The Ship, Monument, EC3

One of a number of pubs tucked away down little alleyways in this part of the city, the Ship is a deceptively small Nicholsons pub. The pub is nestled in the crook of the alleyway as it turns ninety degrees midway along, thereby giving it a curved frontage and a wide but very shallow arc-shaped interior. The room is bare boarded and has a servery which follows the shape of the room along the back wall. The bar has a dark wood counter and matching canopy with etched glass end panes plus an arched bar back with a smart Nicholsons mirror and a nice decorative relief carved frieze around the top. High stools serve the sills under the modern Nicholsons branded front windows and there are a few high tables and stools at the extremities. The walls have been painted in dark shades which compliments the dark wood fittings throughout but can make for quite a gloomy interior when there's not much natural light reaching the alleyway. A shelving unit to the right was labelled the 'Beer Library', and seemed to have some old Good Beer Guides and other beer related books plus a few tankards but the shelves are far too high to reach, so I'm not sure what the point is. There is a staircase to the far right end of the room with some nice etched glass images of a ship in the adjacent doorway and windows. The stairs lead up to a first floor dining room - a Nicholsons staple feature but one that I didn't explore. Walls throughout the pub are decorated with old photographs and snippets of local interest information such as the fact that the original pub that stood on this site was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and that the current pub was named for the dockers who used to drink here. TV screens at each end of the room were showing a muted news channel and there was a quiet soundtrack playing under the hum of conversation. With this being Central London, more customers were drinking in the alleyway than in the pub itself. The beer range was a little pedestrian, comprising Nicholsons Pale Ale, Fullers London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar, Timothy Taylor Dark Mild, Cotleigh Osprey and Robinsons Trooper. Two more beers were clipped but on enquiry turned out to be 'coming soon' - Sharps Atlantic and Adnams Fat Sprat. The Trooper was a tad pricey at £4.60 a pint but was in decent enough shape and went down well after a brisk walk across London Bridge in the sun to get here. This sort of pub will be familiar to anyone who has visited any of Nicholsons' more modest London pubs, offering a pleasant enough interior with minimal seating, plenty of room for vertical drinking and a half decent range of reasonably well kept ales. It's all a bit average, but still represents a much better prospect than the majority of the city's pubs and bars. There are pubs with grander interiors and wider beer ranges within easy reach of this place, but it's a good option to have if you want a change from the usual suspects.

I had a pint of Tickety Brew Session IPA - a tad expensive at £4.60 for a 3.5% ABV beer. It was a bit tired and lifeless, but drinkable nonetheless. This is a Nicholson's house, so there were several other ales on. Sarnies start at £6.75 for the fish finger, up to £9.95 for the steak and rarebit. The Classic Burger, with Cheddar cheese sauce and chips is £10.25. There is what must be a more formal restaurant upstairs as table service is advertised, but I didn't explore it. On the heritage front, the bar counter looks original, but I suspect that the snob screens on the left are modern additions as they look too small to serve the function of originals. There's a vestibule on the right which is possibly an old piece, but the glazing in it is fairly modern even if the ship motifs depicted in it are quite attractive. The bar back, plus the wooden frieze at cornice level surmounting paneled mirrors also looks original. It's heartening that at least a few original features have survived in here. Although the pub is tucked away down an alleyway just off the main streets, it's clearly a favoured drinking hole for well-heeled City types. And who can blame them as it is one of the better pubs in the area? It has a fairly long frontage (for an alleyway pub) but has no real depth so is smaller than it appears from the outside. The only furnishings in the main bar area are tall stools at tall tables and ledges alongside the windows. It was very busy by 12.30 on Wednesday lunchtime - as you would expect. As far as the clientele are concerned it's a typical City pub; but it is one of the better ones.

Nicholson's pub that is tucked away on an alleyway. Quite a small and plain interior by Nicholson's standards didn't visit upstairs.

Tiny old fashioned pub hidden away up an alley. Good range of beers on offer.

Second pub on our afternoon crawl and spent quite a while walking around in circles and asking people for directions before finding it tucked down a little side street - but well worth the wait. Good range of ales - the Pride was spot-on. Service was warm and friendly with a chatty barmaid - probably something to do with visiting before the lunchtime rush of suits. Now I know how to find it I'll certainly visit again.