Our London pub

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Reviewed by - Diana de Cabarrus

What a joy for the weary hack to find her tired bones coming to rest in such an unexpectedly delightful inn as this!

Rarely have my investigations of London turned up such a pearl of quiet pleasure in the busy thoroughfares of the raging metropolis. I was almost ready to move house so that The Jerusalem could be my local.

It occupies an 18th century building that appears largely unchanged by any noisome inroads of modernity. Large windows let mellow daylight wash peaceably over the pale terracotta walls and the old tiled friezes. I would lay money on the likelihood of golden motes of dust twinkling in a picturesque fashion on a sunny evening.

Wooden tables and alcoves are distributed so that each available seating area is quite self-contained and private. It is a small tavern, but the interiors are scaled so it doesn’t feel cramped. The bar is correspondingly petite but awesomely well stocked.
The Jerusalem is part of the St Peter’s brewery group, which produces a seemingly endless array of traditional and innovative bottled beers, from the Millennium Ale, (a recreation of a beer from the first millenium AD) to their grapefruit beer. Then there’s Cinnamon and Apple, Lemon and Ginger, Ruby ale, Cream Stout and Organic ale, to name but the more exotic varieties.

The clientele are a mix - old, young, business, fun. Artists and antiques dealers gossiping about other artists, young guys balanced on the pavement on rather delicate looking wrought iron chairs, and a sedate couple enjoying the finer things in life; i.e. lunch at The Jerusalem. The food is solid and hearty-pub roasts, bangers, baguettes and if the general vibe is anything to go by, it’s probably pretty good.

Reviewed by - Diana de Cabarrus