The Phoenix, Bank, EC2

Haven’t been in this one since it became under the Metropolitan Pub Co. Stable, the arm of Green King which has much more freedom on the beers it sells. The pub itself is unchanged and still as described in PSM’s detailed review below. It’s a pub largely lacking in any character and is primarily aimed at sucking in crowds from the nearby office blocks, initially at lunchtime and then mainly from 5.00pm onwards. This it was doing very successfully last night as, post Covid with increased working from home, Thursday is the new Friday in the City and this place was packed. The downside of this is that when the Phoenix is very busy it’s also extremely noisy and basically turns into a shouty barn where civil conversation between friends becomes difficult at a sensible audio level. Fortunately the predicted rain held off and we were able to take our beers outside as the pavement to the front of the pub and the alleyway to the back provided solace from the clamour. On the ale front, three of the five hand pumps on the bar were in operation with By the Horns Hopadelic Session IPA, Southwark Brewing Mayflower Session IPA and the usual Green King House beer brew which was badged in here as Phoenix Feather Premium House Bitter. As we were here for the evening we tried staying on the two session IPA’s and the Mayflower was very good to start with until it ran out. We then had one round of the Hopadelic until this ran out and we had to move onto the GK brew. This really is a sickly overcaramelised brown mush, especially compared to hopped IPA’s, but fortunately we only had to suffer one of these before the Hopadelic was back on. This is a better pub to visit since it moved to under the Metropolitan umbrella but the building itself doesn’t really have much character and only really functions as a city workers drinking barn. Therefore still cannot recommend to go out of your way for.

A high-ceilinged city pub in former bank premises with large windows but a rather gloomy green paint scheme. A fair range of beers though, with Truman's Swift, Twickenham Grandstand, By the Horns Giggle Mug, GK IPA and a house badged bitter. Craft beers also available.

Located roughly midway between Bank and Liverpool Street stations, the Phoenix is a huge open plan drinking barn that also happens to offer a decent selection of ales and craft beers. The pub comprises a huge single room in a T-shaped layout with dark floorboards throughout and some nice checkered floor tiling around the servery which runs down the left hand wall. The bar has a dark wood counter and ghastly metal framed bar back that someone presumably thought looked trendy, topped with blackboards listing the wine list and sharing platter menu plus a few old kegs. High tables and stools fill the centre part of the pub which is broken in places by a few pillars. Meanwhile, a raised seating area to the right offers standard tables and chairs under a large display of black and white photos of London plus a couple of TV screens showing muted live football. Banquettes run along the rear wall, where the room expands into recesses at either end - the left hand side being particularly pleasant, offering comfy seating under more London themed photos and a couple more TV screens. Everything has been painted in rather dull neutral shades, with only a few bits of patterned wallpaper and some small painted flower murals offering respite from the blandness. There are exposed ventilation ducts, pipes, wires and so on running around the ceiling in sharp contrast to the fancy chandeliers that someone thought would look good suspended from this mess. Loud music was pumping through the sound system throughout my visit to no great effect and there was a good mid-week post-work crowd in, although a pub-like atmosphere was still lacking. Some relief was provided by the ale range, which comprised XT2, 8 Sail Blonde, Saltaire Sir Titus, Sambrooks Wandle, Greene King IPA and a house beer called Broad Street Brew. Keg beers came from Trumans, Meantime, Camden and other more exotic breweries that I couldn't identify. I gave the 8 Sail Blonde a try for £4.40 a pint and it was in pretty good shape - perhaps an indication of how this bar came to be in the 2017 Good Beer Guide. In amongst the disappointment, the barmaid that served me was very pleasant and friendly and service was generally prompt and unfussy, ensuring no queues at the bar. This place put me in mind of the sort of all purpose student drinking venues I used to frequent in the mid to late 90's, which makes you wonder what purpose this place has in the 21st Century. I'd be happy enough to pop in for a quick pint in passing if there was something interesting on the bar, but there is little here to hold the attention and you can find better options in the surrounding area.

Large Green King establishment sitting at the junction of Old Broad Street with Throgmorton Street with entrances from both sides. Fairly modern décor and the large glass windows make it quite light and because of its size plenty of places to sit. Wasn't overly busy when I visited , so got served without problem. Fairly standard GK ale offering and although the Moorlands Original was very nice there was nothing here that would pull me in again if I was passing on way to one of the better ale establishments in the City.

Large open plan pub that does not have a lot going for it. 4 real ales on with the Truman's Runner being in fair form and at 4.05 a pint is about the going rate for the City. I wont be back to this one.