Pub grub
Hearty, traditional English dishes served cheap at pubs
From bangers and mash to toad in the hole, meat pies to juicy burgers, your best shot at having hearty, traditional British fare in a cozy setting and at low prices is to head to a pub.
Now there are three types of pub grub theses days: Traditional, non-nonsense pub fare; chain pubs with a higher class of kitchen (and much more variety on far lengthier menus); and gastro-pubs where the chefs are inventive and menus creative.
That said, here are a few of the über-traditonal British pub fare you can expect to find on the menus of most pubs:
- Shepherd's pie - Stew of ground beef and peas (and often onions and carrots) topped by a lid of mashed potatoed and baked.
- Steak and ale pie - Beef stew baked under a pastry lid.
- Fish and chips - Battered and fried fish (usually haddock or cod) served with chips (French-fried potatoes, traditonal of the thick-cut variety, though the narrow, American-style French fry straws are becoming popular as well).
- Bangers and mash - Sausages in an onion gravy atop a bed of mashed potatoes.
- Toad in the hole - Sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter and topped with onion gravy.
London is filled with amazing history – but if you want to feel like you’ve actually gone back in time hundreds of years, there’s nothing like visiting the historical pubs along the docks of old London town.
Here was once home to a bustling trading port, full of thieves, dockers, sailors – even pirates! Now it’s a lot quieter – a residential area, lined with cobblestone lanes and old warehouse buildings with breathtaking riverside views of the city.
London is filled with amazing history – but if you want to feel like you’ve actually gone back in time hundreds of years, there’s nothing like visiting the historical pubs of old London town.
Wapping is a waterside neighborhood of London, well off the beaten path. It was once home to a bustling trading port, full of thieves, dockers, sailors – even pirates! Now it’s a lot quieter – a residential area, lined with cobblestone lanes and old warehouse buildings.
As you stroll along streets that haven't changed in generations, entering old wooden-beamed public houses, you can also fill your senses with traditional beer and other refreshments… Our historic pub food and drink tour will give you an in-depth look at the history of this area as you visit four traditional British pubs. You’ll drink the best British beer and try properly tasty British pub grub.
The dockers and pirates may be long gone, but the places they ate and drank in, and their stories are still very much alive. So, if you love food, beer and a big serving of astounding stories from London history on top – this is the tour for you!
Highlights:
- Explore five of London’s must- see pubs and savor their food, drink and unparalleled history
-Taste some of Britain’s best traditional lagers, ales and fine craft brews
-Savor classic pub grub over the chatter of friendly locals
-Revel in tales of pirates, thieves and artists told in the same places they once called home
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These might include Pub grub
More tours- Ales and Pubs: Sipping the history of British beer - Pubs and beer are a symbol of British society and tradition as much as tea and cakes and fish and chips . But beyond the well-known , and often stereotypical beliefs, do you know what lies behind the tradition of beer and public houses? This three-hour tour will give you a new perspective and appreciation of beer as you enjoy ample tastings at various pubs and breweries located in the East End London area. Led by a trained food anthropologist with expertise in the beer and brewing industry, we’ll focus on the history of brewing in London, highlighting beer’s evolution from a dietary staple, to the almost lost tradition of cask ales, to today’s renaissance of craft beer and brewing...Partner
- Traditional British Ale and Food Tasting Evening in London - Sample some of the fine food and beer for which Britain is famous on this 2-hour British ale and food tasting evening in London. Taste six ales with your host, hear about the brewing process and learn how to pull a pint. Enjoy dishes such as steak and ale pie, fish and chips and wild boar burgers, and see how the beers and food complement one another...Partner
- Private Tour of London's Historic Pubs - Arrange your private pub tour and let the charismatic pub tour leader take care of the rest! The tour normally starts around 3pm. Your guide is an expert on the London pub scene, beer and alcohol history as well as local architecture and British customs (having written books on all five subjects). The guide is a former Beer Sommeliers of the Year and makes regular appearances on British television and radio to discuss the subject...Partner
- Historical Pub Walking Tour of London - Discover ancient ale houses and literary drinking dens on a 3-hour afternoon pub tour of London! Centered on the area in and around the City of London, the tour visits at least four of London’s finest historical pubs, your guide will recommend different ales in each (not included). Hear the history of the pubs, learn the differences between Elizabethan coaching inns and Victorian gin palaces, and visit the watering holes frequented by legendary British novelist Charles Dickens...Partner
- Pub Tour of London's West End: Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Soho - Check out London’s best ale houses on a 4-hour historical pub tour of the West End! Led by a friendly local guide, your tour includes visits to five traditional pubs with beer samples in each. Visit locals’ favorites at Trafalgar Square, Soho and Seven Dials – the epicenter of London’s theater scene -- and discover atmospheric pubs down blink-and-you'll-miss-it alleyways near Covent Garden. Hear the history and culture of beer in England, get tips on London's pub scene and enjoy drinking like a local...Partner
- Greenwich Pub Tour in London - The tour starts at 6pm at the Sir Walter Raleigh statue in Greenwich. At each of the four lovely pubs on the tour, stop to flavor the ambiance and to enjoy a complimentary half pint of beer/ale as well. One of the pubs on the tour is the famous Trafalgar Tavern, on the River Thames. It is not the only riverside pub on the tour, but it has a fantastic location with outside patio. On tap are some wonderful ales from Cornwall and elsewhere in the U.K. The remainder of the evening is spent at the other three charming pubs on the tour...Partner
- Haunted London Pub Walking Tour - Discover murder most foul, the address of Sweeney Todd, public executions gone wrong, poltergeists, witch hunts, grave robbers and Harry Potter. Hear of England's worst serial killer and end the evening in the spine chilling cells of a Victorian prison. There is also plenty of opportunity on route to calm your nerves and pluck up a little Dutch courage...Partner
- Historic London Pub Tour - Discover London’s oldest drinking establishments as you explore the winding streets and back alleys of the historic city centre. Visit where Dylan Thomas drunkenly misplaced his manuscripts, learn how Victorians fed their gin cravings and stand in the secret alleyways where one of England’s most notorious poets faced a duel. Learn about London’s seedy drink-obsessed past, whilst taking in the splendor of modern day London and sensing the ghosts of yesteryear at some of the city’s top landmarks. This tour promises drama, intrigue and a good glug of history, before you relax in one of Charles Dickens’ regular watering holes with the world’s favorite drink (half pint included)...Partner
Reid's List of Pubs
Eight elegant, bookish-themed B&B rooms above a gourmet pub in Clerkenwell
Favorite Southwark pub filled with cozy snugs and literary associations just a block from Shakespeare's Globe
A 17th century pub and National Trust Landmark, set on the ground floor of an old coaching inn
A 16th century pub on Hampstead Heath that inspired Keats, Dickens, and Stoker
Breakfast at London's Fox & Anchor pub comes with a pint of Guinness and the company of the slaughterhouse workers
A quick stop for cheap pub grub right across from the British Museum
A rambling, 150-year-old Greenwich pub with decent grub, Dickens associations, and a small terrace overlooking the Thames
