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The Beer House, Charing Cross, WC2

Pub added by Nick Davies
Charing Cross Station
WC2
WC2N 5HF

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


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about The Beer House at Charing Cross

I called in here when it first opened and found their cask ale selection uninspiring. This recent visit was also a waste of time, as they only had a solitary Doom Bar on handpump.

On 23rd November 2019 - rating: 3
[User has posted 3378 recommendations about 3378 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Beer House at Charing Cross

The exterior display panels and lighter decor introduced in the refurbishment a few years ago make the place look (slightly) less uninviting than it once was. However, the side windows remain bricked up so no there is no natural light, still no toilets and the small 'L'-shaped space has not been increased in size. Four handpumps, clipped for Pride, Greene King IPA, Abbot and Doom Bar, but it turned out that the first two were there (temporarily) for decorative purposes so ended up with the latter (£5.00, less 10% BITE Card discount). There are also a few other beers available from the keg taps plus a selection of bottled craft beers. Overall, it is little more than an expensive waiting room when your train is running late.

On 28th April 2018 - rating: 5
[User has posted 8066 recommendations about 8066 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Beer House at Charing Cross

Tucked away in a dark corner of the Charring Cross station concourse, close to the steps down to Villiers Street, this is a small single room station pub that was given a token 'craft beer' leaning makeover around five or so years ago. This pretence is evident from the windows full of bottled beer displays and to be fair, it is the bottled range that is perhaps the main draw here, focusing around some of the country's better known craft brands plus a few Belgian and continental options. Keg beers included mainstream lager and cider products plus obscurer offerings from the likes of Harviestoun and Affligem but there are also cask ales here, with four handpulls on this occasion serving up Greene King Abbott Ale and IPA Gold, Morland Old Speckled Hen and Fullers London Pride. The Hen set me back £4.50, which is by no means cheap, but was still 40p cheaper than I paid for a weaker beer in Covent Garden earlier that same evening. The beer was in adequate shape but really at that sort of price you want your pint to be top quality - something I suspect this venue doesn't really aspire to.
The pub itself is a rather corporate feeling affair with a narrow entrance passage with high stools along ledges down either side leading you into a small bar area with the servery on the back wall. The room has dark tongue and groove panelling with white painted uppers and a single bare brick wall to the right, with decor consisting mainly of blackboards promoting various offers and the like. A couple of small cabinets full of beer bottles continue the theme started in the front windows and there was a large Guinness rugby flag on the front wall. The bar itself has a rather dull tongue and groove counter and faux brick bar back with some pork pies stacked up on the end of the counter seeming to be the main food option that evening. TV's to either side of the room were showing a muted news channel whilst irritating R&B music played to cover up the fact that no-one was willing to strike up conversation in here. A departures board was also displayed to the right of the bar, which is no doubt useful for timing your last pint to perfection. The pub doesn't have any toilets, so you need to ask at the bar for a token which can be used to save you from having to pay the 30p fee for the station facilities.
Judging by some of the reviews of the pub's former incarnation, this is a massive improvement on what went before, but that's obviously an improvement from a very low starting point and doesn't really mask the fact that this is an uninspired run-of-the-mill station bar of the sort that has been eclipsed by far superior bars in stations such as Kings Cross, Paddington and Euston. I might consider using this place again for a swift drink before catching a train, but with more time on your hands you can do much better just a short walk away.

On 11th March 2017 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


E TA left this review about The Beer House at Charing Cross

A single-room station bar on the Charing Cross concourse, it has a wooden floor and a few handy tables. WiFi is provided by The Cloud. There were 3 ales on handpump, Pride, Speckled Hen and GKIPA, plus a selection of pressurised beers including 2 from Meantime, Schiehallion and some foreign lagers. The only hot food is chicken wings (really, what is the point?), while the cold option was stale pork pie and rancid mustard served on a piece of old driftwood. Expensive, but worth a quick pint while waiting for a train.

On 4th May 2016 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3272 recommendations about 3237 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Roger Button left this review about The Beer House at Charing Cross

Situated next to Platform 1 on the concourse of Charing Cross station, the Boadicea (and its previous incarnation as the Kent Connection) has probably been one of the most maligned “pubs” on Planet Beer so its apparent conversion to a specialist (and newly renamed) beer house probably had many a CAMRA card bearer coughing into his froth.

Despite the opening fanfare, everyone’s favourite station bar isn’t the ale bearing outlet that every beer ticker (or even Network Rail if their blurb is to be believed) were probably hoping for but to its credit, it does pack a bit more of a punch than its predecessor.

Instead of ales we now have a new outlet for the ever growing craft beer revolution that appears to polarize the discerning drinkers. True ale buffs will lament the lack of Real Ales (the Boadicea did at least have 2 admitedly mediocre mainstream choices - Youngs and Pride) wheras the obsure(ish) top end keg continental and craft beers (about 15 on draught) and bottled beer tickers will gain some degree of satisfaction. Prices range from £4 (for a small bottle) to however much a fool and his wallet need to be parted.

The small L-shaped interior layout is as it has always been and is still rather faceless although the façade now has shelves of the aforementioned bottled beers and does look a little more enticing. The TV has been repositioned in the narrow corridor entrance which isn’t the most practical spot. One major plus point is that the small tucked away TV screen showing the train departures has been retained which is handy on such occasions when there is disruption to services and you need to keep an eye on the indicator boards (particularly useful when 2 snowflakes fall at the same time or another tranch of copper wiring heads to the scrap merchants).

One major downside is that there are no bogs so you can add in the occasional 30p to the prices if you have any intention of making a session of the place. Is it an improvement? Certainly yes, but for my money, still far from anything to warrn to beyond a single missed train.

On 4th January 2012 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about Boadicea

After never having previously heard so much bile heaped upon one pub, I simply had to see for myself. So I braved the elements (and had a couple of preparatory pints nearby) and dropped in. Now, this is a station pub, so that should give you a fair indicator of where we are headed. I was surprised to see an ale on (Pride) and there looked to be a second available but I recall the clip being turned. The pint I had was perfunctory but I’ve had worse. Not cheap either, though of course we’re paying station concourse mark-up (if you have a BITE card you get money off, just like you would on a stale baguette from one of the nearby shops). There isn’t much in the way of features – this is clearly a one-stop pub with little repeat custom (apart from RogerB). There was a TV with silent News 24 on the go, which at least makes for an alternative to staring at some of the weirder element s of the Charing Cross station footfall. I didn’t notice it to be overly grubby despite it being just after rush hour though it certainly wasn’t spotless.

Overall, yeah it isn’t worth visiting especially as there a couple of very good pubs within a couple of minutes walk. But it isn’t utterly terrible – I’ve been to the Shakespeare at Birmingham New Street and this place is a notch above that sorry pit.

On 26th May 2011 - rating: 4
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Alan Winfield left this review about Boadicea

This is Charring Cross's station bar when i first went in here it was called the kent Connection which i thought was a decent enough name as we were travelling to Folkestone.
The interia of this newer incarnation is now called Boadicea is pretty much the same has it used to be but there are now only two real ales on it used to be three.
This place is ok for a quick drink befor getting on a train but not a lot more,the real ales on here were Youngs bitter which was fairly decent and London Pride.

On 12th December 2010 - rating: 5
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Roger Button left this review about Boadicea

This small and rather faceless station bar is situated next to Platform 1 at Charing Cross and has few, if any, redeeming features other than it can bang out a swift pint if you have 10 minutes to wait for a train and you can’t be bothered to walk down the adjacent steps where ther are 3 or 4 pubs within a minute walk. To its credit it does usually have a couple of ales on (Pride & Youngs) although quality can be variable and the prices above what you would expect. The L-shaped interior is tidy enough and functional without being particular attractive or memorable. Service is rather impersonal and most people are treated as though they will never come back. I’m not sure any actually do. A plasma screen is tuned to subtitled news channels and sport is advertised on numerous posters. No bogs – you need to use the pay toilets so add an extra 20p to every other pint if you are here for a long session (the men in white coats will automatically arrive after you have ordered your 3rd pint). One plus point (yes, I’ve found one) is that there is a small tucked away TV screen showing the train departures which is handy on such occasions when there is disruption to services and you need to keep an eye on the indicator boards (particularly useful when 2 snowflaes fall at the same time). It won’t be the worst pub you will ever visit (some would disagree) but its reason for being is quite minimal.

On 24th January 2010 - rating: 3
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about Boadicea

Curiosity finally got the better of me and I visited here last night. I ordered a half of lager and handed over a fiver, “any crisps would you like?” No thanks, just the lager and maybe a smile. Nothing there!

I cheered myself up by watching BBC News 24 report on how we are all going to die in poverty.

An irate guy behind me that was being ripped off by the fruit machine shouted “You're ‘avin a laugh aint ya” – My sentiments exactly!

On 24th October 2008 - rating: 2
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]