The Stranded, WC2

Visited 28/07/25 Cask offerings were both from TT and were the Boltmaker and the Knowle Spring Blonde. Keg offering of Budvar lager, the AF version, the dark lager and the unfiltered lager. Guests were Sapporo, Siren from Lumina, Warm Shade Pale from Floc, London Black from Anspach & Hobday and the Red Fin cider. There is also a decent bottled beer range, including a few Belgian beers. This is a welcome addition to the drinking scene around Charing Cross station. Indeed the "home of the perfect pour"! The venue is bare boarded, lots of wood panelling on the walls, with some exposed brickwork on the upper parts of the walls. Herringbone modern block flooring, and around the bar counter (on the left-hand wall in the middle part of the venue) tall tables with tall stools and some leather banquettes around some of the inner walls. There are quite a few distinct seating areas around the front of the venue with the same seating types, and there are a couple of large screens (switched off on my visit) but instead there was an 80's pop soundtrack playing. There were a couple of tall standing tables as the front on the Strand but unoccupied on my visit. I didn't explore upstairs. Sort of has the feel of a modern Sam Smith's in terms of décor but with different beers!!! The huge illuminated (plastic) beer glass just inside the front entrance is a bit of an eyesore.

New Bloomsbury Leisure outlet in a former Rymans stationery shop but completely remodelled inside. You first enter what's really just a lobby, but you get a view of the cool room 'cellar' through an interior window and there's a small side room, before a short flight of steps up to the bar and main seating areas. Beyond that you find a dining room and another counter for what looks like pop-up kitchen takeovers. The 'unique selling point' is the choice of three poring styles for the four Budvar beers on tap, all sold in pint-sized Czech-style glass mugs but in 2/3rd pint measures with varying amounts of foam (all £5.50). There are also four handpumps on the bar-back, with the pair in operation offering TT Boltmaker (£5.20, but a bit too warm I thought). All a bit of 'work in progress' at the moment, but an interesting addition to the Charing Cross station area options.