Lore of the Land, Fitzrovia, W1

After selling the Punch Bowl in Mayfair back in 2013, director, screenwriter, celebrity divorcee and part-time publican Guy Ritchie returned to the pub trade with the opening of this pub, formerly known as The Lukin, in March 2019. As you’d expect, the pub is fairly upmarket in its presentation, although the pricing of the beer seemed very competitive for this part of the city. The pub has an opened out main bar area with exposed floorboards and the servery along the right-hand wall. Seating at the front of the room is restricted to a few high tables and stools, with a few more running along a sturdy looking drinking ledge. The bar has a simple counter with a huge pewter top and a rather bland tongue and groove panelled bar back dominated by a collection of wine bottles. A pillar opposite the bar hints at the presence of a former corridor, with a redundant door kept in situ at one end, opening only to the other side of the pillar. The rear of the room is a nice space with a mix of pew, chair and low stool seating under a nice skylight and walls decorated with lots of old paintings, plain mirrors and blackboards detailing the menu. A few boardgames were also available back here, but this didn’t feel like the sort of place where customers are going to embark on an evening of Scrabble. The first floor hosts the kitchen and dining room, whilst private dining facilities are available on the second floor and, as you might expect, the staff are all dressed very smartly, as if you’re in a high-end restaurant rather than a pub. The clientele seemed a little more mixed than I’d expected, perhaps with a few celebrity-spotters checking the place out (David Beckham pulled pints here one evening not long after opening). The pub acts as an outlet for the creatively named Gritchie Brewery, based on Ritchie’s Wiltshire Farm. Two of their brews were available on cask – English Lore and Moon Lore – and both were priced very reasonably at £4.50 a pint, which is a good 50p cheaper than any of the other cask ales I tried around Fitzrovia on the same evening. Keg options come from the likes of Camden, Lost & Grounded, Big Smoke and at least one more Gritchie beer. I found this place a bit of a confusing concept that straddles the vast chasm between fine dining pub (sample bar snack option: Jerusalem artichoke pate, with crispy chicken skin and a seed cracker) and down to earth boozer (the pub is dog friendly, for example). It was nice to try a new brewery and experience something a bit different to most pubs in the area, but it didn’t quite do it for me and I’ll probably leave the place to the celebrity set and attention seekers it seems to be attracting.

Official site of Lore Of The Land - gritchiepubs.com

Official site of Lore Of The Land - gritchiepubs.com