The Trinity, Borough, SE1

This is now a Fullers pub, albeit a rather featurless modernised one. The ale choice was limited to just Pride and Hophead , there was a much larger choice of keg premium lager and craft beers. It was fairly quiet on an early Saturday evening, in fact staff outnumbered punters. My pint of hophead was in reasonable shape but not that good that I will be rushing back here.

Next door to the Tube station is this smart looking pub with a Brewer's Tudor facade. Inside has inevitably been whacked through, though an effort has been made to add some large U-shaped seating at the front and back-to-back padded seating at the rear to break things up a bit. Otherwise it's blue and white painted wood panelling, scrubbed wood tables mounted on what look like scaffolding legs, subdued lighting and unobtrusive modern electronic lounge music, which created a decent vibe. Four ales on; Sharps Doom Bar, Sambrook Wandle, Bath Gem and Truman's Zephyr (no sign of GK beers – have they sold the pub?). A half of the latter was in good shape and set me back £2.15 which is about the going rate round here. The barman was togged up in white shirt and black waistcoat but was friendly enough. I was faintly surprised to quite enjoy my 15 minutes here and it’s worth a look if you're heading to the Royal Oak.

According to others this is a Greene King pub, but it would be hard to determine that solely from the ale selection. They had on Fireside (a less frequently seen GK beer), Howell’s Howell At The Moon, Butcombe Bitter and something from Holt’s Brewery. I didn’t see any menus when I was in at 5.00 PM on a Wednesday, but the smell of fried food was still in the air. This pub is right by the busy Borough tube station, and was mainly being patronised by suited office workers presumably enjoying a well-earned swift pint before heading off home. It was inevitable very noisy, as these bare-boarded places usually are when they get busy with groups of vertical drinkers, but fortunately the pipe music wasn’t being played loudly enough to compete seriously with the conversation. This struck me as a characterless bar with little charm about it. The only think of note (that I spotted anyway) was the dark background wallpaper featuring palm tree and parrots. The Butcombe Bitter was good though. I don’t expect to make an effort to visit here again, but it is a good stopping off point for a drink if you’re about to experience the rigours of the Northern Line.

Randomness Guide to London - Trinity entry

Randomness Guide to London - Trinity entry

The Hole In The Wall is a strange mix of both styles and customers. The main drinking area at the front is a mixture of comfy sofas and the usual seats and tables. The décor has a sort of art deco feel with subdued lighting that totally contrasts with the back of the pub that is bright and more like a sports bar with its twin pool tables, TV's etc. The customers are a mix of young pool hustlers in baseball caps, local office workers and people who like they are having their first pint after being released from jail. 2 Real Ales - tasted fine but generally not a very inspiring selection of drink or food. OK if passing but not worth staying too long.