Tap East, Stratford City, E20

I’d managed to get to Stratford Station about an hour early:what was I to do?-visit Tap East,naturally. This new Bar lies at the far end of the temple to Mammon known as the Westfield Centre, on an off shoot majoring on food outlets. Occupying a roughly triangular site, one side is open to the Mall:glazed doors lead to a paved area that forms , I understand, the approach to the whizzy new International Station. Behind the bar that follows the internal walls is a glass panel that displays a neat looking micro-brewery, commissioned this October. A scattering of comfy chairs and some odd looking butcher’s block tables furnish the Bar, though I would suggest that it is “standing room only” at busy times. My visit was mid morning on a late November Saturday;trade was steady with groups of beer enthusiasts,and the occasional shopper. As a real ale drinker, my attention was drawn to the double bank of handpumps, serving not only the produce of the microbrewery, but also a selection of ales from around the country. For years, I have been looking for beer from Thornbridge Hall brewery-It never seems to reach my part of Kent ,unfortunately. My patience was rewarded by seeing Wild Swan, an ultra pale, fairly hoppy beer that made a good start to the day.I followed this by a half of Tap East’s own Pale Ale,a somewhat sticky beast at 5.6ABV.An impressive row of keg fonts dispensed an eclectic range of imported and “craft Keg” beers-the jury is still out on this, I’m afraid. While not really my type of pub, Tap East, a project of beer wholesalers Utobeer, and a sister bar to The Rake in Borough Market,adds to variety and choice, and humanises the impersonal monolith of the shopping mall.

Tap East page on the Westfield site - uk.westfield.com

Tap East page on the Westfield site - uk.westfield.com