Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

The White Horse is closing on the 29th November 2025, according to the website and local media.

Always good to see a pub reclaimed, and I thought this former Chinese restaurant was now functioning as a decent pub. I could imagine that the large one roomed high ceiling internal space could lack a bit of atmosphere when there is not many in, but on a Friday evening when the place was packed out, it was literally jumping.
Well named as a lot of people do come here to eat, but with the impressive row of 12 hand-pumps, which were dispensing nine ales and three ciders for our visit, it’s a very good pub just for a beer as well and should definitely be considered in any beer crawl of Chesterfield, especially given its proximity to the railway station.

The Wrens Nest seemed to have survived the prediction of its doom, with active Facebook accounts subsequent to the Covid lockdowns, but nothing posted since June 2024. A streetview image of August 2025 seems to show it as Village Grill & Desserts, with some building work going on internally. So it looks like the pub has finally given up the ghost, though it's good that the building remains as a village facility, I suppose.

Finally got round to visiting this excellent GBG regular, and it was well worth the effort. A good selection of ales on offer across the 10 handpumps and those I tried were of top quality and condition. It was reasonably busy for a wet midweek evening which is good to see. Some people had taken advantage of the pizza van outside which seems to provide a good complementary offer. Well worth visiting, and would be a must visit in most towns, but has greater competition in Norwich.

A short walk from Bromley-by-Bow tube, this pub dates from at least the mid-19th century, to be rebuilt as an interwar-years pub, probably in the 1930s, 55 metres to the west of the original site; so not an old building then.
This area has undergone a massive amount of gentrification since my photo was taken over 11 years ago and the first two reviews were submitted.
As mentioned, it’s still a very basic pub – no sign of the peeing dog – with a bare boarded or flagstone floor, tatty traditional furniture and a white colour scheme along with flashing red, green and blue lights; the only item of obvious heritage was a decent c. 1930s’ brick fireplace. There’s an abundance of puggies and jukebox, NOW! playing on a large tele, much of the place dominated by a well-used pool table. A door to the rear leads to the live music venue – seemingly the pub’s raison d'être – a band striking up at the time of my Friday 9.00pm visit. Décor takes the form of a multitude of cheap A4 printed drinks’ deal flyers or instructions telling customers to to 'do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ and the like, so be sure to leave your Class-A drugs at home, you naughty boys and girls! Customers seemed to be students, probably from my bête noire, the adjacent University of East London, harmless and making for a decent atmosphere.
There’s no cask here, just megakeg and a few GK pseudo ‘craft’ offerings, a half of Guinness, £2.80, served by an unconvinced barmaid.
It’s good to see that this place appears to be thriving as a live music venue, but as a pub it’s a joyless affair in a postcode where there are some genuinely decent pubs; still, it’s better than the Albert…