The Leather Exchange, Borough, SE1

A small Fullers pub with a single traditionally attired room. Just three handles with only one offering London Pride, one had a Hophead coming soon the other a reversed Fullers Gentle Giant. It's a good looking pub but needs to up the beer game.

Originally the Leather Market Tavern, this is an early Victorian pub, built into the rather fine former London Leather Hide & Wool Exchange. The pub’s website says it’s only open until 12.00 pm, but as I turned up mid-evening, I think they mean 12.00 am. On arrival, I was greeted by an undesirable customer being ejected by the manager. There was still a sign asking customers to wait to be seated, which I ignored, but wasn’t similarly ejected, so said customer must have been involved in a more serious infraction. The interior is a bit of a jumble, with pews to the front then more conventional furniture, some high, with the bar to the rear. Paintwork is off-white with a black ceiling and there are knickknacks, which includes a small selection of old iMacs, pot plants to windowsills, then ugly Six Nations tat. There was one annoying TV showing the football with the sound off, then another seemingly showing endless adverts; I don’t want to be told to think about buying Canesten whilst supping my pint. Lighting is mixed, the overall ensemble visible on the pub’s gallery website. Customers were few and young, certainly in contrast to the other three real pubs on my mini crawl (Dover Castle excepted). Despite being a Fuller’s pub, there was one unused pump, then one for Pride, thereafter Cwtch which was rather on the turn, served by a very friendly barmaid, the manager apologising to customers for the behaviour of the ejectee; no apologies made for the quality of the beer though. This isn’t a bad pub, but it could be so much better: lose the TVs, sports tat, get some decent beer on and you’re onto a winner.

BF is right about the noise. Hardly anybody in but you wouldn't have known. Three Fullers hand pumps, the rest keg.

The Leather Exchange official site - www.theleatherexchange.co.uk

The Leather Exchange official site - www.theleatherexchange.co.uk