The Jamaica Wine House, Bank, EC3

Randomness Guide to London - Jamaica Wine House entry

Randomness Guide to London - Jamaica Wine House entry

Formerly a coffee house built on the site of the original London coffee house, but renamed as the Wine House in the 1800's. An unusual building built of a kind of red sandstone, one reference I have describes it as Mansfield stone. The external suspended signs are worthy of note. Inside the bar is on an end wall continuous through four areas divided by dark wood partitions. The ornate ceiling is rather different, a section of it being of decorative glass tiles. All the dark wood and the partitioned layout make for a rather gloomy interior, not helped by the location at a junction of narrow lanes preventing much natural light. The front room however has some seating at a ledge in front of the large arched windows. Otherwise seating is at benches and stools. Behind the bar on a top shelf is a collection of jugs, pots, pewter plates and so on. Shepherd Neame beers, a few on, but I have to record that my pint of Early Bird was not in the greatest condition, nor cheap at £3.45. There is a fairly routine food menu with mains between £7-£9 and sandwiches around the £5-£6 mark.

Official page of the Jamaica Wine House at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk

Official page of the Jamaica Wine House at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk

This seems to me to be the same rambling warren of a pub that it was on my previous visit a few years ago. It’s now a Shepherd Neame house with the usual range on offer, except that I did not spot any Kent’s Best, although it might have been lurking in one of the other bars avoiding my notice. Anyway, I had the Late Red which was rather good and I think the best that SN have on offer at this time of the year. But it was at the City normal price of £3.40 a pint. There are several interconnected room, with seating comprising mainly of hard wooden stools at the bars and ledges, with a few tables and chairs. It features in CAMRA’s “Inside Story” book about London pubs with historic interiors worthy of preservation, so expect to see lots of ancient dark mahogany panelling, and some tilework on the ceiling in the middle bar. It’s a City pub, with the clientele that you would expect in such a place, but it’s easily one of the better ones and was not overly crowded during my visit at 1.45 PM on a midweek lunchtime. I got served by a friendly young lady who seemed to be enjoying her job. As I quite enjoy drinking in these old pubs, and enjoy drinking SN ales, I expect I shall drop in for another pint some time.