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Williams Ale & Cider House, Bishopsgate, E1

22 Artillery Lane
E1
E1 7LS
Phone: 02072475163

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Pub Type

Metropolitan Pub Co (Greene King)
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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

Now run by the Metropolitan Pub Company, the Williams does the 'ale & cider house' thing rather well. Comprises several rooms, partly opened out, with all the bare brick and dark wood that you would expect. Limited furniture in and around the bar, but some booths and lighter decor in the side seating area. Seven handpumps on the front counter, the same again at the back and three gravity taps at the back (with one dispensing a cider). Opted for a London Fields Chocolate Porter (£3.90), but the ale choice was excellent. Well worth seeking out.

On 18th April 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

Off down a side-street near Liverpool St station, this place has decided to go full-pelt towards the craft beer market; I was amazed to find out that this is owned by Greene King (‘Capital’ pub co, apparently). I counted 14 pumps, though only six were actually operational with beer, two others were badged as Westons cider. Three drinks of some description were also available from taps behind the bar. Most of the beers were either from London or the east of England (bar one house beer which appears to be little more than a re-badged GK interloper – unmarked as being from Bury St Edmunds of course). After some umming and ahhing I went for the London Fields Shoreditch Triangular which came out rather well. The interior has a lot of exposed brick, with two rooms separated by architecturally pleasing brick arches. Pervading smell of damp was rather off-putting. Left-field music choice, was pleased to hear Beth Orton get five minutes through the speakers. Daily papers available, always a good sign. There was also a madly-painted upright piano which I assume was tuned given comments elsewhere. Meet the brewer sessions advertised for Wednesday evenings. I did really enjoy this one and would make a point of returning here sooner rather than later.

On 25th February 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


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E TA left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

This GK pub, now part of the Capital pub chain, hidden away in the backstreets of Bishopsgate, is characterised by its exposed brickwork, wooden floorboards and slighly damp air, which gives it an almost medieval feel. Ones expects to see sawdust on the floor, but there isn't any. They encourage live music and have an 'open piano' policy, but thankfully this was not being exploited when we visited. Being off the beaten track, it was devoid of annoying tourists and full of ale lovers. I lost count of exactly how many ales were on offer but I think it was around 14 plus a cider on a mix of handpumps and taps. There is a 'try before you buy' policy in operation, and the friendly, knowledgeable staff were most willing to promote this. I settled on a pint of Bitter Old Bustard, a most enjoyable pint in perfect condition. This is an excellent establishment to which I shall most certainly return when in the area, and it's a valuable addition to any pub crawl.

On 15th February 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3272 recommendations about 3237 pubs]


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paulof horsham left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

As mentioned, this is a Greene King pub, "crafted-up" into an old-looking new style ale house. This may not sound as positive as it should, but it's all done with style and quality.

The bar splits in two, divided by a brick pillar, and you'll find 5 or so handpumps in each part. These ales are pretty much all micro-brewery sourced (with a GK interloper as a house beer). Behind the bar, there's 3 craft keg taps, and a few more offerings on the bar.

Our party selected our ales from across the range and none of us were disappointed. Worth a visit, and hopefully sufficiently invisible from the nearby station that you can squeeze in after work.

On 13th February 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 449 recommendations about 421 pubs]


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Moby Duck left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

This pub I really liked ,inside we find a bare wooden floor and plenty of exposed brickwork,the wooden beams do not appear to be of great age , but this doesn't detract, sympathetically lit it maintains a good pub feel and atmosphere that can't be manufactured easily.The 14 handpumps,as mentioned below not all on as weekends, by nature of location ,are much quieter than during the working week.But those that were on were very impressive, from a selection of seven or eight I tried Jo C's Kiwi which was very good and London Fields Shoreditch Triangle IPA which was outstanding. Hidden away down a small side street this pub is well worth seeking out.

On 10th February 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


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Bucking Fastard left this review about Williams Ale & Cider House

It may still be owned by Greene King,but there is very little evidence of their dead hand on the beer front,apart from a couple of "house brews" with no mention of Bury St Edmunds on their pump clips.However the choice from the 14 handpumps ,split over two parts of the bar,was very impressive on my PuG crawl trip.The condition of my London Fields Shoreditch Triange IPA and Jo C's Old Bustard Bitter were both excellent.Other choices included Jo C's Norfolk Kiwi and Adnams Old Ale and a few I failed to register,but not all 14 pumps were in operation on a quiet Saturday lunchtime.
The interior is quite interesting with brick arches dividing up the interior space , raised seating booths to one side while the rear opens out to accomodate a large banquette.The wooden floor gives the pub an ale house feel and three real ciders were being dispensed through wall mounted taps at the back of the bar.
The friendly barmaid was offering samples to help make your beer choice,and proper handled glassware was used to serve the various halves being sampled.It may get busier afterwork in the evenings,but this place was a revelation from my point of view and deserves a much longer session given the range and quality of the real ale on offer.The best real ale outlet close to Liverpool Street IMHO.

On 9th February 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


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john gray left this review about Williams

Still a Greene King pub but under their Capital pub chain.14 handpumps but only 7 beers on my midweek visit.Nice pub but they have overdone it with the exposed brickwork. Specialising in London brewers but they had on the rarely seen WadsworTh 6x.both beers from Signature and Trumans were in good condition.Will be back due to the beer range.

On 29th November 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


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Clive Thompson left this review about Williams

After a couple of weeks of being closed for a refurb, Williams has opened again, as Williams Ale & Cider House. Nothing structurally has changed, there are a few new bits of furniture, a few more tables and the interior brickwork has been stripped back even further. The front has been brightened up with a lick of paint. The main change is behind the bar. Whereas before it was all GK beers there are now around a dozen pumps with beers from local London brewers like Redemption, Sambrooks, London Fields etc. (three thirds are available if you want to try them all). Price is OK for the area at £3.80 a pint. There’s a cider selection, a dry hopped lager and some interesting bottles. The previous tenants have gone and this all makes me wonder if Greene King have sold the place.

On 29th September 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]


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Steve C left this review about Williams

This is a nice sized pub that feels a lot smaller than it is due an exposed brick wall with arches splitting the pub lengthwise. The bar is on the left hand side and there is seating on the right as well as some more seating at the rear of the pub. There are a couple of plasma screens, but I didn’t spot any signs of Sky Sports so I imagine only ‘major sporting events are shown’, or in other words ‘any sport on terrestrial TV’. This is a Greene King establishment with three hand pumps for selling their ales (IPA, Royal London and Old Speckled Hen on this visit). As usual I opted for the Guinness and it was a decent pint served by a professional barmaid. The A-board outside advertises new kitchen opening times so I imagine that they have only just started serving food all day.

I though that there was a good atmosphere in here and although the random background music was very tinny I would still pop in again if passing.

On 20th July 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]


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Steve of N21 left this review about Williams

Tucked away on Artillery lane, just off Bishopsgate. there has been a pub on this site since 1682. Was formerly known as The Ship during the 1970's and although it now sounds like a wine bar, it still remains a traditional city pub. Internally three connecting rooms and although recently modernised, still retains some character with each area having its own distinct feel and seating areas.
The back room houses a pool table and there is a big screen for the sport, although I do not believe they have Sky.
It’s another of Green King’s houses in the city and therefore only has the usual GK fair. But its always been a decent pint on my visits and although does tend to get busy early evening is still a comfortable place for a pint if you are in the area.

On 10th March 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]

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