The Bull, Epping

Lovely old pub, in the centre of the village, as short hop from the tube. Low ceiling, long bar, TV. Very nice beer garden. Youngs Bitter in excellent condition.

We normally go to Theydon Bois to have a drink in the Queen Victoria, and thought we would visit this pub as we had not been to it for a couple of years. It is now a Charles Wells outlet, and the exterior has been repainted. Inside there is a narrow bar that runs the full width of the pub. There is fortunately only one plasma screen to the far left. The bay window that you can see in the photos is a nice place to sit and watch the world go by. To the rear at the right is a restaurant area. Eagle IPA, Bombardier and Youngs Bitter available on hand pump. Eagle IPA is a thin tasteless offering and priced at £3.00. I think we will continue to visit the Queen Victoria and enjoy McMullens AK at £2.85 in nicer surroundings.

The Bull page at the Charles Wells site - www.charleswells.co.uk

The Bull page at the Charles Wells site - www.charleswells.co.uk

Randomness Guide to London - Bull entry

Randomness Guide to London - Bull entry

I love these old country pubs and apparently this one dates back to the 17th century. I only stayed in the bar area at the front whilst I watched Sky Sports on the plasma screen, but I was under the impression that the other side of the pub was more of a restaurant. I did spot a small paved beer garden out the back which is probably nice when the sun comes out to play. Greene King IPA, Bombardier and Ordinary were all available during my visit alongside a standard draught selection and San Miguel. I had a pint of Bombardier which was well served and went down a treat. My only gripe with this place is that I had to stand at the bar for a brief moment whilst the two young barmaids finished their gossiping. This is a minor point as once I was graced with the barmaids attention she was nice enough and I even got a goodbye when I left. Based on my Saturday lunchtime visit I would go back to this pub again.

A decent enough one bar pub with separate dining room opposite Theydon Bois tube station and the nearest pub to the tube now that the Railway Arms has turned into a restaurant. Have only been in here of a lunchtime when visiting nearby customers. But both the Beer and food have always been acceptable, even on a busy Friday.