The Ship & Shovell, WC2

This pub is unique in London as far as I am aware as it is split into two by Craven Passage. It's one of my favourite pubs in London and I always visit at the start or end of a crawl round the area depending on how busy it is with the after work crowd. The pub is named after Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell whose portrait hangs in the main bar. He managed to run his fleet of ships aground in 1707 killing around 2000 sailors. A bit strange to name a pub after him as he's not exactly a hero. Both sides of the pub are nicely decorated and there are usually 3 or 4 beers from Badger available and always in good condition. Well worth a visit as it's convenient for 2 mainline stations and several tube lines.

Well described by others, this wonderful subterranean pub is full of character and one of the better pubs in the area. Hall and Woodhouse are still in charge, and three of the four ales on draft are from that Brewery. I had the fourth, the guest beer, which was K&B's Sussex Bitter. The beer was in excellent condition and surprisingly cheap for London. It's a great place to drop into after a London meeting, and I'd happily include it in a crawl.

At the side & below Charing Cross station the pub is split into two halves eother side of Craven Passage. Old London brick buildings, the interior is smart & elegant and well kept, with dimmed lighting and lots of mirrors & chestnut. A very nice feel. Rather quiet and relaxing, though the imposing station structure & arch reminds you that you're in a London back alley. Hall & Woodhouse pub with 3 of their ales.

An unusual pub in that it is split in to two completely separate halves which is apparently unique in London according to the sign outside. Not only that, but they are not even next to each other but opposite with an alleyway in between. Apparently one has always been a pub (the one on the left, as you approach the shopping arcade under the station) whilst the other was at one time a delicatessen which the pub expanded in to when it closed. We went in the original half, which was quite attractive with hanging baskets outside. Inside it’s more or less a reverse L-shape with the base of the “L” having a pale wood floor and a plasma up in the corner which was showing a sporting fixture, although this was not too intrusive. The remainder of the pub was carpeted and the walls were mostly dark wood panelling with plenty of large patterned mirrors and a few black and white portrait photos on. There were large windows at the front with red drape curtains and some further wood partitioning with etched glass. The menu was a fairly decent looking “pub grub” affair with options such as Ham Egg & Chips, Fish & Chips, a couple of curries, etc., mostly priced at around the £9 - £10 mark. There were also a number of bar snacks such as Scotch Eggs and a Pork Pie. My Chicken & Coconut Curry came with lemongrass, chilli, coriander and peanuts and seemed to be a Thai Green variety in all but name and was a decent and tasty dish with a generous portion of curry and an Indian Flatbread. Slightly less successful was a rather small portion of Mozzarella Bruschetta which seemed expensive at £6.50 considering the size. Beers on tap were all from Hall & Woodhouse with their Firkin Fox, Tanglefoot, Sussex Draught and Badger. The solitary cider was Stowford Press which makes a pleasant change from the sweeter varieties that seem to be generally served around these parts.

Ship & Shovell official site - shipandshovell.co.uk

Ship & Shovell official site - shipandshovell.co.uk