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The Market Porter, SE1

9 Stoney Street
Southwark
SE1
SE1 9AA
Phone: 02074072495

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Market Porter

A long-term standard bearer of real ale in London, the Porter is located opposite the seriously good Borough Market. There’s around 12 excellent quality ales on the go at any one time and the selection changes regularly (bar the Harveys) though it’s sometimes difficult to get to the bar to actually buy the stuff as it can get insanely busy, though to be fair the staff are very efficient and you don’t often have to wait more than a couple of minutes for service.

The interior itself is fairly bland – there are a couple of dartboards that don’t get used and a small amount of furniture, though the vast majority of punters end up standing throughout their stay. The most interesting feature is the hundreds of pump clips of beers past, dotted all over the walls and ceilings. The customer base is one of pubs strong points – there’s a good mix of suits, market skivvies, CAMRA types and quite a lot in between. When busy, the place can get hot and feel a bit impersonal as a consequence when you're squashed into a corner - a victim of its own success I suppose. In decent weather it’s often tempting to stand outside but the staff get naggy if you don’t have a plastic glass, which rather spoils the effect. Also note that football shirts (including classic retro) are banned on match days.

At the end of the day, it’s a seriously good destination for an ale but you need to be clever about the timing of your visit.

On 22nd November 2012 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


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BobOs . left this review about The Market Porter

Visited on Tuesday late afternoon towards the end of a crawl and we actually managed to get a space to stand and drink. Something like eight or nine pumps on but, to be honest, I didn't take too much notice as I was absorbed by the fantastic collection of pump clips adorning the walls.

On 5th October 2012 - rating: 7
[User has posted 370 recommendations about 355 pubs]


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John Bonser left this review about The Market Porter

Occupying a prominent street corner position on the very edge of Borough Market is The Market Porter, one of the most well known of all London’s pioneering real ale free houses.

It’s a smallish wood floored pub with a woody well worn ale house feel to it. Seating is limited, mainly wooden tables and chairs with a number of beer barrels acting as tables for stand up drinking. Despite the bare boards, leaded dimpled windows contribute towards a traditional pub atmosphere and a number of wooden and half height glass screens divide the interior up a bit. An extension towards the rear has a brighter lighter feel and some exposed brickwork, although again, seating is at a premium.

Of particular note is the extensive collection of pump clips covering almost every available space on the ceiling beams and much of the walls besides, reflecting the wide variety of real ales sold over the years. The L shaped bar has 2 separate banks of handpumps and at least 10 beers are usually on. Harveys Best appears to be the only regular beer on, with a strong emphasis on microbreweries for the constantly changing selection of other beers. The lack of seating and space causes drinkers to tend to congregate around the bar area which often makes it difficult to see what beers are available at any particular time. High up on one wall, a small, barely noticeable, blackboard details the beers on, but it only details the beers names and gravities ( and not the brewery of origin ) and, with no tasting notes or comments, I’ve always considered this blackboard to be of limited value.

Reflecting the proximity of Borough Market, the pub is also open between 6-9 am on Monday to Friday mornings ( with last orders at 8.30 am ) and, perhaps not surprisingly, there’s a wide customer mix at all times of the day.

On my recent early evening visit, beers on included Box Steam Brewery Xmas Box, Plain Ales Inntrique and Severn Valley Dursley Steam. 3 Meantime Beers – Helles, London Pale Ale and Cranberry Stout – were also available, served through a tall keg font. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular, but I’ve found beer quality unreliable here over the years. Interestingly, given the variety available, Harveys Best seems to account for an unusually high proportion of the real ale trade and, with a good throughput, this beer is usually in good nick.

I’ll probably continue to call in occasionally, but it’s always far too uncomfortably crowded for my liking and this, coupled with the inconsistent beer quality, will restrict the frequency of future visits, for me at least

On 5th January 2012 - rating: 7
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]


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Gill Smith left this review about The Market Porter

Loved this place not just for the beer selection but it had a good feel to it. We found seats at a table round the back of the pub. Although really one space, it has lots of separate seating areas. Amazing pump clip collection on walls ceilings – in fact all over. There were 4 beers we had not had before from around 11 available, and we were aiming at 2 per pub, but ended up having Little Valley Pontus Hebdanus, Everards Flourish and Robinsons Dragons Fire. £1.60 per half here.

The above was in March 2010.

Called in on Friday and had a job to get to the door let alone through it. Crowds of drinkers right round the pub, and no better inside. Usually find it easier to get round pubs in the afternoon, but was maybe a little too late this time. Couldn't see the pump clips when I made it to the bar, so we chose the only beer we could see Wold Top Anglers Reward. Beer was fine but must admit the crowds a little overpowering. Top pub though and good for real ale lovers.

On 4th September 2011 - rating: 9
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]


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Danny O'Revey left this review about The Market Porter

Basic alehouse off the Market, the wood floored room follows the bar around a horse shoe. A little too basic and tatty for me, even for one of these type of London pubs, and seating is sparse, presumably to allow more standing.

There are 10 real ales, which is a redeeming feature, but the quality was only reasonable.

On 8th June 2011 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]


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Bucking Fastard left this review about The Market Porter

A London drinking institution and GBG regular,there are up to 12 real ales available ,all rotating guests apart from Harvey's Sussex Best.Sadly I did not spot any chalk board lists aiding selection ,so an obligatory push around the throng at the island bar is needed to make an informed choice.There is now little furniture around the front door ,and even the rear extension including the section by the rear of the double sided fireplace has little seating.
The interior is now looking quite shabby and vertical drinking is the only real option for much of an evening session.The gents is one of the more pungent ,but consider the usage and maybe this is understandable.
It is good to see a wide age range of customers enjoy the drinking atmosphere.Real ale does not dominate the alcohol consumed in here.There have been occasions when ale quality has been queried,but I thoroughly enjoyed my Acorn Cascade IPA if not the scrum around the bar.

On 30th January 2011 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


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I L left this review about The Market Porter

This has been a regular watering hole of ours for many years, even long before the refurbishemnt and extension a few years ago. Has become very popular in recent years and does get very very busy to towards the end of the working week. More recently we have found the ales to be not as good a quality as they used to be.
Our last visit in early August we found our ales were chilled and slightly cloudy. Lets hope this is just a 'bad day'.

On 13th August 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 287 recommendations about 284 pubs]


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Roger Button left this review about The Market Porter

As one of London’s finest ale houses, the Market Porter acts as a magnet for the serious ale afficiando. There are 12 hand pumps constantly on the go and there are usually up to 20 Ales ready to be connected to cope with the high turnover so you rarely see an empty hand pump. If you are come expecting to see a pub of bearded clipboard bearers, you will be surprised just how varied the customer base is. People of all ages mingle together and the atmosphere is quite vibrant and bustling. Despite being one of the oldest pubs in Southwark (it date back to 1638), the current building is a pretty tatty and messy affair with few hints at its origins. The walls, ceilings and pillars are plastered with thousands of pump clips and to view these is almost worth the visit alone. There is not much in the way of seating in the front bar area, just a few barrels to lean on and place your pints. At the rear is an extended area with stripped brickwork, double sided fireplace, a few tables and seats in almost luxurious surroundings compared to the frenetic nature of the main bar. Old pictures of the adjoining Borough market (itself worth a wander around) adorn the walls. The staff are fantastic and despite the hoards that throng around the bar, I have never had to wait long before being served. There is a dartboard at the front and a 40 seat upstairs restaurant as well as a separate function room. As a bonus, as if one was needed, they also always seem to have really good music in here as well. Harry Potter fans may be interested to know that the pub doubled up as the “Third Hand Book Emporium” in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” but fortunately the bar is still relatively free of wand bearing schoolkids drinking Dogbolter. This really is one of the must visit pubs in London.

On 26th March 2010 - rating: 10
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]


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Pub SignMan left this review about The Market Porter

One of London's essential pubs, the Market Porter always has a fantastic line up of ales on offer.
Situated in the popular Borough Market, the pub can get packed and the only real drawback is that it can become very hard to see the pump-clips and figure out what you want.
There are decent sized seating and standing areas either side of the bar and a truly amazing collection of pump-clips throughout.
An essential stop over point when travelling through London Bridge and worth going out of your way for as well, so long as you don't mind the crowds.

On 26th March 2010 - rating: 9
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


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Nigel Sheppard left this review about The Market Porter

Totally agree with John's review, a real boon for real ale drinkers. There is a great selection of real ales in good condition, however the pub is a victim of its own success as it very popular and therefore very busy, otherwise perfect,

On 25th October 2009 - rating: 10
[User has posted 192 recommendations about 192 pubs]

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