Suck and Chew

I have been on a bit of a beer drought. After the excesses of the Christmas/New year period I have been laying low and not showing my face around my usual drinking haunts. I actually made 15 full dry days before I caved in. A significant achievement and probably the longest period of time since I was 16 or 17 that I have gone without a beer.

Anyhow on Saturday, the wife and I went to meet her future sister in-law who is staying in the East end. I have to be honest, this is a part of London I tend to avoid. I think it's an age thing. I don't like hippy stuff and it's been a good few years since I have been a student. I am not particularly fond of graffiti either and the whole of Tower Hamlets to me seems like a spray can ghetto. The fact that the Jerry's plastered the area with 500lb bombs during the blitz does not add to it's aesthetic appeal either, unless you are inspired by post war housing estate architecture.

On this occasion where I left the cosy bubble that is West London I was pleasantly surprised. Not because it has changed to any great extent, but rather of the pub she chose for lunch - The Royal Oak on Columbia Road. This pub has been blogged about a few times by various beer geeks such as myself, most notably Ron Pattinson as it was used in the filming of the TV show "Goodnight Sweetheart" and it's a former Truman's tied house. The war time period interior has not changed, but the beer certainly has. Now Timothy Taylor's Landlord Ale and Adnam's Broadside feature on the bar and the menu is decidedly gastropub. The punters are now all trendy urban young professionals rather than soldiers or aging cockney gents in flat caps, and the staff are tattooed and eccentric. Overall though there was a good vibe for the lunchtime trade and it was a well deserved pint of Landlord to break the drought (ok well a few pints!). I can heartedly recommend the ploughman's lunch as well as the steak sandwich. The bangers and mash looked top spec, but sadly was not on my agenda. After leaving the pub and walking across the road to find my wife, I noticed an oddly named shop which had a door leading up some stairs. The shop is called is "Suck and Chew" and looked slightly like what I would assume a brothel would look like. I'm certain there is a market for such a business in the area! I think I will send Chris (my mate with the big head) to investigate!

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