BeerShack @ Mercato Metropolitano, Newington, SE1

Official site of BeerShack @ Mercato Metropolitano - mercatometropolitano.com

Official site of BeerShack @ Mercato Metropolitano - mercatometropolitano.com

Set in the heart of the massively popular Mercato Metropolitano – a huge Italian food market hall, halfway between Borough and Elephant & Castle tube stations – this is a small craft beer counter which specialises in small-batch Italian brews. The place can’t really be termed as a pub or bar as such – it’s basically just a servery in the far corner of a massive hall full of food stalls and copious long tables and benches. Most punters seemed to be eating and it’s easy to grab food from one of the stalls, find a table to eat from and then pop to the bar for some liquid refreshment. The bar itself is a fairly simple affair, with large boards on the bar back listing the full beer range and a good number of servers to work through the crowds. I counted no less than sixteen keg beers, around 60% of which were from UK micro breweries , with the remaining 40% being obscure Italian brews. I thought the Italian beers were prohibitively priced, although the UK beers weren’t exactly cheap either, with a pint of sessionable ale coming in at a little under a fiver. There is no cask ale as far as I can tell – all the beers are poured from taps – but some familiar names were present and I ended up with a pint of Gipsy Hill Hepcat on keg, which was a tasty drop and went well with the cracking pizza I bought from a nearby stall. This is the sort of trendy, continental-style food hall that you can find in lots of European cities, offering overpriced food and drink in less than comfortable environs, but generating an excellent atmosphere thanks to a lively young crowd and quality produce. I would say you probably wouldn’t come here just for a drink, but it’s a good place to bring visitors to the city for something to eat and it’s reassuring to know that you’ll find some interesting beer here when you do.