The Knave of Clubs, Shoreditch, E1

Tris C left this review about The Knave of Clubs

Visited last night as this has a CAMRA interior of Some Regional Importance, though would probably have once had a higher ranking if much of the splendour hadn’t been ripped out.
I was under the impression that I could just drink here, though probably just a lager. On arrival though, I had to wait by the entrance lectern without a greeter, noting that all tables were laid, despite the actual restaurant being upstairs. This did give me a little time to admire the bar array (now swathed in grey paint), which features ornate columns, a canopy and fine Martell Hennessy mirror.
I probably could have stayed for just a drink, but couldn’t be bothered as there seemed no other attractions to hold my attention, but at least I tried.

Date visited: 21st September 2021.

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Situated in Brick Lane’s trendy nightlife quarter, this Grade II-listed pub dates from at least 1735, to be rebuilt in 1880. It once had the address of 1 Club Row (an association with the pub) but is now at 25 Bethnal Green Road, the historic association now severed for reasons that escape me. A former Taylor Walker joint, the place closed in 1994 to become a succession of wine bars, but has now been reinvented as a pub – albeit a rather foodie one – and one that would have looked distinctly out of place in Charles Dickens’ East End of old and with the One Club Row cocktail bar upstairs, is now probably the most upmarket pub in all of Tower Hamlets.
The floor is rough bare boarded with a tiled bar apron, furniture conventional, mushroom shades of paint with an open kitchen to the rear. What’s most striking is the very fine canopy with cornice supported by elegant columns that frames the modern yet restrained bar array. More spectacular still, are the three gilded High Victorian mirrors above glazed tiles which could give the Ghent Altarpiece a run for its money. Customers are trendy thirtysomething Shoreditch types, who probably run ‘tech startups, judging by their beards, some indulging in the Guinness & Oysters (see photo).
Aside from the retro trendy illuminated Guinness keg box which probably dates from the 1970s, there’s a fizz array of varying appeal from Estrella (Allsopp’s Double Diamond, natch) to Five Points JUPA, with pumps marginalised to the point of virtual invisibility at the far left-hand side of the bar, with one unused, then Allsopp’s Best and Pale, £6.10 a pint and a bit limp yet drinkable, served by one of the several well-meaning friendly barmen.
A huge improvement on what was here before, this is at least what I’d now call a pub, but the pumps are in the wrong place, the quality needs attention and as a boozer, it’s still no competition for the Pride of Spitalfields, though it’s worth a look, especially for those fantastic mirrors, but the acoustics are just too loud for a prolonged stay.

On 12^th March 2025 - rating: 6
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