BV London Pub of the Year 2024-25 - part two

Welcome to the second half of the 2024-25 London Pub of the Year award. 

In the first installment we revisited last years top five, and now we're going to check out five brand new entries. (Well, two of them are brand new, the other three are, in Top-of-the-Pops parlance, re-entries, but what the fucky hey.)

Let's chuffing well crack on, shall we?

 

Lyric, Soho

We begin with a pub that is new to the competition (though has probably come agonisingly close to being included in a fair few previous years) and it's one that sits right in the very beating heart of the capital. Now, I'd argue that the 'Classic West End Boozer' has been less affected by the overall decline in pub numbers than other types of outlet, because of the combination of tourists and the after-work crowd. Walk down any big thoroughfare, look down a side street and you'll still find such pubs in considerable numbers. When the 'pubs crisis' really hits, these are the cockroaches that'll surive the nuclear winter.

We all like to see our name on a live beerboard...

Which is all good, but arguably a bit of a double-edged sword as the guaranteed footfall means that the pubs don't have to be good - they just have to look vaguely welcoming from the outside. Their target market is typically neither price- nor quality-conscious. (Yeah, I'm generalising, but there's more than a little truth in it and I wouldn't expect anyone to die on the hill arguing this particular toss.) Happily, the Lyric quite the exception. Here's why it differs from almost every nearby pub:

Range of draught beers: About 10 cask and 20 keg, all told. The cask-keg balance is surprisingly good here and they also strike an appropriate note, given the area, between mainstream/macro and craftier beers. You can get Guinness and Moretti on keg, if you really want it, but otherwise far more interesting stouts and lagers dominate the taps, plus of course a big choice in APA, IPA, Sours - pretty much what you'd expect from a modern craft-oriented pub that I'd be drinking in, but not necessarily a pub like this in this part of town. On the cask side it's also curated rather cleverly. Maybe Harvey's Best Bitter or Theakston's Old Peculiar for the traditionalists, but you'll find the latest seasonals from Arbor, Oakham, Vocation and other breweries that know their shit. Don't be surprised to find a more niche style on cask - American Amber, Table Beer, some sort of Breakfast or Dessert Stout. It's good. 2.5 points good, in fact.

Quality of real ale: Cask beer quality is an issue that has almost become reputational in Central London. People think the capital is expensive and unfriendly and doesn't know how to cellar beer properly - and there is some truth in this stereotype. But I reckon the Lyric is OK. Not outstanding, but definitely OK. Decent enough. 1.5 points. There have been maybe a couple of instances where I've detected a beer has probably been a bit of a slow-seller, and I'd want my pale beers a shade cooler, but it's, yeah, it's pretty good.

Bonus points: First up, I'm giving the Lyric a little something because of the point I made at the start. It looks and feels like a trademark Victorian-era side-street pub - classic Soho - but doesn't disappoint on the beer front. That's a rare combination, and it's, frankly, nice to be able to sup in a place like this without having to compromise ones drinking habits. I love how their UnTappd membership means that you can see what beers are on, and see your name on a big screen as you check the fuckers in! For me, that's a rare concession to modern technology, and worth a second bonus point. There is a 10% CAMRA discount too, which takes the edge off the London prices (and some of the bar staff apply it to keg as well as cask!). With nothing to deduct points for, the Lyric picks up a full 3 points in the 'anything goes' category.

I'd struggle to think of anywhere as good in this part of extremely central London. It's right off Shaftsbury Avenue, for fuck's sake, but you won't be shafted here. Or buried.  

 

Golden Ark, Selsdon

A million miles away from the West End (well, technically about 14), is the villagey outpost of Selsdon, in the outer spiral arm of the London Borough of Croydon. The Golden Ark is warmly welcomed back to the competition, and, guess what, it's still a little hidden gem, well worth seeking out, no matter how many buses and/or Ubers you need to take!

Staff at the Ark receiving a CAMRA award

Range of draught beers: Typically four cask and five kegs on offer (plus a house lager from the Harbour brewery and a couple of draught ciders) - a modest selection but probably right and sensible for the size and location. Unlike many pubs in this competition, these are skewed towards the weaker/session end of the ABV scale - again, not necessarilly a bad thing. The really good thing though is that Maria and Matt are good at sourcing very rare and one-off beers from some quite obscure breweries (Culloch, Tombstone, Creative Juices...) While some seasonal beers 'do the rounds' and turn up in different pubs at the same time, I've enjoyed a lot of beer here that simply hasn't been available anywhere else for miles around! It's not the biggest selection but it's usually pretty interesting. 2 points. 

Quality of real ale: The Ark wins local CAMRA awards, which is a good sign as it must be beating off competition in one of the most populous boroughs in London. The sign of good cask is when an ordinary beer, or a beer in a style you don't particularly care for, can be elevated to something special. I noticed that here when Thornbridge The Great Outdoors - a 3.4% ordinary bitter - was quite sublime! Overall it's 2 points again.

Bonus points: One of the highlights of this place is the ever-changing snack selection. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Tuck Shop! If you want some weirdly flavoured nuts, imported potato sticks that'll pierce the roof of your mouth, or delicious salami or jerky products - this is the place to visit. If I ever open a 'crisp museum' I'd be minded to do it in conjunction with the Golden Ark! So that's obviously worth a bonus point, and they also get one for using Untappd to keep us all updated on the beer range (can we have a screen to see our names on, please?!?) Finally, this is a real community pub and there's always something happening (quiz night, live music - maybe even including me at some point in the near future!, the Arktoberfest beer festival) so they get a final point for keeping life in Selsdon interesting! It's a maximum 3 bonus points, before I even get on to stuff like the impressive whisky choice and the bottles and cans in the fridge...

All of which adds up to a rather impressive showing from the Golden Ark in this year's competition. 

 

Bear, Paddington

Not being a fan of cash-in revivals and fanchise-ism, I really didn't 'get' all these recent years of Bearmania (are they even over yet? Is there more to come?) Nonetheless, it's perfectly understandable that a pub in the Paddington area might want to call itself The Bear and I'm sure not a few tourists will have set foot inside this place on that basis. Once through the doors, they'd have been greeted not by any kind of Peruvian Marmalade theme, but a bright, fresh mint-green sort of a pub, combining classic and contemporary styling and offering great craft beers. (It is part of the Craft Beer Co chain, and therefore a sister to the Cask in Pimlico, already featuring strongly in this contest). Oh, and there's a very strange 'sideways' seat that feels very odd - not quite big enough for two unless you squeeze together, and it faces out onto the thoroughfare. Quirky.

Not a duffle coat in sight!

Range of draught beers: Some of the pubs in the Craft Beer Co. chain have, I think it's fair to say, neglected the cask side of things in recent years. It's one of the reasons why they're not still making the cut (that and the fact that two of the best branches - Clapham and Islington - are no longer with us). The Bear suffers from this a bit; there's less cask on here than the Cask (obviously, the clue is in the name!) but with six handpumps it compares favourably to some of their other pubs. The number of keg beers is vast - 24 or thereabouts - and you'll find just about everything under the sun. I once visited when there was no cask at all, aside from the house beer from the Kent brewery, but this was swiftly rectified. Tap-takeovers are common - I particularly enjoyed one from Froth Blowers a few months ago. As I say, keg selection flawless; cask still a bit 'jury out'.  2 points. 

Quality of real ale: Typical of the chain, while I might sometimes feel disappointment at the limited cask selection, or if there's nothing new for me to tick, I really can't argue with the condition of the cask that they do dispense. Never had a bad pint here, and don't expect to. It's not as good as its sister down in Pimlico, but then very few places are. 2 points.

Bonus points: They have kitted out the place with some interesting historic brewery memorabilia, nobly avoiding the temptation to 'Paddington-ise' things, so that's worth a point. And as with any pub in this chain, they get a bonus point for the selection of bottles and cans on offer, some of which are very rare (I assume the takeout discount applies here too?) It is expensive, but as it's central London, I can't really take anything off for that. It's still a relatively new pub, and I'd like to think that they can push on; this year it's 2 bonus points.  (There is one other thing that I'd like to award a bonus point for, but it's 2025 and I'd be accused of objectificational sexism and probably get in trouble with Mrs. B-V, so I won't. And anyway, it's the beer we're supposed to be salivating over here...) 

  

Rake, Borough

Arguably London's original micropub, the Rake has featured in this competition many times, including the very first contest, 13 years ago! It's still doing its Rake-ish thing and it's good to have it back. 

Range of draught beers: Keg is the dominant force here, with about 15 beers on tap at any given time. There are up to four casks too, though sometimes these can feel like a bit of an afterthought. The keg selection often includes genuine imported continental lager and true American IPAs aren't unheard of either. The diversity extends, naturally, to Imperial stouts and fruited sours, if that's your thing. The sister Tap East brewpub occasionally provides beer, but you wouldn't know they were related. Otherwise, tap takeovers are frequent and varied, and it's only really the cask choice that lets the place down. That said, they do sometimes turn up with a cask ESB or mild or something you wouldn't normally encounter - just go in with an open mind! 2 points.

Look at the size of it!

Quality of real ale: In any 'normal' pub in London, I'd expect the cask to be scoring somewhere between -1 and 0, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were worse than that. So anything above average is an achievement. But, in my mind at least, the cask here seemed to be a bit more of an elevated drinking experience a few years ago, and is probably not as good as it used to be. If I'm being harsh but fair, it's 1 point nowadays. And if I'm singling out specific pints... well Howling Hops The Upper Crust struck me as a really good beer that had almost certainly been undone by lacklustre condition, sadly.

Bonus points: The Rake started out as a spin-off from the Utobeer bottle shop, and it's still absolutely great for the bottled and canned stuff. Their snack offering has recently been upgraded with the big heater thing full of warm pork scratchings. Mmm. And it's Untappd verified, so easy to find out what beers are on at any given time. All of these things are worth a bonus ball, so it picks up the full 3 points.

The Rake is an interesting one. It's in an area full of pubs of varying quality, and Borough Market is always going to attract a certain type of visitor (who read about it in FEAST magazine). I don't see that many people in there drinking cask, which might explain a lot, but at the same time, I love this place and have done since it opened. Mixed feelings.   

   

Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak 

The line-up is rounded out with the return of an old favourite that has come third on two occasions previously. A distinctive, characterful 'back to basics' type boozer in North London. Make sure you ask for a straight glass though, unless you genuinely want to drink from a dimpled jug!  

Just work your way towards the camera...

Range of draught beers: Up to eight cask and eight keg, which feels like a healthy split, and pretty much all of it from small producers and every changing, with a good mix of light and dark, weak and strong, hoppy and malty and everything in between. This pub has had spells where things maybe weren't as good, but it's almost perfect. On a recent visit I got to enjoy two different cask milds, plus Lakedown Harmonium American IPA and a Chocolate, Vanilla and Sea Salt Stout (Radio City Alone at Sea) before even thinking about moving on to keg. (And the keg choice here is also great, of course). 2.5 points, and it's pretty close to being even higher.

Quality of real ale: A theme of 'very good but not absolutely fucking stunning' seems to be emerging in this years competition. And maybe that's my fault. I've been going 'up North' quite a bit, and the truth is that cask beer, on balance, is a whole lot nicer once you get away from London and the South of England. Finding truly exceptional pints down here is a challenge, and I'm not convinced that it's just 'sparklers' or the lack thereof that is making the difference. I like my cask beer a bit cooler, a bit livelier, a bit fresher than it usually is, and that is true of the Southampton Arms where the real ale is perfectly good, sometimes great, but also sometimes a bit lifeless and flabby. 1.5 points.

Bonus points: The ciders on tap here are plentiful and varied; indeed this is the only pub in this years contest that has a big enough range of real cider to earn a bonus point. A reasonably in-tune piano that one can actually play is a pleasing sight, and combined with plenty of Jazz on vinyl gives the place a soundtrack worthy of another point. Their food offering is also very good - excellent (cold) meat pies and occasionally hot roast pork complement a decent behind-the-bar snack selection. (I can't deduct points this time for the horrors of a couple of years ago when they served me a truly disgusting vegan scotch egg that I didn't request!) It's a full 3 points this time.

So, those are the second batch of five in this years competition. I'll mull things over for a bit and let you know who the winner is in a week or two. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very thirsty! 

 

Where to find 'em...

Lyric 

37 Great Windmill Street,

Soho 

W1D 7LT (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Golden Ark
186 Addington Road,
Selsdon
CR2 8LB (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Bear
27 Spring Street
Paddington
W2 1JA (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Rake
14 Winchester Walk
Borough
SE1 9AG (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Southampton Arms
139 Highgate Road
Gospel Oak
NW5 1LE (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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