Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Tap East, Stratford City, E20
Olympic Park
E20
E20 1EE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
. Wittenden left this review about Tap East
I’d managed to get to Stratford Station about an hour early:what was I to do?-visit Tap East,naturally. This new Bar lies at the far end of the temple to Mammon known as the Westfield Centre, on an off shoot majoring on food outlets. Occupying a roughly triangular site, one side is open to the Mall:glazed doors lead to a paved area that forms , I understand, the approach to the whizzy new International Station. Behind the bar that follows the internal walls is a glass panel that displays a neat looking micro-brewery, commissioned this October. A scattering of comfy chairs and some odd looking butcher’s block tables furnish the Bar, though I would suggest that it is “standing room only” at busy times.
My visit was mid morning on a late November Saturday;trade was steady with groups of beer enthusiasts,and the occasional shopper. As a real ale drinker, my attention was drawn to the double bank of handpumps, serving not only the produce of the microbrewery, but also a selection of ales from around the country. For years, I have been looking for beer from Thornbridge Hall brewery-It never seems to reach my part of Kent ,unfortunately. My patience was rewarded by seeing Wild Swan, an ultra pale, fairly hoppy beer that made a good start to the day.I followed this by a half of Tap East’s own Pale Ale,a somewhat sticky beast at 5.6ABV.An impressive row of keg fonts dispensed an eclectic range of imported and “craft Keg” beers-the jury is still out on this, I’m afraid.
While not really my type of pub, Tap East, a project of beer wholesalers Utobeer, and a sister bar to The Rake in Borough Market,adds to variety and choice, and humanises the impersonal monolith of the shopping mall.
On 3rd December 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 283 recommendations about 282 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Tap East
Located on the Lower Ground Floor of the new Stratford Westfield shopping complex (annoyingly at the complete opposite end of the mall to Stratford train and tube station, although it is close to Stratford International) is this new brew-pub from the people behind the Rake/Utobeer in Borough Market. My late October visit was unfortunately a little too early to enjoy anything from the in-house brewery, but the barman reliably informed me that they would be tapping their first beer on the 9th November. As things stood, there were six handpulls offering Windsor and Eton Conqueror Black IPA and Windsor Knot plus Magic Rock Rapture (£3.50) which I tried and found in excellent form. In addition to this there are ten keg fonts which had a mix of obscure foreign beers as well as a few more familiar names, a well stocked fridge or two with an interesting bottled selection and a box of cider propped up at the end of the bar counter.
The room is fairly small and very simple with a tiled floor and limited high table and stool seating (including a few on the paved area outside the mall) as well as some sofas in one corner next to a small bookcase. An L-shaped bar runs along the left and rear walls before reaching a window which allows you to view the brewing apparatus in the room next door. A better view can be obtained by going outside to look through the large window which should afford passersby with a good look at the brewing process. These large windows also line one side of the pub, giving the place a lot of natural light.
It's not an ideal drinking experience with the bustle of shoppers and the background noise that brings being evident thanks to the open plan entrance to the pub, but it's worth a look for the good beer available and possibly for their own brews which I look forward to trying the next time I have the misfortune of finding myself in this shopping centre.
On 14th November 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]