Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Marian Anderson, Clerkenwell, EC1
EC1
EC1R 0BJ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Bowler
Lee Curtis, below, obviously the proprietor of this venue, describes what was once The Surprise as Clerkenwell's best sports pub and I'd find it hard to disagree. To describe The Bowler as a sports pub is the understatement of the century. Indeed a blackboard proclaims: 'Fact of the day: We love sports'; no kidding. The place was virtually dark with six TVs and a vast IMAX of a projector on one wall. This is a bit of a locals' pub and not a gastro venue, serving the likes of burgers. Furniture is mixed with some leatherette sofas.
Ales on: Brakspeare's Bitter and Heritage and Wychwood's Hobgoblin at a rather steep £2.20 a half; it was ok.
One for TV sports devotees only.
On 27th November 2017
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Bowler
An L shaped pub with 5 tv,s and one massive screen showing the football.Very busy.Only 2 cask beers on Breakspear -bitter and Hobgoblin.
On 20th April 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Bowler
As you enter through the corner door you find yourself in a room with no bar counter and with all the scrubbed wooden tables, with fairly simple little chairs, laid for diners, leading one to think you've stumbled into a restaurant. Walking through the dining room and to the back on the left brings you into another area where the bar counter's located, and where there's a bit more seating consisting of red upholstered furnishings and a couple of standard tables. Unfortunately when I dropped in this area was being utilised as a marshalling area for a delivery of glasses, leaving me to retreat to one of the tall tables/tall stools in the dining room.
Although food is obviously quite important here, I was the only person in at 12.30 PM, and there were no menus out on the tables. It had the look and feel of a place that hadn't yet opened for the day. Anyway, they did have on Hobgoblin, and Brakspear's Bitter (£1.85 a half), plus a Thatcher's cider on handpump. It didn't feel terribly comfortable in here, but maybe at another time it would be more lively.
On 26th March 2015
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Lee curtis left this review about The Bowler
Clerkenwells best sports pub, huge screens and HD tv's, great cocktails, yummy food and the staff are very attentive...you have to check this little gem out. 2-4-1 cocktails everyday from 5pm-7pm. ... awesome!
On 8th September 2012
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Bowler
The Bowler is set in the back streets just of farringdon road.
Once inside the pub had a longish room that if a remember right was on two levels,the seating was normal tables and chairs,the pub was almost empty on our Thusrsday evening visit,which made this pub seem very depressing.
There were no real ales on the bar,the bitter option was John Smiths smooth crap,we had a Guinness which was well below par.
This was a very dissapointing pub at the time of our visit.
Pub visited 17/8/2006
On 17th August 2006
- rating: 4
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]