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Image posted by Blackthorn _
Submitted on Sunday, 5th May 2019
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Detail Pages
The Dovetail, Clerkenwell, EC1
EC1
EC1V 4JP
Served areas
Reviews of The Dovetail (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Dovetail
Looks like a quaint old hostelry in an olde worlde pedestrianised passageway, so it is quite a surprise to find a specialist Belgian beer bar inside. Having said that, the interior is more alehouse than continental café in appearance until you start to note the breweriana and Tintin posters. Total of 14 keg taps with a decent selection of Flemish and Walloon offerings, and I was pleased to find the excellent La Chouffe as the current guest (albeit at £3.95 for a half of this 8% beer).
On 25th November 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Dovetail
The Dovetail is a specialist Belgian beer bar and the sister pub to the excellent Dove Freehouse in Hackney. It’s a simple single room set up, with the bar located on the right hand side in the wider front section, before the room narrows as it extends to the rear. The walls have been covered in plain white tiles at the front and back of the pub, with the mid section painted in a rather dull shade. There is a good mix of standard chair and pew seating, including some with strange high arched backs. The rather clinical look created by the tiles is broken up a bit by some large Tintin posters which are presumably there to keep in the Belgian theme. A few people were eating on my Saturday evening visit and although I didn’t see a menu, I did notice they were selling various traditional Belgian bar snacks, with a plate of mixed croquettes costing £5.50.
I think I counted twelve keg fonts dispensing the likes of Jupiler, Chimay, Boon Kriek and Delirium Tremens. I gave the Bruges Zot Blonde after much deliberation and found it to be a very enjoyable pint. A beer menu offers over 100 bottled Belgian delights and the staff are knowledgeable and patient while customers like me dither over the options.
I think this is a nice idea for a bar in this part of town, but it’s let down a bit by the execution. The interior is cramped in busy periods and fails to recreate the feel of a genuine Belgian bar. I’d gladly return for the beer but I wouldn’t be likely to stay for a session.
On 25th October 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Dovetail Bar
Certainly a great menu of Belgian beers at not-too-bad prices, helpfully sub-divided into easy to understand sections on the menu. Not a great place to drink them though as the inside is pretty dreary and chilly, the tiling reminded me of a public convenience and the furniture is uncomfortable cafe-street style (which isn't so bad when outside on a hot summers day, but not inside on a drab Friday in February). Overall it feels a bit more like a restaurant than a pub. Worth a stop for a specific beer but not worth heading to for a session.
On 25th February 2007
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
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- Official page of the Dovetail Bar - www.dovepubs.co.uk
- Randomness Guide to London - Dovetail entry
- Facebook - The Dovetail
- Twitter - The Dovetail
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Dovetail - whatpub.com
City Thameslink, 0.67 miles, 12 min walk (show)
Old Street, 0.79 miles, 15 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : No - Belgian beer available - last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : No last updated 29 September 2013 by Quinno _
