The Harp Pub – Covent Garden
The Harp is a traditional pub which sits a stones throw from Trafalgar Square and Charring Cross Station that is a gem of a London pub and I really do mean a GEM!
I was out and about exploring Inner Temple Gardens and the nearby various nooks and crannies, and as per usual I had earned a couple of pints of ale…and to not explore London’s pubs is a crime punishable by having to spend an hour in a darkened room with the Mayor…YIKES!
Ever since I discovered the delights of drinking real cask ale – which only happened a couple of months ago – I have been doing my research regarding London pubs that I should visit. And the Harp is a pub that I have noticed getting a lot of glowing reviews, ‘Best Pub in Central London’, ‘Best Pub In London’, ‘Must Visit Covent Garden Pub’ so off I went in search of The Harp.
From the Outside The Harp looks like an old school boozer. The stained glass windows with the three harps are nice touch. As soon as I walked through the front door into the bar I felt like I should be a regular. It was only 3.15pm and the fairly small bar area hadn’t started to fill up yet – I have been in smaller, for example the Euston Tap the other day.
Inside is typical traditional pub décor – dark wooden floor, white walls covered in creepy Victorian pictures, and the area above the bar is covered in handpull pump labels. This is the kind of bar I could quiet happily sit in all night, if I had a seat and table – from what I have heard it gets packed out every evening from 5pm onwards, and when left at 4pm it was starting to fill up.
The reason why people flock to The Harp and why it was CAMRA National Pub of the Year 2010/2011 is because of the quality and choice of real ales, there are 8 on handpumps, they also have a big choice of Ciders, but I don’t really give a dam for them. And of course there is more… customer service is excellent – friendly, efficient and the ladies behind the bar when I was there knew what they were talking about regarding the beer or cider they had available! And there is even more… The Harp has a fantastic atmosphere.
Another nice touch that I noticed was the willingness of the ladies behind the bar to give out tasters of the beers. I have been in pubs in the past and the person behind the bar puts on a face like they have been fucking mugged when a punter asks for a sample! An old Irish fella drank about half a pint in tasters in less than 5 minutes before he decided on which brew he was going to have…
And the reason for my visit was of course to have pint of real cask ale… so many to choose from. I like them dark, and I don’t just mean my taste in woman… I decided upon the Shefford Dark Mild and it was to my liking – tons of flavour. And at £3.30 it was real value for money!
The Harp is the kind of pub every area should have, they are what a local should be! If more pubs in London, the UK could take a look how they do things in pubs like The Harp and Southampton Arms there wouldn’t be so many of them going to the wall. The Harp is as good a pub as it is cracked up to be and the William K Wallace, aka the Wandering Scotsman will vouch for that…
The Harp, 47 Chandos Place, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HS
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I just don’t like beer, but I sure would love to see all these pubs in person. I’m sure that there are wannabe pubs here in the US, but I don’t think they can really master what you have there.
Have a terrific day.
Comedy Plus´s last [type] ..Kauai
Great series on the pubs of London! As you know, I do appreciate a good pub, even if dark ale is not my thing.
Comedy Plus, beer is becoming more popular with woman nowadays, but I know it isn’t to everyone’s liking I never use to appreciate myself until quite recenlty.
Emm, when I drink dark ale in an old pub I feel like have been transported back in time…
A great wee pub!
The pint of beer looks tempting. I will havea pint, make that two.
Brian´s last [type] ..Stephan Skogh
Just thinking whether that dark ale would be any good instead of Guinness a punch? Looks like William’s sort of pub alright.
Davie, it is indeed.
Brian, it tastes as good as it looks and it was delicious…
Tracey, it is my kinda pub, and I’m not sure if it would work with punch…
My dad came up to visit from Cornwall for a long weekend to London and knowing he was a big real ale fan, we went to The Harp and it was great! Never seen so many different ales to choose from and my dad was very much impressed (alas im a bit of a lager lout so went for a commercial Fosters). My recommendation though is get there early! We arrived at around 9ish on a Saturday evening and it was packed!
Great review William!
Adam´s last [type] ..For all those people that haven’t ever visited Cornwall…
Adam, I was a lager drinker all of my life until a few months ago, I don’t know what happend to me! The Harp is great bar for sure…
Great pub. Great beer. Great atmosphere! Quite probably the best pub in central London.
Big Bri, it is a good un!
I loved the pubs I visited in London. I walked by this one but never went in.
Randall St. Germain´s last [type] ..CAMINO DE SANTIAGO: VILLAFRANCA DE MONTES DE OCA TO ATAPUERCA, SPAIN
Randall, there are a lot of good pubs in London for sure. I had walked past the Harp a few times in the past before I finally paid it a visit…