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William the Fourth, E10

816 High Road Leyton
E10
E10 6AE

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


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Aqualung . left this review about King William IV

After the sale of it last Winter by Brodie's to Rose Pubs (according to What Pub) I was interested to see what had been done. The carpets have gone and there are bare floorboards in the front and a parquet floor at the rear. The benches around the walls have been completely refurbished and new furniture replaces the old. The bar counter in the back room now houses an open kitchen. The front bar counter looked much the same but with less hand pumps. All the bric-a-brac has gone including the best mirrors. For some reason they thought it was a good idea to install a prominent pool table in the front room but no dart board. One of the reasons I stopped coming here was because of the incessant TV sport. They now have two huge screens in the front bar and one in the back. Given that they are now advertising Sunday roasts I wonder how they will reconcile that with Sunday Premier League games. A second reason I stopped coming here was because of din of loud music on Saturday nights. They have promised DJs for Saturday night and on my opening evening visit they had a loud soundtrack blasting out.
Although the bar retains around a dozen hand pumps only four were in operation with ELB Foundation Bitter, Howling Hops Ruby Red & Pale and Crate Session IPA.
I noticed both the Howling Hops beers were coming up very lively which left me wondering if they had sorted out the cellar temperature problems. The Ruby Red (£4.20) wasn't entirely clear but was reasonably OK. Compared to the majority of Brodie's beers it was very pedestrian and of course, expensive.
Overall I was disappointed with this new incarnation and doubt that I will return. It should be noted that it doesn't open until 16:00 weekdays and 12:00 weekends.

On 28th May 2018 - rating: 4
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Rex Rattus left this review about King William IV

Having read previous posts, we half expected to be disappointed with the ale selection, but were pleasantly surprised by the range on offer. Unfortunately the stout had finished, but there was a mild on, as well Bethnal Green Bitter (excellent value at £3 a pint), Rhymney Hobby Horse, Brodie's Shoreditch Sunshine, Old Street Pale, and a stonking 5.8% brown ale. We were well satisfied with that selection. I didn't see any sign of food at Wednesday lunchtime.

The pub has been well described by others. The bizarrely shaped original Victorian bar counter is still there, as is the collection of photos and prints on the walls, musical instruments hanging from the ceiling, bar billiards and dartboard, etc, etc. One of our number was enthusiastic about the ancient clocking in clock on one of the walls (some of my friends have strange hobbies!).

Having all enjoyed pints of the excellent Bethnal Green Bitter, we then bought five halves of other beers in order to have a mini beer sampling session. We thought that was a good idea.

We really enjoyed our extended stay in this pub, and all agreed that it was a pub desrving of a revisit.

On 27th October 2017 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]


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Real Ale Ray left this review about King William IV

We popped in here on a Monday afternoon, so the pub was very quiet, this gave us a good opportunity to see how big this corner pub actually is. After choosing our beers, we decided to settle in the large rear lounge, which was bright and sunny thanks to the original Victorian glass roof gallery. There was a choice of 9 ales on our visit, with the majority of them being pale ales, so I went for the Brewers Gold Pale Ale, which hit the spot. Also tried and tasted, Brodies Bramling Cross and Minstrel Pale Ale. The barman was upbeat and up for a bit of laugh, which was also an added bonus on our visit.

On 18th February 2016 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3380 recommendations about 3380 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about King William IV

Having read the mixed reviews below,I entered this fine Victorian building with some trepidation but was pleased to see a decent selection of Brodies ales available from the most unusually shaped serving bar with it's double headed arrangement.The choice was from Brodies Old Street Porter,Shoreditch Sunshine,London Fields Pale and a very decent Bethnal Green Bitter.Three guests in Wychwood Imperial Red,Charles Wells DNA and Robinsons Mojo which wouldnt offer much competition to the far superior house beers.Maybe the pub just needs to remove the excess handpumps,as they do give a poor impression.
The interior is quite grand with the high ceiling ,a decent fireplace sadly with only a coal effect fire,an impressive Truman mirror above and the unusual bar.The rear lounge is large with it's own fireplace and lots of seating.
It feels like a proper boozer with a darts board and bar billiards ,and on my visit the vast drop down screen was ready for the rugby later in the day.
With that range of Brodies produce ,I would certainly call again to sample their wares and it makes a good double header with The Drum if your looking for a decent pint.

On 23rd March 2015 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Alan Winfield left this review about King William IV

The William the Fourth is a large and grand looking Victorian pub.
Once inside there is a very large square shaped room to the front with the bar to the front right,there is comfy bench seating around the edge of the room and what i thought was a real fire on the go to the left,there is also a large drop down screen to the front left which was not in use on our Saturday dinner visit, there is also a large room to the rear which is oblong shaped,the seating is similar in this room and there is a bar billiards table to the right.
There was a good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Brodies Bethnel Green bitter which went down very well,the other beers were Brodies Old Street Porter,Shoreditch Sunshine and London Fields Pale,the guest beers were Wychwood Imperial Red,Charles Wells DNA and Robinsons Mojo.
I thought there was a decent enough choice of real ales on the bar to please most drinkers.

Pub visited 21/3/2015

On 21st March 2015 - rating: 8
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve of N21 left this review about King William IV

First time to visit for a while and will concur with the previous reviewers that the extensive beer range that the King Billy was renowned for seems to now be a thing of the past and the majority of the 24 hand pumps are now unused, especially the long row on the back bar.
However, there were still four Brodies Beers and three local guests available dotted amongst the remaining ones for my recent and I still got to enjoy the breweries London Fields pale and Bethnal Green Bitter and there was no sign of GK Old Speckled Hen amongst the decent guests on this occasion.
And with the England v Australia Rugby being shown on the large pull down screen and the various teles dotted about the pub there was a very lively late afternoon atmosphere with quite a few in and I did well to get a seat.
Although perhaps not the Ale emporium it once was, this solid corner Victorian boozer is still well worth a visit in my book with decent pub grub and decent ales and I enjoyed my visit here, especially as we squeezed past the Aussies to boot.

On 22nd December 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


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paulof horsham left this review about King William IV

A return visit to the King Billy, after a few years absence, to see if they've sorted out the quality problems and I'm pleased to report that things were much better. Quality does seem to have come at the cost of variety, but it's surely better to offer fewer ales in good condition, than many more than comfortably be sold. If the Brodies beers don't move so quickly, it may be because the locals seem to prefer a pint of lager or a bottle of Bud.

On this occasion, those preferring ale had the option of 4 or so Brodies and a couple of guests. A range of Brodies' stronger IPAs were on offer on the craft keg taps. I tried a couple of ales and half of the Brown IPA and all slipped down very nicely.

The pub itself is roomy enough and a reasonable crowd were accommodated with ease. The back room, where we found ourselves, is lined with books and also boasts a piano, fire, a TV with poor reception and a section of the extended bar sporting a number of unused handpumps.

While the building feels a little unloved, the beer's better than on my last visit, so maybe I'll be back sooner rather than later.

On 1st February 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 449 recommendations about 421 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Malden man left this review about King William IV

Finally I managed to shake off the post Christmas lack of inertia and drag myself out east to check out this renowned pub. Inside there are two distinct areas, the main bar being situated to the front. A curious shaped affair with a significant central recess in the counter, being almost B-shaped. The bar extends to the rear area but this section was not in use and was cluttered up with kid's toys. Both areas are carpeted, seating is traditional, the rear room has a large vaulted rooflight. Décor includes stacks of interesting brewery mirrors, a mounted antelope head, suspended coal scuttles, pots and pans, toy pram and a French horn. A double bass is propped up in a corner. There is a usable dartboard with an oche set into the carpet and a bar billiards table in the back room. The coal effect gas fire, red walls and ceiling made for a cosy feel. Sky Sports News featured on two big screens on Saturday afternoon keeping everyone up to date with the football.
Obviously the main reason I had for travelling across town is the attraction of the various Brodies beers in what is the brewery tap; bearing in mind it was Saturday I left feeling a bit cheated, only four cask Brodies beers on, London Fields Pale Ale, Kentish Town Brown IPA, Amarilla and Bethnal Green Bitter (which went). There were also guests in the form of Hanlon's Port Stout and Milestone Dasher the Flasher. I appreciate that there are also a large batch of keykeg fonts but these are generally not to my taste being cold, fizzy and in my view overpriced. £2.50 for the cask beers however irrespective of abv is excellent value. I assume they put on what they know they can shift but the ranks of unclipped pumps looking forlorn and unwanted makes the place look a bit unloved.
I am however glad I made the trip over, The Bell at nearby Walthamstow was a good double too. I do however feel slightly disappointed, perhaps my expectations were too high?

On 19th January 2014 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about King William IV

large but slightly scruffy pub with a lovely wibbly wobbly shaped bar.Interesting fixtures and fittings.Craft keg beer sold in 1/3 measures so I tried 3 of the weakest 5.8-7.0-and 7.3.Not exactly session beers but were in good condition. Massive tv screen probably the biggest I have seen had boxing on so that's a plus for me.

On 22nd September 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


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Gill Smith left this review about King William IV

We caught a 48 bus from Walthamstow station to visit this pub last Sunday, and it was a bit of a disappointment really as we expected more beer available. Most of the handpulls were empty of clips giving the bar a barren look really. Of the few available, we had Brodies Amarilla and Brodies Simcoe Pale, both in good condition. Maybe a Sunday is not the best day to visit, but would give it another go.

On 24th November 2012 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]

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