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Detail Pages
The Rake, Borough Market, SE1
SE1
SE1 9AG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Rake
This place was opened in the mid-2000’s by the people that run the renowned Utobeer next door in the food-tastic Borough Market. It’s painted blue like the TARDIS but unfortunately doesn’t get much bigger inside which is basically a small, stark rectangular box with three tables and eight chairs that smells faintly of damp. There’s about twice the space in the decked rear patio, with striking primary-coloured garden furniture like you’d see in an infant school and a number of eco-bothering patio heaters. There’s a huge range of bottled beers in the cabinets at the back of the bar from around the world, along with a variety of UK and imported ‘craft’ keg products. Prices for the aforementioned can be quite high (regardless of whether they’ve been imported or the abv) and an obvious lack of menu (that I can see) to allow you take a ponder and make an informed choice is unhelpful; there’s only so many times you can ask the staff “and what about this one…?”. So I stuck with the ales on my last visit. Three pretty strong ones on the go, my Moorhouse wasn’t as expensive as I’d feared but the quality was so-so. A slightly odd atmosphere inside on my late afternoon Monday visit and I felt rather like the gooseberry. Given that the pub (or bar, really) has little in the way of comfort then you need to be in the frame of mind of not coming here for the location or decor, just the beer selection. With the advent of the Craft branded pubs, BrewDog outlets and the Euston Tap, what was once a trailblazer in the capital is looking distinctly less appealing and the faults are now more obvious. Still, it does open at 10am...
On 25th October 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Rake
One of the original 'craft beer' bars in London, but can be hard to find. I picked the right side street, so we popped in. Handpumps were dispensing Oakham Citra (on good form) and Dark Star Espresso. Companion couldn't believe that beer could be had at 9.2%, so I also got us a third of Hardcore IPA - served at a good temperature and not gassy: please take note Brewdog. That latter point serves to emphasise the pub's interest in 'interesting' beer from around the world, some on tap but mostly bottled. You'll pay a lot for some of them but they know their stuff.
It wasn't too busy on our visit but, as a small venue, we took our drinks outside rather than pack into the bar area.
I don't visit every time I'm in the area (it can get silly crowded), but I do like to pop in from time to time.
On 2nd April 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Rake
A very small bar which does carry a couple of cask beers but really showcases craft beers from Europe and the Usa and carries a sizeable collection of interesting bottles in some large fridges behind the bar. The side wall carries loads of graffiti type appreciative comments of the bar and its products. We dropped by on a Saturday evening late on, no room at the bar but the overspill extends into the adjacent Borough Market and the pub's designated area has those ozone layer unfriendly patio heaters which at least double the pub's floor area.
Popular with a younger crowd, they clearly are more comfortable with standing and shouting, nevertheless, this is a decent bolt on addition to the wealth of local drinking establishments.
Three handpumps, one unclipped, the others had Dark Star American PA and Elgood's Greyhound. A decent pint to be had and a good beer policy but a bit too crowded and uncomfortable for a miserable old sod like me. An admirable venture nevertheless, despite having to use the market toilets or alternatively using the girl's...well it was nearer and the end of a long day.
On 7th December 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Rake
Called in on Friday but only 2 beers available. St Austell Smugglers 11.5% I believe but £6 a half. Chose the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil at a more respectable price. They do have quite a lot of foreign beers, and despite the higher prices the place was packed and buzzing with conversation.
On 4th September 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Rake
A small bar with one wall taken up with graffiti about the beer, its a very basic place really and would be poor without the quality of the beer. Outside patio covered with an umbrella doubles the available space. Doesn't really work for me, but 2 extra marks for the beer quality.
On 8th June 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Chris 87 left this review about The Rake
As mentioned in previous reviews, this place is tiny and even at my 5.15pm visit was filling up rapidly. Luckily my associate had arrived early and bagged a table on the outside decking, which wasn't as chilly as it sounds in january thanks to the presence of the outdoor heaters. The Rake is a very well known haunt for interesting and speciality beers and on my first visit I was not disappointed - Dark Star MM Porter (£4!) was delicious; Art Brew Golden Vanilla (£3.20), with its tangy and none-too-subtle vanilla flavouring, probably more of an acquired taste though I certainly had no qualms polishing off two pints of it. Service is quick and efficient as the bar staff are obviously used to being perpetually busy. Definitely one of the smallest pubs I've ever been to yet certainly one I'll visit again - another must-visit pub to chalk up in London's best postcode for pubs, SE1.
On 21st January 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 179 recommendations about 179 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Rake
A very small pub at the side of Borough market that had 4 real ales on which were all in very good form.It gets packed in the evening and on my visit yesterday was full wall to wall but this adds to the atmosphere.Good outside drinking area and all round a good pub for all beer lovers.
On 29th August 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Rake
Borough Market's bottled beer specialists Utobeer have used this small, single room unit to showcase their wide range of beers from Europe and the US. The pub is decorated with an interesting collection of breweriana, including some nice metal signs from the likes of Anchor Brewery, numerous pump clips behind the bar and a Brooklyn Brewery flag hanging on the ceiling. The far wall has a number of good will messages scrawled on it by various visiting brewers and I can only imagine that by the end of the day there would have been another one added, given that my visit happened to coincide with a meet the brewer (Otley) session.
As such, the three hand pumps had three Otley ales on offer. I tried a pint of the lovely, refreshing Colomb-O (£3.10), which went down a treat. As well as the pumps there were various foreign beers on tap including Blue Moon, Kaiserdom and two others. Two taps were not in use. Furthermore there are some impressively large fridges behind the bar packed full of bottled delights. The bar staff seemed very knowledgeable and were helping numerous customers find the right beer to suit their tastes.
The interior is so small that there are only a small handful of high tables and stools available, but thankfully there is an outdoor decking area which was proving quite popular in the summer sunshine. The pub has various notices up explaining that football colours cannot be worn inside and that children may not enter the bar area but can sit out on the decking.
A fine beer pub and something a little different to the other excellent ale houses in this part of town - I quite often find myself in this area and would certainly return.
On 12th July 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Rake
The Rake is one of the smallest pubs in London with an interior measuring 13’ x 7’ although they claim it can accommodate over 40 people. Just where they would go is anyones guess and if you want a seat at one of the three small circular tables, you can pretty much forget it. There isn’t even room for a Gents toilet; you have to nip out the back into the adjoining market although the ladies and wheelchair users are more fortunate with their own facilities within the pub. Since its days as the Old Kings Head, the Rake has been reinvented as a speciality beer and ale pub with an indeterminate number of bottled beers stacked up in fridges behind the bar as well as several foreign draught beers and 3 constantly changing Real Ales (Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, Stonehenge Great Bustard & Cairngorm Trade Winds on my recent trip). The interior won’t win any prizes with quite plain décor, bare floors and bright lighting. The only things of interest are the signed graffiti messages and numerous brewery signs. The small decked, covered terrace (with heaters) virtually doubles the size of the pub however they shut the patio at 10pm at which time everyone is shepherded inside and the pub becomes insanely uncomfortably. Price wise, the ales are very reasonable (my Cairngorm Trade Winds was £3.10) although the speciality draught and bottled beers come with a more demanding price tag. Its (lack of) size makes the Rake a bit limiting for a long session but it is a thriving part of the excellent local pub scene and worth exploring in conjunction with its neighbours.
On 26th March 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Rake
First pub on yesterdays London crawl and was empty when we got there. Chose Beartown Bear Ass which was fine, but the Triple FFF Moondance was cloudy. Drinkable though. The other ale on offer was Cotleigh 25. Plenty of bottled beers on offer. No toilet available as it was out of order with a notice asking customers to use the one in the market. Small pub with very little room inside.
On 24th March 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]