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Disappointment of the week with Quinno
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Delboy 20
Submitted on Monday, 19th June 2023
With picture contributions to 2133 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (34 more images)
Detail Pages
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street, EC4
EC4
EC4A 2BU
Served areas
Reviews of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (Average Rating: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Delboy 20 left this review about Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Another one of those pubs that you just have to visit. It was a red hot day so the coolness of one of the many cellar rooms was most welcome.
Sam Smiths beers. Having already had an OBB elsewhere, I had a change and tried a bottle of their Organic Lager which was quite refreshing.
A must see pub!
On 19th June 2023
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1656 recommendations about 1556 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Being back in Fleet Street I decided to look this old friend up again for a late afternoon pint. Sadly the larger downstairs bar was not open (probably not enough tourists back in London yet to justify it) so had to queue in the small bar to the right which still had its roaring open fire going despite it being the hottest and sunniest day of the year so far.
Decamped to one of the upstairs room to be joined by a London Walk tour party of mainly Americans and overheard one describing how it was cheaper for him to fly to London than it was to go from New York to Miami at the moment so they may be back soon.
I’ve never found this to be a comfortable pub visit, but as a piece of London drinking history, you just can’t beat it.
On 5th April 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
A long-overdue revisit as part of the Sam’s London Pub Challenge. Same as it ever was in the magnificent upstairs rooms. Rammed on my visit so explored the downstairs cellar bars in more detail – which run much deeper and further than I had realised! Glugged a bottle of the Oatmeal Stout, which is probably the finest beer in the Sam’s range. A visit a few days later also found the cask Stingo, which was dangerous. It’s a massive tourist trap, so this one is all about timing your visit when the landlady unlocks the front door.
September 2009
One of London’s best-known heritage pubs, this place was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed the original and it has remained fairly similar ever since. The entrance is down a narrow alleyway off Fleet Street and is easy to miss – though it is signposted by an attractive illuminated lamp. It also sits around the corner from Dr Johnson's house and I dare say he had the odd pint here. The interior is best described as ‘atmospherically gloomy’, with smoked blackened oak beams, wooden settles, hidden snugs and winding stairwells. There are a number of rooms on different levels – the sooty front bar is always open, whilst the restaurant rooms and cellar catacombs (mind your head on the stairs!) are sometimes closed off for private functions. The pub is owned by Sam Smiths, so it’s cheap but you have to like their beers (I don’t, generally); they do have real ale in the form of OBB, but it’s a pretty pish beer at the best of times. There’s no music or TV’s so often it’s just chatter and the ticking of the clock. I’d say that this is more of a winter pub than a summer one as there is a real fire in the front bar in winter but it’s pretty dim and murky during the summer which can make for a relatively depressing feel when it’s quiet. Overall, it’s well-worth a visit for the heritage factor – whether you’d want to stay beyond a pint depends on your view on Sam Smiths. Rated 7
On 20th December 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
View more reviews of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (24)
What the Dickens? by BobOs .
London's Oldest Pubs (allegedly!) by BobOs .
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- Randomness Guide to London - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese entry
- Facebook - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - whatpub.com
- Historic Pub Interiors - pubheritage.camra.org.uk
Farringdon (London), 0.53 miles, 10 min walk (show)
London Blackfriars, 2.52 miles, 48 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.
- Accommodation : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Darts : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
- WiFi : No last updated 20 December 2019 by Quinno _
