The Merchant of Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street, EC2

A half-decent station bar, a single room with a long bar counter, exposed services on the ceiling, some hidden by wooden planks, and an industrial looking floor with yellow and black tape making it look like a low-grade open-plan office. There are plenty of tables at which to drink or eat the unappealing food on offer. The bar runs most of the width of the room, which means the staff have to run up and down given that there are too few of them, which might explain why they are rather terse and unfriendly. There are 2 gaming machines in the bar, which seem bit incongruous. The bar is intended to look like a brewery bar, with lots of copper piping and the erroneous impression of gravity fed casks. Ales on were Doombar, Old Golden Hen, Pride, GK IPA and their house beer, Merchant, a re-badged bitter (the staff were either unable or unwilling to confirm what) at 3.9 abv. OK for a quick one while waiting for a train.