The Clement Attlee, Limehouse, E14

Facebook page of The Clement Attlee - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Clement Attlee - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Clement Attlee - www.theclementattlee.co.uk

Official site of The Clement Attlee - www.theclementattlee.co.uk

Dating from the late 19th century, this was until 2016 the Railway Tavern, built for Charrington’s, their trademark leaded and banded stained-glass windows still in situ. There’s a boarded floor, then pale grey paintwork or bare brick, including two unused bare brick fireplaces, mixed simple furniture with plastic folders for beer menus on tables, a multitude of defunct brewers’ mirrors and hipster lighting, including Anglepoise lamps as sconces; one item of note was the retention of the pub’s original name as a lovely polychromatic mosaic to an entrance. Customers were very mixed, all probably living locally in this increasingly gentrified area. There are 21 taps catering for the keg brigade, otherwise the discerning cask drinker is offered three unused pumps, then just the CBC inhouse – and rather bland – Pale, then Liquid Light’s Ramble On and Great Northern Ale’s Northern Monk, served by a friendly barman and very nice, but at a painful £2.80 a half. This place is ok I suppose, especially given that there’s so little in the way of pubs around here, where at the start of the twentieth century, this postcode boasted more than 330 pubs that have now gone, but the place is a bit austere, expensive, with just the three ales not really enough to justify a trip; if I lived locally, I’d venture further afield, agreeing with Moby in that this place isn’t the chain’s best effort and he had a choice of six ales as opposed to my three.

Visited here on Sunday afternoon while staying in London for a few days. Six hand pulls at the bar and many keg taps including craft beers and Lilley's ciders. The exterior is tiled and the interior consists of a mix of bare brick, painted brick and painted wood. Bare boards downstairs, a dark bar, brewery mirrors on the walls, and the windows are attractive old wooden things with some feature coloured glass. A lounge and "secret" roof terrace is signposted as being upstairs, though I did not investigate. In terms of COVID guidelines, you scan a QR code at the bar to register your visit but other than that it felt like a normal pub experience, ordering at the bar and finding your own seat, etc. I had a pint of Buxton Moor Top on cask, which slipped down very nicely, followed by a couple of keg options - Deviant & Dandy Malthazar (apparently the pub's house stout) and Old Street Brewery Vlad the IPAler (an absolutely superb 7.2% IPA). There were plenty more options to tempt me and I think it's fair to say there will be something for everyone here. A decent pub, and I really enjoyed my visit here.