Hack & Hop, Fleet Street, EC4

Tucked away just off the main Fleet Street drag. 4 real ales and food served.

On my recent midweek lunchtime visit there were just a couple of ales on - Moor Brewing Union Hop and XT Brewing No4 (£4.20 a pint), with a couple more handpumps unclipped. The XT No4 was in great shape. All of the tables, including the trio of tall tables/tall stools near the bar counter, had napkins and cutlery on them, so they clearly expect diners to arrive. But there was no suggestion that I shouldn't sit at one of them to enjoy my pint. There were beer and food menus on all the tables. The beer menu listed mainly bottled "craft" beers. The cheapest main course on the food menu was the steak sandwich at £11.50, with other main courses, such as the burger and chips, at around £13.50. Not cheap, but par for the area I suppose. A board on the wall on the right helpfully listed the available beers, giving the ABV, plus price of pints and halves. This is now a fairly simple single-room pub. Apart from the aforementioned tall tables/tall stools, there was a bit of banquette seating and normal tables and chairs. All were black upholstered in a minimalist sort of way. From a heritage viewpoint, both the bar counter and the ornately wood carved bar back appear to be original Victorian survivors. The vestibule on the left has some ancient amber banded leaded glazing (Charrington's?) but this may be as the result of inter-war work. An unused door on the right shows that even a pub as relatively small as this would once had been sub-divided. There's a large TV on one of the walls, but little in the way of decor apart from a bit of Christmas stuff, and some old typewriters plonked (or possibly artfully arranged!) on top of the bar back. There are also pump clips on display around the place. On the basis of my first visit I'm not sure if this is a drinkers' or diners' pub. I was in at very early doors, and I guess you would have to visit at a busier time to gauge the feel of a pub. Sticking a few napkins and a bit of cutlery on tables doesn't really suggest that they are reserved for diners - to me it just makes it available to those who choose to dine. Anyway, my XT4 (a bit Gerry Anderson perhaps?) was in excellent condition, so I was happy with my visit.

A single room pub down a side road off of Fleet Street, its taken on the mantle of a craft bar but manages to maintain the feel of a traditional pub very well,I was very comfortable drinking here and the Siren craft Undercurrent was in tip top condition and the best cask beer tasted during my days pub crawl.A certain revisit here.

Sister pub to The Old Red Cow,Smithfield it has a modest interior,square room with simple furnishing and a bar extending most of the length of the rear wall.The bar back is impressive and the pub is popular with diners but fine for drinkers. 4 handpumps but on a quiet day only two operating serving Burning Sky Plateau and Siren Undercurrent (spot on ) while the 12 keg taps were offering some top options with two more from Burning Sky,Siren Craft Liquid Mistress and Titanic Stout.The barman was friendly and informative,and organises whisky tasting nights.The pub feels to be in the craft beer mainstream and I enjoyed my brief crawl visit ,an extended stop next time is quite likely.