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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Cheshire Cheese, Fenchurch Street, EC3
EC3
EC3N 2AP
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Strongers . left this review about The Cheshire Cheese
Set into a railway arch under a bridge adjacent to Fenchurch Street Station I actually thought the Cheshire Cheese looked quite inviting. This is a wooden floored small and thin pub with high tables throughout, including banquettes that run across the front windows and are found in the left corner. The tile edged serving counter is found along the rear wall to the left where premium keg is available alongside Stella and Camden Hells. There are also four hand pumps that were drawing Tower Bridge’s Amber and Porter alongside London Pride and TT Landlord. I went for the average £3.10 a half Porter that was served by the polite governor. Televisions throughout were playing World Championship darts via Sky Sports; football is heavily advertised. I didn’t venture upstairs, but I did hear cackling from an extended work Christmas lunch, my visit being early on a midweek afternoon the week before Christmas. I’d consider popping back in if passing, but I wouldn’t go out of my way.
On 28th December 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Cheshire Cheese
Set underneath a railway bridge, the interior is less interesting than the exterior suggests. A sizable opened out room of little character but set out with plenty of sensible seating. Despite six handpumps only Doom Bar was available on cask when I arrived, so BrewDog Planet Pale was my fall back choice on keg. Rather annoyingly within five minutes of taking my seat the afore mentioned Doom Bar was joined by Oakham Citra, London Pride and Landlord, timing is everything, or not in my case. Not a pub likely to pull me back in anytime soon though.
On 28th August 2023
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2151 recommendations about 2118 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Cheshire Cheese
This is a very old pub dating back to at least 1600, but rebuilt into the Fenchurch Street railway arch. It had been a Charrington’s house – sorry arch – as was evinced by the Charrington’s lettering which has now sadly gone.
This was my first foray into the gentle art of drinking underneath a railway arch, once the purview of Flanagan and Allen but now all the rage amongst hipsters. The floor is bare boarded or tiles and the colour scheme grey. There’s a fairly ornate bar back with some red and green stained-glass infill. The crowd here, most seemingly munching burgers, seemed to comprise some obvious City workers, but also indigenous locals, all very vocally cheering on Liverpool, broadcast with commentary from a large array of TVs, further distractions provided by multiple flashing games machines and a horrible Clear Channel ad board; lighting was provided by brass and glass sconces, which illuminated all the tables with their uncleared dinner plates and glasses.
Aside from one unused pump and one with a reversed clip, there was the uninspiring choice of Doom or Pride, with redemption arriving in the form of Ringwood’s Boon Doggle, £2.50 the half and nice, served by a friendly barmaid.
Closed at weekends, I really didn’t take to this raucous place one bit, the worst stop on my seven-pub City crawl, though at least the TVs were actually being watched for once; the Crutched Friar and especially the Ship are all close at hand.
On 28th April 2022
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Cheshire Cheese
Apparently basic pub somewhat buried under Fenchurch Street station viaduct, but surprisingly features a more attractive refurbished second floor created from three partially opened-out rooms which is rather larger than the main bar at street level. No obvious branding, but the menu reveals this to now be a Stonegate house. Rather better beer choice than on my previous visit some seven years ago, with four of six handpumps in the main bar operational - offering Hanlon's Firefly and Yellow Hammer, Cottage Thunderbolt and Twickenham Redhead (£3.90, and in good form) - and two more duplicates upstairs on the second (smaller) bar counter. Overall, an improvement.
On 16th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Cheshire Cheese
Its location underneath the Fenchurch Street railway arches does make a bit of a dark and dingy location, and there are no redeeming architectural features to please the eye.
But if what you are after is a passable pint, and these were London Pride, Adnams Bitter and Jennings Cumberland Ale at the time of my visit, and perhaps a game of pool, (there are two pool tables in the upstairs room and a decent seating area which is quite separate from the pool tables so that you are not interrupted by them), then this pub is OK.
But probably only OK if you work around the corner and want a quick one before catching the train home.
If you have a bit more time then there are far better examples even quite close by.
On 27th September 2009
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]