Leicester Square Pubs: Is there any historic pub interest in London's tourist hotspot? 

There's hopefully at least one really good pub in each video! (In my opinion anyway...) But yea definitely a good idea to cherry pick as, like the Imperial in this video, some of the pubs I visit turn out to be a big disappointment!

I agree - this video was very much on a "any port in a storm" principle, but I do think the Salisbury is worth poking your nose in at.

I think the Angel & Crown is now "Mr Fogg's Tavern" - an odd faux Victorian theme pub.

Thanks Derek - glad you find the videos useful, and hope you have a good time in London!

It really makes no sense to me! The bar back now just seems to be a tacky looking cabinet full of gin bottles - if it was just a question of storage space I'm sure they could have come up with a more creative solution than that.

​ @TweedyPubs Yes, your are right. Old classic style has real value and cosiness. Owners, that take away this, are just stupid. They probably think, that most people nowadays go for this shitty modern Ikea style, so they only want to attract as many people as possible, which is of course stupid idea and a way, how to handle a business. They go from quality to quantity. Having this kind of mentality, you can´t never be a winner you know. Well, we who understand and appreciate quality, look for better places in UK and we are lucky, because there are so many of them. As for people destroying traditon, let them find their own doom.

It was my first time there (but I went twice in one day!) and I agree I couldn't really put my finger on why but I liked it.

@@TweedyPubs We were all Sheffielders living in different parts of London so we met there because it was next door to the tube station and we'd have a couple of pints in there before usually heading to soho or just up the road to the lamb and flag. Good times.

Thanks Simon, that's good to know!

Shan doss

The dart board is still there! It shows briefly in the video around 15:25. Somebody had written "replace me" in chalk and it did look like there was a bit of damage to the felt but I assume it would still just about work...?

Thanks Frase!

Really happy to hear the video brought back those memories!

Thank you! ...and yes I embarked on this mission with more than a little apprehension but found it a surprisingly upbeat outing - apart from the Imperial of course. It would obviously be a bit insincere to mourn its passing too much, as I had never been in there before. I don't know if you noticed in those screenshots from Google Maps that the photos of the really nice bits had actually been posted by the management of the pub itself, as recently as November 2021. I think it was already a Greene King pub at that point so as far as I can tell it isn't a case of a change of ownership - but in the space of three years they've gone from actively promoting those Victorian features to ruthlessly stripping them all out. It's hard to comprehend the thinking behind that! I imagine even Leonardo Dicaprio would be disappointed, should he at some point revisit. Yes the barrel atop the Chandos was indeed revolving! I vaguely recall that the hands of the cooper also move now and again - perhaps on the hour? Alas I didn't catch that in the video. I found digging into the origin of the name of the Porcupine really fascinating - and slightly surprising that (as far as I can tell) no other online sources have written about that connection with the Earl of Leicester. It became obvious very quickly with only a bit of digging. I found it slightly mind blowing to think of the chain of events that led to a word on a sign which thousands of tourists pass by every day, without giving much thought to. All the way back to 1394! The Duke of Orleans has a falling out with the Duke of Burgundy, he adopts a feisty symbol of defiance, creates a chivalric order, it becomes a motif for French kings, later co-opted by English nobility (I believe William Sidney was a diplomat and met Louis XII on several occasions) and then over 600 years later here I am making a video about a pub of that rather curious name.

@@TweedyPubs and to think that William Sidney had no idea that such a thing as Tweedy Pubs on RU-vid, would ever exist! It is fascinating when you discover these long lineages on pub names. Incredible too, when you think how these places have been redeveloped, over and over again.

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I suspect these people who had "courtier" as their job title were very savvy and extremely good at adapting to change - he apparently was in favour under two different monarchs. Had he been somehow cryogenically frozen and brought back to life today I doubt it would take him long to get up to speed on social media etc!

I knew it as a Fuller's pub, I think...? According to whatpub.com it's apparently now operated by "Ineos 123 Ltd"...?!

Thank you! Yes I agree those sampling platters (whatever you call them) are a nice idea, although it's quite often the case in pubs now there's only one beer I think sounds like my sort of thing...

That's a delightful bit of family history! I think that's one of the magical thing about pubs - if an important family event happens in a private home, then several generations on it's quite likely to be owned by complete strangers and you have no real chance of visiting to relive that moment... whereas in a public house it survives (hopefully) as a lingering monument which you can go to whenever you want.

@@TweedyPubs Truer words. By the way, did you see the sneaky kids behind you at 10:16? Also, clock the woman at 13:47 with brolly trouble. A lot goes on in the background ...

@@w.g.hunter1300 Yes I noticed the cheeky kids, they were quite sweet, but it made me a bit sad the way even very young children today seem to be so fascinated by anything with a screen on it rather than actually taking an interest in their real surroundings. Although it's probably a bit much to expect kids to revel in late Victorian pub interiors!

Thank you!

Thanks David! Yes I really don't know what they were thinking there - the irony is those two photos I included from Google Maps were posted by the pub's management back in 2021. So clearly at some point they recognised those Victorian (esque?) features as a selling point... And within two years had ripped them out.

I did consider it! ...but I looked at the photos and it didn't really seem like one of Wetherspoon's finest, so I decided to give it a miss.

@@TweedyPubs You chose…wisely. I drank there a few times when I was 19 and 20. Even then (before I understood what makes a truly good pub) I was underwhelmed. It did make for a serviceable spot to meet friends before setting off towards better options. These days when I find myself in Leicester Square I like to…keep waking, at a quickening pace. Thanks again for braving the land of Burger King and M&M World to explore the local pubs.

@@Maitreya0208 fast paced walking away from Leicester Square sounds like a very familiar experience!

It was very nice - definitely the highlight in terms of interiors on this trip!

Thank you!

It was! Under normal circumstances I would probably have chosen the Harp over the Chandos, but I have covered the Harp before in another (quite short!) video on Covent Garden: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5nTHOa5CGRI.html

I slightly wish now I had included the Bear & Staff as I noticed Bear Street there even on the maps from the 1700s, which suggests it probably has a long history as you say.

I think I will do a round-up of Irish pubs in London at some point but it's a bit outside my usual area of familiarity and requires more research!

I assume you're not referring to the M&Ms store? 😂

@@TweedyPubs no 🤣🤣

I think the most generous description I could give Greene King IPA on this occasion is "inoffensive", which is rather better than how I'd describe the refurbishment of the Imperial.

@@TweedyPubsIt is nice when served in good condition, but that doesn't happen very often.

That's a great trick Jake! I had always assumed the opposite, that those casinos would charge extortionate prices for the drinks, but I do see the logic behind it... I'm guessing they were forced to stop at some point?

@@TweedyPubs Yeah I think they stopped, probably realised it wasn't working in their interests or maybe the licensing law changed. The best one in summer was the one with the balcony (the Empire I think) because you had this whole south-facing balcony pretty much to yourself

Thanks Rob! Yes I'd go back to the Chandos (I think I might have been in once or twice before, many years ago) - it does have a certain atmosphere, which may or may not suit everyone depending on what they're looking for, but I quite liked the way the only thing I could hear in there was the sound of other people talking... and the prices were unbeatable in that area! I always try and keep myself to myself when I'm out making these videos and not bother anyone if at all possible, but those young people appeared to be interested with the fact I was doing something social media related and came over and asked me what it was all about, then seemed to want to get involved. They were surprisingly good natured and pleasant to talk to - I just always assume people in that age bracket would only ever see a middle aged man as an object of ridicule! I suspect they might have been up all night and were having a "nightcap" (at lunchtime) which made their affable demeanour all the more impressive. Given all the talk you hear these days of young people shutting themselves indoors glued to screens and shunning pubs; after meeting them I was filled with renewed hope for future generations! Really glad to hear you like the history bits! I worry sometimes that some people might be watching the videos during those segments and are thinking "Why is he showing us these old newspaper cuttings about hairdressers? Show us the bleedin' pubs!". I started searching through old newspapers just as a means of trying to find evidence for the dates claimed for when pubs were established... but I found as a side effect the stories it often digs up provide these little glimpses of forgotten lives which I find quite fascinating.

I've only been to Norwich once actually, many years before I started making RU-vid videos. I just went to the Adam and Eve. I would love to return at some point and give it the proper Tweedy Pubs treatment!

@TweedyPubs Sounds good! Yes Adam and Eve is full of character as are The Murderers (Gardeners Arms, Louis Marchesi, Coachmakers, Champion, to name a few...

Thanks Vince! I have been to the Salisbury Hotel on Green Lanes a few times (although not for a few years now) - my wife has a friend who lives nearby and enjoys a drink or two. It is quite impressive! I must give the Queens in Crouch End a go, as Crouch End isn't a million miles from where I live, but I hardly ever go there - and maybe you're right there might be enough for a video around there...? The Winchester in Highgate (which I featured in a video a while back) also seemed to have some similar design elements to the Salisbury in Green Lanes - particularly the iron work over the main entrance - I wonder if that might have used at least some of the same craftsmen?

@@TweedyPubs Yes i've been to the Winchester several times, entirely possible, John Cathles Hill who built the other 2 was based in Archway in 1881when the Winchester was built.

I have covered the Harp before, oddly in a video on Covent Garden (the pub's own website refers to them as being in that part of London, doesn't feel quite right to me somehow) so I skipped it on this occasion, but ordinarily if I was around there I would rather go to the Harp than the Chandos.

Yes, me too on the Harp. I would have included that in this video but I've covered it before in a video on Covent Garden (although it feels a bit tenuous to me to describe the Harp as being in Covent Garden): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5nTHOa5CGRI.html

Thanks Andrew!

Yes it's hard to pin down these areas! I have (very briefly) covered the Harp and the Nell Gwynne in a video on Covent Garden and thought at the time it somehow didn't seem quite the right way to describe their locations either!

@@TweedyPubs Good stuff I'll have a look! I came across your channel recently and have enjoyed working my way through the back catalog. Nell Gwynee is probably more Covent Garden now you say it! If you want to do a Crystal Palace or Herne Hill version I'm happy to advise. I know South London pubs quite well.

😂 I wish that were true!

But they might then counterattack with "roasted macadamia/ dead salmon/stirabout/jitney/Joa's white/mouseback" (i.e Beige) or 40 white/off whites or "raw tomatillo" (green) or teal substitutes of blue ("lobster/ blue maize/ pea flower soup"). @@TweedyPubs

Thanks Alan, it was better than I expected actually. The Salisbury had a lot going for it, and most of the others were at least OK, with the obvious exception of the Imperial.

Hard to say! London area names are a subject of constant debate, made all the more thorny by the way people tend to use the names of stations and/or tube stops (which weren't originally names of the areas they're in - e.g. Victoria) to describe an area. It was a lot easier when people used to talk in parishes, as they didn't overlap! So my cop out answer would just be to say it's in St Martins in the Fields.

Oh no, the channel is only 6 months old! Plenty more pubs to cover still...

Lol. I didn't mean the channel, I meant the Leicester Square area! You are a rare gem Tweedy. @@TweedyPubs

@@algonzales1809 Phew!

Unfortunately it had no protection - it wasn't a (Historic England) listed building, it wasn't on CAMRA's list of historic pub interiors (not that there's any legal weight behind that) and as far as I can tell it wasn't covered by Westminster Council's "Heritage Assets" / "Building of Merit" scheme. The Chandos, for example, is at least covered by the latter, although I'm not sure what level of protection that offers exactly.

Agreed - I jumped at it, and a bargain for the area! Although yes I would have preferred it out of a cask.

Thanks TKP! Yes I did feel a bit like I was "taking one for the team" during parts of this outing, but at least the Salisbury was a pleasant surprise. I must have been in before at some point but I didn't remember it for some reason. I agree the Harp is the pub I'd usually always gravitate to in this area - I just omitted it in this video because I included it on a previous video (oddly the Covent Garden one, even though the Harp doesn't really feel like it's in Covent Garden to me). Either that or I'd head north into Soho.

Agree, it's in a odd no mans land.@@TweedyPubs

Hahaha thanks Barry! Nice to have a representative of the "outdoors" crowd here! Yes I'm a fan of Hedley too. It's interesting how he and I differ in terms of "on screen persona". I feel most relaxed in front of a camera if I'm in the middle of nowhere and nobody else is around - I get quite self conscious if anyone else is listening in while I'm filming. Whereas Hedley seems to really flourish in that podcast format where he has other people to interact with.

…or: he just likes a good chat with likeable and entertaining people (who also drink beer)?

Yes they certainly did - sad isn't it?

I saw that on wikipedia, yes very sad that such a beautiful pub has that association.

Yes it's a shame Greene King have such a monopoly - if I'm doing a pub crawl I don't mind one of them being a GK pub but when it's three in a row it's definitely a bit much!

According to whatpub.com (links for all the pubs featured in the description) most of these pubs open until midnight on Friday and Saturdays, but yes, the rest of the week it's still generally 11pm.

Yes I read that somewhere - whenever you get 10 of the same type of business all within 30 seconds walk of each other you know there's something a bit weird going on!

Hello - thanks for the cameo! It was a fun interlude.

I had a feeling I was getting it wrong! On the 1682 map of London it's written "Shandois", and given the French origin it's much more likely to be a "sh" sound at the start as you say.

Several hundred people appear to disagree with you on the "twaddle" assessment, given the number of clicks on the thumbs up button. Nobody but you has had anything negative to say in the comments either thus far. I congratulate you on your unique perspective. If you're looking for the menus I'd suggest going to look at the website of each pub, that's probably a more efficient way of finding that information than watching a RU-vid video. I asked in every one of the pubs featured here if it was OK to take the interior shots. They all said yes.