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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton, N1
N1
N1 7TA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Wenlock Arms
ORIGINAL REVIEW Sept 2010
This pub is the subject of many posts on another website that should remain nameless,with dire warnings of it's demise ,so I thought a revisit was called for.Glad to report that it's still a great boozer with a fine selection of ale.Nine handpumps with Crouch Vale Brewers Gold always on,together with Twickenham Brewery Pale Beauty and Naked Ladies,Abbey Choirester,Adnams Extra Special Bitter,Downton India Pale Ale,Titanic Chocolate Vanilla Stout , Rebellion MILD and a real cider featured on my trip.Ales rotate as barrels run out,and invariably they are drawn from microbreweries ,some local others from far afield.Four of us went through the card and found all pints to be in top condition with prices around £3,very fair.
The pub itself is a Victorian street corner boozer with a central bar and the handpumps facing you as you enter the front door.Seating around the walls either on settles or small stools.There is a hard floor,no carpet and the decor is basic but this is it's essential charm.The handpumps look well worn ,and there isnt much gleaming brass but taste the ale quality and be thankful.Similarly the lager taps are basic but who wants a flash array of keg dispensers to spoil the atmosphere?The loos are basic but functional.The pub is in the middle of an estate and when quiet the pub is very much a local for residents but it's not intimidating and there are usually a few CAMRA types dotted about.As the evening wears on,the young professionals and students pitch up ,creating a very wide mix of customers.The bar service is excellent even when busy and basic pub grub like doorstep sandwiches and sausage rolls are available until 9pm.Every Friday a three piece dixieland jazz ensemble play,at other times music is piped at low volume.Drinking is the order of the day ,and if that's the atmosphere you enjoy this is one of London's finest.Worth investing some time here ,to sample the wide array of ales and enjoy a good session.Very surprised to discover it's lost it's GBG entry for 2011.
UPDATE
My first visit since the change of guard and reopening,and like other recent reviewers I was relieved that the feel of the pub hasn't changed,it's just been tidied up.The interior is a bit larger with the former lavs now a rear section with square stand alone tables but without windows so a bit dark.The toilets have been moved to the cellar but comprise three cubicles,2 for the gents and 1 for the ladies.No urinal causes queues to build up,and the door locks were close to failure ,I prefered the old very basic facilities compared with this current mess.
The 10 handpumps were drawing a wide range of styles such as MILD(GK XX),Strong IPA's (Saltaire Le IPA,Burning Sky Aurora ),Pale Ale (Five Towns,West Berkshire Mr Swift's),APA (Dark Star),session bitters (DS Hophead,Burning Sky Plateau),Best Bitter (Hobsons) and a Porter I failed to note or drink.There is now a line of craft keg taps with a menu in the back section but the real ale was proving much more popular given it's very fine condition.The cider selection is wide,there were six boxes at the end of the bar on my visit.
A darts board has been reinstated to the left side ,and the only missing element was the Friday night dixieland jazz and I could see not indication that live music is now part of the scene.However there is still a wide mix of customers,it's firmly a boozer with a great selection of well kept real ale .
The Wenlock is back on form,back in the GBG,and will get my regular custom when in the area.Very close to the Regents Canal.
On 27th September 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Wenlock Arms
This was my first visit here since attending a dart match some 15 years ago. I'm sure everyone knows the story and history behind the last twenty years of this pub. I would add that it was originally opened as the brewery tap for the nearby Wenlock Brewery which was taken over by Bass in 1961 before their merger with Charrington. One of the advantages for ex Wenlock pubs in the 1970s was if they still sold a real ale it tended to be Bass, which in those days was much sought after, still a decent drink and vastly superior to the ubiquitous Charrington's IPA. I have to say I don't recall this being a real ale outlet at that time.
The tatty decor, hole in the carpet where you could look into the cellar and dart board have gone but it still retains a traditional pub feel. The hell hole Gents toilet has been replaced with a walk-in wardrobe containing two urinals and a tiny sink.
On the bar all ten pumps were in use with Hackney Nelson Sauvin and Best, Dark Star Seville and American Pale, Mighty Oak Maldon Gold and Oscar Wilde Mild, ELB Quadrant Oatmeal Stout, Whitstable Renaissance Ruby Mild, Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold and RAW Pacific Ghost IPA.
I went for the local Nelson Sauvin which was in good but not outstanding condition.
In an area that seems to be just one large building site, it's good to see this place surviving.
On 15th March 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Wenlock Arms
The brief note from my last visit in April 2008 read: "I wish that this pub was my local - decent beer, friendly atmosphere, no London gastropub bulls**t or hideous pubco makeover..." Thankfully, the place survived its near demise; and, apart from being tidied up somewhat, I don't think I have any cause to change my previous view. Excellent selection from the 10 handpumps, opting for a splendid pint of Abbeydale Black Knight porter (£3.40, less a 10% Camra discount). Also had six real ciders / perries available, plus a rather discreet array of 10 keg taps on each side of the bar-back behind the compact 'U'-shaped counter. Long may it thrive!
On 5th March 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Wenlock Arms
I had a swift pint in here yesterday, paying my first visit since the recent refurbishment. All ten handpumps were in use, with a range of different styles of ale on offer (porter, mild, bitter, very hoppy). This pub is still very much work in progress, with more to be done on the infrastructure. However the business end of the pub – i.e. the bar – retains its intrinsic pub character. The original bar back and bar counter seem unchanged, and the old and somewhat tatty furnishings have been replaced with new but cheap-looking furnishings. These are plastic upholstered banquettes, small round wooden tables and small stools. A discount of 10% is given to card carrying CAMRA members. It still ticks most of my boxes, and I’m bound to pay a return visit.
On 22nd June 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Wenlock Arms
The building was covered in scaffolding at the time of my visit, but the good news is that the pub is still operating after a hiatus that was necessitated by works that the local council insisted upon, including new toilets and floor. Even this had its up side, with the discovery of an original mosaic name plate in the corner entrance that was reopened during the works. The original bar is still in place, and you can see where the partitions that made it a three room pub once abutted the bar counter.
More importantly, perhaps, there are 10 hand pumps arrayed on the bar, plus a small cider barrel, and, for those who like a bit more carbon dioxide in their drinks, a row of 10 keg spouts on the bar back, serving lagers, ciders and (sarcasm alert) expensively crafted ales. I won't list all the beers available, mainly because I didn't write them down, but also because most of them will have changed by the time anyone reads this review. Suffice to say that I had Crouch Vale Blackwater Mild and Long Man Best Bitter, both of which were in excellent condition and very enjoyable. Definitely worth a visit if you're within a reasonable distance, or perhaps even if not.
On 13th June 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about Wenlock Arms
The Planing Permission put in on this Pub too Knock it down and redevelop it as flats has been Refused.
Which is good because its a nice Old style boozer lets hope its never changed.
Its on the council web site as its been refused so thats good news.
NOT SO GOOD NEWS 21 Days Notice of demolition Issued. sse link. http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2011/12/local-pub-issued-with-notice-for-demolition/
On 10th December 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Wenlock Arms
This was a busy friendly pub with a good selection of ales. Had the doorstep sandwiches and they were brilliant. 4 beers we hadn’t had before among the selection on offer, so had to chose, and enjoyed 2 well kept beers, Oxfordshire Neck & Neck and Weltons Voters Revenge. Many people spoke to us there and it was a pub I could feel really at home in.
The above was my March 2010 visit.
Called in on Friday and pleasantly suprised to find it was still going strong as I had heard about imminent closure when I was last in the area. Very little change inside, and beer choice good. We selected St Peters IPA and Smarts Best Bitter. I was advised that the Smarts was coming to an end and given a taste so chose to have it, but found so far down that the sediment was swirling around in the glass, so had Rother Valley Smild which was fine. Other beers available were from Weltons, Saxon City, Otley and Dark Star.
On 4th September 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Wenlock Arms
At the time of writing the Wenlock is on the seriously endangered species list and may be extinct within weeks. The potential closure of what has become one of London’s landmark Real Ale pibs is subject to much debate elsewhere suffice to say its loss, if it happens, would be a major dent to the London pub scene.
Tucked away down side streets midway between Angel and Old Street tube stations, it isn’t the most accessible pub that you would want to find. The interior is a quite smallish u-shape with some built in seating around the front with wooden divides. The traditional interior was recently hijacked for a week by some extremely inappropriate plastic furnishings to celebrate National Design week but fortunately things are now back to normal, or as normal as the Wenlock gets. The pub does have a distinctly unkempt approach with assorted junk, dust encrusted bottles on shelves, random assorted posters and photos of locals in various states of partying. There are plenty of CAMRA and London Drinkers magazines as reading material and a basic TV in one corner. Occasionally there will be live informal music (no mics or speakers, just a selection of musicians having a bit of fun in the corner). It must be said that whilst the place does ooze with character, it probably won’t be popular with everyone, especially if they are not interested in ales. It does also get uncomfortably overcrowded.
The 10 hand pumps are usually fully stocked with a wonderful range of rotating ales from micro breweries across the country. A list can be found on a regularly updated blackboard in the corner and prices range between £2.90 and £3.10 which is pretty reasonable for the area. I have yet to have anything approaching a dodgy paint on my admittedly sporadic visits.
It remains, for the time being, a must visit pub for discerning ale drinkers albeit you need to make a bit of an effort to get there. The relatively near Old Fountain makes for a good double header if you need a bigger excuse. I have rather neglected the Wenlock over the years and given its current precarious postion it is best to get there while you still can because if it goes, it will be gone for good.
On 26th November 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Wenlock Arms
Like previous posters before me, I too felt a revisit was called for. It’s not changed in any real sense since my first visit several years ago. It remains the same shabby treasure it’s always been, wearing its tattiness like a badge of honour. The pub sign looks a bit more faded now, and I hope that’s not some sort symbolic precursor to its demise. They had the usual array of ales on. I saw something from Allgate Brewery called Shimla IPA, commemorating the Kalka to Shimla Railway, presumably in Northern India. Feeling unable to pass up on such an unusually described ale I went for a pint of it and found it a tasty and robust 5.5% nicely hopped IPA. I hope that I can visit again before too long.
On 16th November 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Wenlock Arms
As others have stated below, the future of this real ale mecca is currently uncertain. With this in mind I made a point of making a long overdue revisit yesterday and found the pub as good as ever. Yes it is a bit shabby, tired and basic, it reminds me in fact of many old street corner pubs from several years ago, but the beer range and quality remain first rate, nine handpumps in front of you on entering, virtually all from smaller breweries. There is a plastic barrel of cider behind the bar too. Pints of Oxfordshire Ales Back in Time and Pendle Witches Brew went down well. Unlike some other places it is nice to see a beer replaced immediately on one running out and pulled through properly too.
The pub is much described on here, so I'll not repeat too much, just to say there is an island bar, decor consisting of brewery mirrors, what I took to be a collage of photos of customers, and a nice reproduction of an old 1851 map of London. A number of posters advertise various beer festivals. Beer bottles lined up on a high shelf plus over the bar gantry, a few pewter tankards and the usual array of pump clips give the overall impression.
I hope reports of its forthcoming demise become unfounded, as a pub of this type and character is probably irreplaceable.
On 7th November 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]