King Edward VII, Stratford, E15

Closed

For some unexplained reason I found the pub firmly closed at 3.30 pm on a Saturday afternoon. The exterior stands out from its surroundings, painted in white and Green but on closer inspection looked on the shabby side with much peeling paint. I'd like to have a look inside but wouldn't think I'll be returning to the area anytime soon.

Grade II-listed, this is an early 18th century pub which I visited once around 20 years ago. It also has a CAMRA Interior of Some Regional Importance and until 1914, was called The King of Prussia, probably renamed in response to the outbreak of World War I. I certainly recall a very attractive pub with an atmospheric interior and would return if in the area, which is now exceedingly unlikely.

The ale selection here was uninspiring to put it mildly - London Pride (undrinkable but readily exchanged), Doom Bar and GK IPA. They do food at weekday lunchtimes, but the kitchen ddn't open until 1.0 PM when I was in there last Wednesday. Several people came in at around 12.30 but left straightaway when they were told they couldn't get anything to eat. But the menu looked OK - the burger is £7.95; the cod & chips and steak & ale pie are £10 - £11. The pub seems unchanged from previous reviewers' visits. The bar in the front has some hard wooden settles and standard furnishings, with the Saloon Bar at the back being more comfortably furnished. The apparently now unused corridor on the right leading to the Saloon Bar still has very nice Victorian tiling, plus there is still a fair bit of etched and cut glazing in the paneling separating the corridor from the main bar. This could, and perhaps should, be a very good pub as it's full of traditional pub character, but the lack of a decent ale selection counts against it in my eyes.

Official site of King Edward VII - www.kingeddies.co.uk

Official site of King Edward VII - www.kingeddies.co.uk

The front bar is far more evocative & representative of the pub , rather than rear dining area. Front section has stone tiling, wooden furniture, windows to street, but is softly lit & has darkly atmospheric feel as you enter, I wrote Dickensian but it's actually 1913. I know! & I'd only had 2 pints at this point. Rear right continues the woody feel and here you find leather chesterfield sofa & chairs, something of the feel of a gentleman's club, beyond this to scrubbed wood tables in restauarant & more leather chairs to rear. Bar menu included Saus&mash £8, Vension Burger £9, Duck Cassoulet £12. Wine of the week Collet de Bovis, Bellet, sounded steep at £20 but it can retail at £15 (cuvee de Mathilde). You can witness the gamut of Stratford life in the short but circular walk from the station, or take advice from another reviewer & take a taxi to ‘avoid contact with Stratford', - it's cosmopolitan, but not as we know it, hahaha! Anyway, Bombardier, Wooden Hand Cornish Mutiny, Tribute, all £2.80, or Nethergate Eddie's Best (pres.IPA) £2.60. Bit of a drag out here for a one-pubber, but we combined it with Pembury (8mins Stratford to Hackney Central) & Carpenters/PrideofSpitalfields (6mins Hackney Downs to Bethnal Gr BR).

Bar and saloon that is bigger than first appears with a split level interior serving 4 real ales and food.