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Detail Pages
The Sun Tavern, Bethnal Green, E2
E2
E2 0AN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Sun Tavern
Formerly boarded up and forlorn, the Sun Inn reopened as the Sun Tavern in 2014. Quite what the area's residents from 1851 when the pub was built would make of the place now, who knows? Perhaps they would have mistaken it for Newgate Prison. This is a narrow and cramped pub with some of the most distressed bare brick walls I've ever seen and just when I think that a pub's interior can't get any more gloomy, along comes another one that takes the biscuit, not that you could find a biscuit in here for the stygian gloom. The floor's bare boarded and I initially thought that all the customers were dwarves until I realised that they were seated. I'd like to describe the furniture but can't as I couldn't see it, though I did manage to find a tall stool and sup at a drinking ledge. The lack of light also means that a very nasty step on the way to the loo could prove a genuine hazard; fairly loud music played by a DJ added to the disorientation.
I had thought that this was a specialist craft beer outlet, but the barmen were bustling away mixing cocktails - the bar also boasts a large selection of whiskies and poitín.
Alas no real ales and as mentioned below, the low light makes it hard to read the clips to the keg taps on a beer wall. One I could read was Camden's Ink stout which was quite nice though very steep at £2.70 a half.
This isn't my thing in so many ways and I doubt that I'm their preferred customer base, so I'll not return.
On 16th August 2019
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about The Sun Tavern
One room with the bar to the left. No real ale but ten taps of various strengths.
On 17th September 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Sun Tavern
I have been in here I here a few times over the years, first as a basic bog standard pub then later after it had been smartened up a bit. Now everything internally has been stripped back and distressed to give a modern hipster feel. No longer any real ale here but 10 craft taps on the back wall, It is of course still as PSM describes in August, the only change is likely to be the beers. A half of Fourpure Juice Box at £3.00 a half was a decent start to the day.I quite liked it here, maybe not everybody's cup of tea but there are far worse places on the Bethnal Green Road.
On 17th December 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Sun Tavern
A short walk from Bethnal Green tube station, this is a small, single room craft beer bar in an historic pub that dates back to 1851. The pub has a very simple layout, with a relatively long but narrow interior where the servery runs down most of the left hand wall. There is a small seating area to the front, limited tables and chairs in the cramped space opposite the bar and a slightly more expansive rear space with several more tables and some valuable standing room. There are large windows down two sides, but they were blocked out by thick Venetian blinds, making it quite dark and atmospheric inside, even on a bright summer's day. The servery has a battered looking old counter with a curved end and bare brick bar back sporting the obligatory row of keg taps. The room has more than its fair share of Antic-style undressed wall space, which didn't look great, but seems popular in this sort of hipster bar. A few people were eating and the dishes I saw being brought out seemed to be sharing platters, which looked pretty good to be honest, although I have no idea how much they cost. Decor was kept to a bare minimum, partly because there wasn't a great deal of wall space available, but there were a few quirky pictures in the rear left corner, beyond the end of the bar, to provide a little visual distraction.
Unfortunately there are no handpulls here, with the focus very much on craft beer and cocktails. There are ten keg taps on the bar back and they dispense an ever-changing range of locally sourced beers from microbreweries within a five mile radius of the pub. I tried something from Five Points, which was pretty good, but inevitably far too cold to fully appreciate.
I popped in here on a bit of a whim, but left feeling quite pleased that I'd given the place a chance. Whilst the lack of real ale is likely to put some people off, I liked the commitment to local breweries and thought they had created a decent alternative to the classic boozer in which to enjoy these brews. It is a nice counter balance to the nearby Mother Kelly's and craft beer fans would do well to try this double header when in the area.
On 25th August 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Sun Tavern
One roomed ,low ceiling rectangular pub.Lots of unfinished exposed brick gives it a hipster feel.Quite dark inside.10 keg beers served from a beer wall behind the bar.Need good eyesight to see whats on tap.Hammertons,Orbit Fourpure at reasonable prices for a craft bar.
On 4th September 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Sun
There were three ales on during my visit – Hyde's High and Dry; Adnam's Old Ale; and Brakspear's Oxford Gold. I went for the High & Dry, which was served far too cold, but otherwise tasted fine. However, I noticed sparklers on all three handpumps, but the barman was happy to remove the sparkler before serving my pint of Hyde's. I'm sure it's easier to pull a full pint without one of these things on the end of the tap. Perhaps I should not have asked for it to be removed as Hyde's is a Manchester brew and might well be brewed specifically to be dispensed in this way, but I just prefer my beer not artificially frothed up.
This is a decent little pub. As others have mentioned, they have these candles on the tables in bottles with the wax running down them, a bit like what you see in Italian restaurants. Nothing particularly wrong with that, but it just looks a bit odd in a pub. Furnishings consist of normal tables and chairs with a couple of settles at the front. I didn't notice a TV, but they were playing some authentic blues, which made a nice change from the usual stuff you hear in pubs. They also had a small bookcase near the bar, on which was a good supply of the latest London Drinker. I've yet to find a really bad pub with London Drinker available, although I'm sure there must be one out there somewhere! But the Sun isn't it. I would be happy to drop in here for another pint if I was in the area.
On 2nd December 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]