Traditional with a twist.
Not too long ago I spent a nice (but short) staycation in London. I was travelling with my Mom and we really had a good time. The hotel of our choice was this time The Motel One Towerhill, which turned out to be a very good choice. The fact that it’s located in the City of London district, which is technically almost the East End, was amazing. I finally got to discover this area of my beloved London too! We strolled through Spitalsfield Market and Brick Lane, walked to the HMS Belfast and the Tower Bridge and found out that the financial district is actually more lively than we thought (more about afore mentioned strolls in a later post).
Just around the corner!
Between the hotel and the Tower Bridge there’s a pub I want to tell you about; it’s in fact less than a minute from Tower Hill tube station, located directly underneath a railway bridge, called The Minories. It may look like a traditional pub but I have to admit that it’s actually a little bit more than that. The food they serve is great, they not only offer traditional pub food (like your favorite burger and fries); they have traditional pub food with a special twist. It’s just more than average, it’s delicious. Trust me in that. Furthermore you can choose from changing seasonal dishes, special kids menus and breakfast dishes.
Not what you expect in a pub, right?
Now the drinks. Wine, cocktails, pale ales and non-alcoholics are a given. The pride of The Minories is a carefully picked selection of gins and a wider range of craft beers and ciders. At the time I was all (too much) into ciders, I had some one ciders and my Mom Guinness. The Guinness was as expected (that’s maybe the only curious thing me and my Mom share: We both like Guinness), the Cider also. But what I didn’t quite understand was the fact that they have “Erdinger Weissbier” on their craft beer section of the menu. I know for a fact that this beer doesn’t really count as “craft”. But anyway, that might be up to interpretation.There’s also tank beer and house lager; a beerie (is that how you call a foodie who’s into beer?) will feel like in heaven.
Huge beer selection.
So if the food is really good and the drinks sizzling as well, where’s the hook? The service. Maybe the service is really bad? Nope. Sorry to disappoint you, but the employees there are attentive at all times, friendly and taking care of even the small details, like not touching the rim of your glass or taking away empty plates in the blink of an eye.
Super cozy atmosphere.
Even when it comes to atmosphere, The Minories has more than you’d expect from a pub. It is traditional, meaning: You have the TV screens with sports playing, you can come as you are, everyone is relaxed and open minded, it’s a cozy and happy place, smelling like spilt beer and fried food. But unlike a lot of other pubs, this one comes with a (heated) beer garden and the average customer might be a bit more international and a bit younger than in other pubs, as there’s a youth hostel right around the corner. Friendships that cross borders are made there!
So anytime you’re in this area: Visit The Minories! It is soo much worth it. And after a while you won’t even notice that you’re sitting under a bridge (technically) and that railways are on their way above your head. It would be best to make it the end point of a trip through Bricklane or the Old Spitalsfield Market.
More information:
The Minories
Minories, 64-73 Minories, London
EC3N 1 JL
Tube Station Tower Hill
www.minories-london.co.uk
Open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., except for Saturdays (open till 1 a.m.)
Visit their facebook page for specials!
#travel #london #pub #uk #europe #food #drinks #review
All of the pictures but the one from the Tower Bridge belong to The Minories, as my camera’s battery went dead as soon as we got there :/
