The Prospect of Whitby Historic London Pub

The Prospect of Whitby, a historic London pub, which I finally managed to visit last Saturday afternoon when I was out about on my be a tourist day. It had been on my list of things to do in London for quite some time. I just love visiting old London pubs that have a  bit of character and a story to them.

The sun was shining bright and the temperature was through the roof, I had been walking for what seemed like an eternity and I was gagging for a couple of ice cold pints of lager by the time I arrived at The Prospect of Whitby. I was expecting the bar to be out the door with people, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was fairly quiet. Where were the hordes of tourists hiding?

My first impressions as I walked in were that I liked the look and feel of the place. The old stone floor, the heavy dark beams, wood panelling and the stone fireplaces made me feel like I really was taking a step back in time. I wondered how much it had changed since the days when Samuel Pepys, “Hanging” Judge Jeffreys, and Charles Dickens were supposedly regulars.

Thankfully it didn’t take too long to get served. I ordered myself a pint of ice cold Fosters lager. Yes ice cold lager was just what the doctor prescribed. What is it with some of these Eastern European girls serving in pubs, don’t they have any manners or fucking customer service skills? Is it asking too much to say hello, ask you what you would like to drink and thank you when you have paid for your overpriced drink? This country is going to the dogs!

I watched the Fosters slowly trickle into the glass, it wasn’t the best pint I have ever seen poured, but I was hoping it was going to taste better than it looked and that it would at least be ice cold. I wandered outside and grabbed myself a stool with a nice view of the River Thames. I put the glass to my mouth and took a sip…WTF it wasn’t ice cold, and it wasn’t the best lager I had ever tasted either. Something tells me they need to clean their pipes more often and then the lager will taste the way it is meant too!

Just because The Prospect of Whitby is an old pub, it doesn’t mean they have to serve you lager that tastes like it went out of date a couple of centuries ago. Just like plenty of other places in London they lay claim to being the oldest riverside Tavern in London, dating from around 1520. The second pint of lager I had was about 5% better than the first one, but that was probably me trying to be kind, because I liked the place.

Once upon a time The Prospect of Whitby was called the Devil’s Tavern, don’t you just love the name, why did they have to go and spoil everything and change the name. It use to be a meeting place for sailors, smugglers, cut-throats and robbers. Thankfully not too many of them pop in for a pint of ale or glass of rum nowadays.

The Prospect of Whitby is a pub that oozes character, history and there is a nice feel to the place, but I just wish they served decent lager, if it did it would be gem. The next time I’m in the area I would gladly pop in for a couple of pints and hopefully  they will have someone running the place that knows what they are doing. Nice pub shame about the lager!

I have been in some real dive bars down by the docks back home in Aberdeen in my time and the one thing that you could always be guaranteed was a decent tasting pint, because these guys knew the importance of cleaning the pipes that lead from the barrel to the pump on a daily basis. Its not rocket science but it is too much trouble for some pubs!

The Prospect of Whitby
57 Wapping Wall
Wapping
Tower Hamlets
London
E1W 3SJ

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