Well & Bucket, Shoreditch, E2

Back in Shoreditch and en route to the nearby Owl and Pussycat, thought I would poke my head back in this one to see if there was anything interesting on the ale pumps. In short no, as all four pumps were unbadged. I got the impression that post Covid the focus is now on the craft ales. The selection of these was still impressive but not what I was looking for, so I moved on quite quickly.

This pub closed around 1989 and was converted to retail use, so it was something of a surprise when it reopened in 2013. Though much mauled over the years, the interior features some absolutley superb polychromatic glazed tiles with lovely integrated mirrors - this is the good news. Modern interior modifications includes some relatively subtle steampunkery including filament bulbs. The bar top is copper and unsurprisingly, there's much bare brick, which seems to be the mainstay of pubs in this street. The bad news is that just the sound of conversation in here is enough to induce tinnitus and the lighting is very gloomy. Customers seemed to be of the younger hipster bent, with conspicuous beards. There was a real ale on offer but the clip was reversed. Thereafter, the mainstay of beers seemed to come from the multinational brewing arm that is the Camden Brewery. Staff were pottering about mixing cocktails and one barmaid was diligently wiping the rim of a glass with a strip of lemon rind, for God's sake. With the lack of available real ale and tediously slow service, I decided to cut my loses and leave. This isn't my format so I'll not be returning, but do stick your head round the door to have a look at the tiles before moving on to the King's Arms.

Must've had a really impressive interior when the tiling was intact. Central island bar served 2 real ales 2 taps off and an extensive keg selection.

Re-opened in 2013 as a craft beer pub after a period of time as a shop. There’s a semi-heritage interior with some lovely Victorian tiling which has sadly been vandalised at some point, it is a shame that the current owners haven’t tried (yet?) to do some proper renovations on them (here’s hoping they do). Instead (perhaps to try and cover up some of the worst areas), there are some dubious ‘portrait’ artworks of a Gothic/EMO persuasion. Some other items of a more pleasing nature are in place, such as a large Well and Bucket mirror on the back wall. The island bar (with impressive copper topping) allows for a fairly uninhibited way to explore the pub (pushchairs permitting), with access at the rear to a small smokers patio. Sodium lighting makes for an ‘evening’ sort of atmosphere even in the middle of the day; it also serves to complement the aforementioned copper bar top and perhaps also helps to soothe the worst parts of the damaged tiling. Busy inside, with a youngish clientèle present. Four ales at the bar (from Gadds, ELB, Alchemy, Hop Stuff). My Alchemy Five Sisters was in good shape. I also noted some impressive bottles in the fridge as well as a large range of craft keg. Toilets were (unexpectedly) rather plush. If they can stump up the cash to renovate the tiling they could really turn this into a Top 20 London pub. Still, it’s most definitely worth getting the bus out for as it currently stands.