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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Detail Pages
The Walrus & The Carpenter, Monument, EC3
EC3
EC3R 8BU
Pub Type
Nicholsons (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
An early 19th century pub this, originally known as the Cock, but presumably rebuilt in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and once a Wenlock brewery pub, the current name in existence since at least 1983.
A Nicholson’s house, the interior is L-shaped, with a modern boarded floor, black walls and white ceiling. There’s an attractive bar back, provenance unknown, lighting is Victorian style, there are a few knickknacks to shelves, along with TVs showing Sky News with the subtitles or football (no-one watching), all to a barely audible soundtrack. Furniture is tall and conventional, as are the customers (for the City), most of whom were drinking outside.
Ales came to huge banks of pumps clipped with Doom and Pride, then Velo Citrus Pale Ale, Tribute and Nicholson’s Pale Ale (St. Austell) at £2.65 a half and good.
This place is perfectly adequate for a meet-up and a drink, but it’s not a City institution that’s worth seeking out and the TVs make the place less attractive.
On 6th May 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
This is a decent sized, L-shaped Nicholson’s pub just off the River Thames and a short walk from Monument. The pub has a very narrow interior which the servery winds its way through in a convoluted manner. The front entrance takes you into a lower, compact seating space with a few high tables and stools but not much else of note. Similar seating options can be found up a few steps which pass through an interesting looking doorway, now devoid of the wall that once surrounded it, leading you into the main bar area. The angular, dark wood counter of the bar appears to the right, complimented by a traditional looking bar back, dark floorboards, lincrusta ceiling and elaborate light fittings. To the rear, the room and servery swing around to the right, passing through a very smart section with comfy banquettes and chairs under attractive dark wood panelling and traditional décor, marred only by TV screens showing a muted news channel. Stairs take you down to the Cellars Bar – a small room with a wild tile-patterned floor, plain walls and a servery to the right of the entrance. Several tables and chairs are available down here as well as a couple of button backed armchairs and another TV screen was showing the same news channel. There is also a dining room upstairs, named after Lewis Carroll, who was of course the author of the story from which the pub takes its name.
The usual decent Nicholson’s ale range was available, with the full options comprising Nicholson’s Pale Ale, Fullers London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar, LBC Never Mind the Kent Hops, Old Dairy Snow Top and Black Sheep Holy Grail, along with two Weston’s ciders. The basement bar had five of the ales listed above plus Adnams Broadside. Sadly, my pint of the Snow Top was totally undrinkable, which suggests that the pub may no longer be able to support the number of handpulls currently in operation.
I’m prepared to put the poor pint down to bad luck on my part – ale was flying out of the other pumps with no noticeable complaints. With that set aside, this is a very nice Nicholson’s pub, offering an attractive and comfortable drinking space that doesn’t perhaps match up to some of their more famous venues, but does at least give you somewhere you’d feel happy to settle down in for a while. As Central London pubs go, I thought this was pretty decent and will be back in the hpe of getting a much better pint the next time.
On 2nd September 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
Reasonable Nicholsons pub, but with a slightly awkward layout meaning that the corner entrance leads into a narrow area before go up a couple of steps to get to the first part of the bar. As people tend to congregate there, this then forms a blockage to the longer side of the bar and larger seating area beyond. Lewis Carroll dining room upstairs (never visited). Ten handpumps, usually offering a decent selection of guest ales (e.g. Andwell Red IPA on my latest visit) as well as the usual suspects. Recently reopened after a brief refurbishment.
On 18th April 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roy Collins left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
Nice pint of Thornbridge Red Roc which is brewed for Nicholsons pubs.Nice surroundings and good staff.
On 20th June 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 124 recommendations about 121 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
3 floor Nicholson's pub serving real ale and food.
On 5th November 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
BobOs . left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
Started our crawl here before lunch on Tuesday so it was nice and quiet. Excellent friendly service and very good selection of well-kept ales - I had a pint of Redemption's Urban Dusk which was a really good pint to start off on.
On 5th October 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 370 recommendations about 355 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
Nice traditional old style Pub thats been modernised into one large room but it looks OK the way its been done. There were Plenty of festival Beers too choose from on Tap when we went in and I would return again if passing. I must Just watch out for the steps when entering :-)
On 29th January 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Walrus & The Carpenter
A large selection of real ale is reason enough to pay a visit to this Nicholsons house.However ,compared with some of their other City outlets,I thought the interior was less traditional and charming.A former corner door,now a window,is evidence of a previous two room layout which has sadly been lost.Another small niggle is the lack of a chalk board noting the full range of ales:having struggled to get to the nearest collection of handpumps from the front door,there was a lack of will to push further round to see what the other rank of handpumps had to offer.Clearly this wouldn't have been a problem at a quieter time.However the bar service was efficient,and the ale quality good.Well worth another visit.
On 28th January 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Walrus & Carpenter
My recent visit was the first for many years when it was I believe a Youngs pub before being taken on by Nicholsons in November 2006. The pub name is taken from a Lewis Carroll poem featured in Through The Looking Glass although his connection with the local area aren’t immediately apparent to me even though he pops up in one way or another throughout the pub from “Alice” related annotated pictures and displays on the walls to the upstairs Bar & Dining Room that bears his name.
The bare floored main bar was originally divided in two but has now been knocked through into a single L-shape albeit retaining a certain degree of separation courtesy of a wooden screen. Nicholsons have retained its traditional style and in many ways it does feel like a typical City pub without any of the modern loungey pretentious gimmicks that now blight so many pubs. Downstairs is a cellar bar that I presume to be more of a wine bar but I didn’t explore this far into the bowels of the building.
The 10 hand pumps had a good range of ales from the seasonal pool of Nicholson guest beers alongside the regulars Pride, Doom Bar and Landlord. Some of the pumps were doubled up with similar ales and the 2 banks of hand pumps are not immediately visible without roaming half way round the bar so best to check the beer list on the wall for the full list of what is available. Prices are reasonable for the area. There was a good fixed price lunch menu with a selection of main courses for £5.95 or 2 courses for £8.95.
I diod not notice any TVs but thre was background piped music. As it was a mid-afternoon appearance, I can’t vouch for how busy it gets but one can safely assume that like all city pubs, peak times could be quite uncomfortable if you don’t bag what appeared to be a fairly limited number of tables.
Despite my rather faded memories of previous visits, I can’t help feel the place has lost a bit of its charm although the improved range of ales that Nicholsons offer still make it a worthwhile place to drop in.
On 22nd December 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Walrus & Carpenter
A decent sized corner pub just off Lower Thames Street. Beer choice has improved of late and now provides a bit of a better choice.
Seven real ales on which, as well as the house TT Landlord and Pride, included five guests from regional brewers. These included seasonal beers, Davenports Fall, Cairngorm Autumn Nuts and Cameron's Autumn drop, along with Wolvers Ale from the Newman's brewery in Wales and Brunette from the Morrisey Fox partnership.
Internally there are two rooms on the ground floor and a restaurant known as the Lewis Carol dining room above. The pub also benefits from a fairly large outside pavement area to accomodate outside drinkers in the summer months.
Despite the pub ,(or to be precise the pavement outside) heaving with after work suits on this fine autumnal evening, we didn't experience any real problems getting served and between us we tried most of the ales with the favourites being the Cairngorn and surprisingly Neil Morrisey's Brunette, which indicates he could finish up to be a better brewer than he was an actor.
On 28th September 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]