Jugged Hare, EC1

A pleasant looking corner pub with a split level interior, the rear part is set aside for dining whereas the main front of the pub is a little more traditional though slightly up market, with much taxidermy on display. There are two handpumps, one had Sambrooks Junction the other was a house beer, Jugged Hare Pale, also brewed by Sambrooks, a fair to middling pint. Standard keg with a smattering of corporate craft made up the beer offing. An ok pub but nothing special.

Way better than it's previous incarnation as the Kings Head which, as I remember, offered little beyond Greene King IPA. It's now very gastro with a bar area at the front featuring wooden floors, barrel tables and stools as well as a few standard tables and chairs. The larger restaurant area at the back feels separate so sliding in for a pint is not only tolerated but positively encouraged. It's all open kitchens and be-tweeded table service in the restaurant but the menu is interesting and eclectic and the food was very good. The bar staff were decent and very efficient coping admirably with the after work influx. Four handpumps had two from Sambrooks including the house beer alongside Thornbridge Lord Marples and Wild Beer Bibble which was in decent shape. Nothing to frighten the horses here and perhaps that's what's needed in a City boozer. Worth a visit for either a decent pint or an interesting nibble.

Recently reopened as The Jugged Hare, this is a pub which has a history dating back to at least the late 18th century, though clearly rebuilt and probably in the 19th century and was once The Brewery Tap for the neighbouring Whitbread brewery before being renamed as The King's Head. It's also the sister pub to the Chiswell Street Dining Rooms at the end of this short terrace. High-end 'proper' gastropub dining is a big thing here, but it's confined to the restaurant at the rear. Out front, there's really what I'd call a perfectly decent pub with traditional furniture, high and low vinyl-clad barstools with ordinary tables and barrels for tables, which is a bit early 1970s. The place is bare boarded and there's a nice patterned ceiling. Stuffed animals are in abundance (this is a sister pub of The Hat & Tun over the way in Hatton Garden) which I don't mind - some people take offence at taxidermy but are quite happy to enjoy animals served hot on their plate. The bar staff are friendly and decent enough, but as described below, I thought their tweed uniforms were a bit pretentious. A generally civilised place, there are no TVs and certainly no games machines. Jazz played over the gramophone at a level which was just a tad too loud for my liking. Clients seemed to be a good mix, comprising locals, merchant bankers and students from the nearby Guildhall School of Music. Ales: typically around three on rotation along with their stalwart, Jugged Hare Pale Ale (rebadged Sambrook's) at an astonishing £4.00 a pint and not a bad drop too. I'd certainly come here again if in the area as it makes for a decent double with The Two Brewers and - selectively a triple - The Artillery Arms.

They had three ales on in here - Moor Brewing Raw; Jugged Hare Pale Ale (the barman didn't know who brewed it, but it's Sambrooks according to Tris C); and Birdie Finger Red Ale (£2.10 a half). The latter ale was really very good, and is the sort of rich ale that I like. This is still pretty much as the previous reviewer found it. It's essentially a pub of two halves - at the front is the bar area with some small round stools at normal tables, and tall stools at enormous barrels doubling as tall tables. At the right, to the rear, is the dining room, guarded by an old butcher's block doing service as a reservations desk. I didn't explore it in depth, although one has to cross the threshold to reach the toilets downstairs on the right. Downstairs I spotted a private dining room, which was occupied by a large group enjoying their office Christmas dinner I guess. There were menus on the tables in the bar area - the cheapest main course was the "Carver's Perk's rotisserie roll" plus chips at £12, but everything else was over £16. The bar counter looked an original Victorian feature, as did the attractive and most unusual canopy on the ceiling above the servery. The taxidermy is still present, with an array of stuffed animals (including hares of course) in glass cases behind the bar, plus a couple of large stag's heads mounted on the walls. Although this place does have a functioning bar area, it really is mainly a restaurant now. Even in the bar area a small group had a bottle of something fizzy served to them at their barrel. I didn't think it the most comfortable place for a drink as I prefer to sit on a chair rather than a stool, and with the waiters providing table service bustling around the bar. But the Birdie Finger Red Ale was superb.

Corner pub comprising a 'L'-shaped bar with a restaurant beyond. Semi-traditional in most ways, but the stuffed birds and animals behind the bar and elsewhere are the deliberate eye-catching features. Also features a smaller downstairs bar and other rooms for private functions. Four real ales of different styles on handpump: the 'house' pale ale, Adnams Southwold and two from Long Arm - IPA OK and Shadow Wolf stout (£4.35).