The long bar counter covered most of one wall, and there was some ornately carved woodwork behind this.
Beers on tap were Black Isle’s 20 Hours of Daylight, Sharp’s Atlantic, Doom Bar, London Pride, Nicholson’s Pale Ale, London Brewing’s Flying The Mags and West Berkshire’s Good Old Boy. The solitary cider meanwhile was Mortimer’s Orchard. Overall, whilst there was certainly nothing wrong with this pub, I thought it lacked much in the way of any character, and is certainly less interesting than many of the company’s other outlets.
On 8th May 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1947 recommendations about 1860 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Woodins Shades
This pub dates from at least the mid-19th century when the landlord was a one William Woodin and rebuilt in 1893.
This used to be a regular haunt for me around 20 years ago, due to convenience for meeting up rather than quality. I stopped coming here around 10 years ago when after visiting and buying a half out of desperation to use the lave, only to find out that it was out of order - out of order indeed.
A return the other night and it's clear that some reordering and renovation has been undertaken, with the interior a restrained blend of the old and new, typical of many a Nicholson's pub, with a modern bare floor and conventional furniture but with flashing games' machines and two TVs showing the Arsenal v. Watford match and generating much exuberance but not as much as the large group of drinkers, oblivious to the action but perhaps a little too well oiled.
Fairly gloomy inside, there were eight pumps on the bar and I plumped for a half of the Robinsons Blonde, James Blonde at a reasonable £2.30 and in good nick.
This pub is certainly better than Dirty Dicks, opposite, but it's not great and I find no compelling reason to return, especially in light of better hostelries over the border in E1.
On 16th April 2019
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Woodins Shades
A fairly simple Nicholsons pub with one medium-sized room in dark paintwork, offset by large windows. There is a also a dining room upstairs. A fair range of beers: Siren Broken Dream Breakfast Stout, Hawkshead Pale, Fyne Ales Yarl, a charity brew and Landlord alongside the usual London Pride, Doom Bar and the St Austell house ale. Didn't feel like somewhere you would want to spend the evening in, but fine for a passing visit.
On 14th March 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Woodins Shades
Thankfully much improved since my last visit in 2008, which just reinforced my previous experiences of poor beer quality. However, this time I found a good selection of interesting beers from the seven handpumps, and my pint of the Scottish Borders Brewery's unusual Wild Harvest (£3.80, brewed using sea buckthorn) was first class. As a City 'vertical drinking house' there is only a limited amount of furniture except towards the rear of the bar area, but there is also the Traders' bar and dining room upstairs, all with the attractive traditional furniture and decor that one would expect. Like many other Nicholsons, this place has upped its game in recent years and thus rating increased accordingly.
On 8th March 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Woodins Shades
Nicholsons pub, located a few yards from Liverpool St station. Black exterior with a lovely stained glass panel above the door containing the pub name. Internally, it’s a long room with some partitioned booth seating (with nice glass panelling in the booths) running along one wall. The dark wooden bar back is a lovely specimen. There’s a dining room (‘Traders Bar’) upstairs, unexplored by me. A full set of seven ales at the bar (ETA’s eye must have been playing tricks!) with interesting guests, a number of which were Scottish. My Dark Dunster was very good and the follow-up of Scottish Borders Wild Harvest was even better, impressive given it wasn’t too far past midday. I felt the service was a little gruff and slapdash – I had to correct being short-changed. Service aside, I thought that this was a good visit overall and if this is the average beer quality I’d happily drop by again.
On 25th February 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Woodins Shades
A large Nicholson's corner pub which still has a cosy feel to it despite being busy and on the main drag. The interior is well restored and sympathetic to the historic building. The staff were friendly and in some cases easy on the eye. The clientele were mostly well-behaved and included diners, passers-by and a bunch of middle-aged pub crawlers. There only seemed to be 4 ales on, but we were invited to try a couple before buying. I had Scottish Borders Wild Harvest and Broughton's Dark Dunster, both in superb condition. Handy for Liverpool St Station and a good addition to a crawl.
On 14th February 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3281 recommendations about 3246 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Woodins Shades
If you're a regular in a London Nicholson's outlet, this one's not going to hold too many surprises for you: lots of dark wood, a bit of history, a reasonable food offering (this one has a dining room upstairs as well as the bar meals). And, of course, some reasonable beer: 2 of the 7 pumps offered Doom Bar & London Pride, but the other 5 were a bit more left-field and enjoyed by all. The keg taps were a little more interesting than most pubs, with Blue Moon among the offerings.
Our Saturday lunchtime visit probably found the pub at its best. Given the proximity to Liverpool Street Station, I suspect Friday at 5.30 may be somewhat different.
On 11th February 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Woodins Shades
A decent pub in a typical Nicholsons style, seven handpumps dispensed a few usual suspects but there was also two or three more interesting beers in evidence,I tried a Scottish Borders Wild Harvest(made with Sea Buckthorn)and Broughton Dark Dunter, both were well kept,certainly worth inclusion on a crawl of the area.
On 10th February 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]