Cittie of Yorke, WC1

An attractive, but perhaps a little unassuming from the outside, this pub certainly lulls you in to a false sense of security. Approaching from the street, you enter down a passageway with a cellar bar off to your left, although this was unfortunately closed on our visit. Beyond this, it opens up in to quite a splendid high ceilinged room, almost like some sort of old castle’s dining room. As you enter, the bar counter runs on the left hand side, and racked up above this are some massive old barrels that were presumably used for brewing at one time. A notice did say that this is the only London pub that serves cask ale from wooden barrels, but going on the size of them I can’t imagine that these are anything other than decorative. Opposite the bar counter is a line of booths for more private seating. These were quite enclosed, other than the entrance doorway and seated about four to six people. A very unusual feature and it was a shame that they were all in use when we visited. Beyond this the pub narrows a little and there were a few more booths down here, one of which housed a darts board. There was a very high and impressive arched ceiling with some stained glass at the far end which included the brewer’s logo. The flooring was wood strip and there was much wood panelling on the walls as well. Being a Sam Smith’s pub, the only real ale on was their Old Brewery Bitter, although to be fair this seemed to be a pretty decent pint. The solitary cider was also their own. All in all, a “must visit” pub for the architecture, if not the beer selection.

This pub is a total one off. I'm not a great fan of Sam Smiths beer but I'm a big fan of the way they look after their pubs. The back bar is a massive baronial drinking hall, with vast barrels above the bar. I believe these were in use until the 2nd World War blitz made it too dangerous to have huge quantities of flammable liquid above the staff & customers. Also has a strange triangular heater in the middle of the room and churchlike alcoves down one side. It's a very impressive place. Go in the afternoon 2 - 5 or after 7 to see it though, as it's very popular at lunchtime and after the offices close.