Sastre, Nadal, National Football Team... and The Spaniards Inn

Spaniards Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JJ

Almost everybody here, with a mix of admiration and envy, is lastly talking about our unquestionable sports success as a nation. Rafa Nadal (I don't like him, but I love his tennis), Sastre (doped?), The National Football Team (Vicente del Bosque? hehehe), Hockey National Team, Gasol, hopefully the National Basketball Team, and so on... it is really an amazing global performance to be quite proud of, even when the Italians, those jealous bastards, start talking about doping. It was just so bad for them we beated their ass on penaltys, if you want my opinion, because... how can indeed a fellow countryman of guys as Pantani, Ricco or Del Piero (amazing how this old creep is playing now, isn't it?) even dare to talk about doping? Nevertheless...

Anyway, talking about pubs, and taking advantage of this Spanish furor, let's talk about The Spaniards Inn, in Hampstead Heath.

Hampstead, located in North West London and a part of Camden Borough, is really one of the nicest and poshest areas in London. The 'millioniare per squared meter' ratio is the highest in England, and over 20 million pounds houses are quite common.

The list of famous writers, artists or politicians who have lived here is endless, and currently some famous faces as Gwyneth Paltrow, Bjork, Hugh Grant, Hugh Laurie 'House', Emma Thompson, Cesc Fabregas or Jonathan Ross (the British 'Buenafuente', an incredible fellow, on the pic on the right), among many others. (the complete list here). Obviously, it is a really nice small town, with no Indian people shop, wine shop, off licence or any other aberration so common in other NW London areas (yeah, I'm exactly thinking on the area where I live).

Its main asset, under my point of view, is Hampstead Heath. It is a quite big park (320 ha) with everything a park has to have: lakes (called ponds here), natural life (squirrels, foxes and hedgehogs are quite common), and magnificent sights: Parliament Hill is indeed one of the highest points in London, and the global view of the whole City, reaching to Canary Wharf and longer, is really a have to in London. As a quite wild park (closer to 'Casa de Campo' in Madrid than to 'El Retiro'), going there on Monday-Friday is a really entertaining experience, unbeatable for reading a good book or hiking. And of course, as in any other English park, drugs dealink or any other crime is just out of consideration.

And I think that has been enough 'Lonely Planet' post for today, let's go to the pub thing. Almost in the middle of the Heath there is a great pub, The Spaniards Inn, marking the frontier line between Camden and Barnet boroughs. Built up originally at 1585, this is one of the oldest pubs in London, and some famous customers include Keats, Karl Marx, Byron, Dickens and Bram Stocker. Keat's house, the place where he lived his last years and wrote some of his best poetry is indeed on of the main attractions of the area.

Don't think it's one of those ancient pubs, though. It has been refurbished several times, looking old but not that old. Conformed by two different buildings, the tollhouse and the pub one, both are listed buildings (considereed as a part of Enghils architectural heritage). Anyway, the Spaniard's best asset is its beer garden. It is really big, and cosy, with many plants and trees and sunny areas as well. I have been there twice, and the first, on Tuesday, was really great. Last time I went there was last Sunday, and my advice is to avoid the place on weekends, as it is really packed and it is absolutely pointless waiting for 20-30 minutes to be served.

Food is supposed to be great, and in fact it has been awarded several times (surprisingly though, some people complains about frozen food in the Spaniards in beerintheevening, and my experience says this kind of opinions should be listened). I haven't tried it, though, as prices were a bit higher than average and I didn't feel spendthrift that day. The beers range is really wide, and, again, it has been awarded several times for the quality of its ales. They have more than 30 different beers if you put together tap and bottled ones, and the drought Adnams I had was really good. It cost 3 pounds, which is expensive but not particularly for this area of London.

Finally, the pub has some literary heritage with mentions in both Dicken's The Pickwick Papers and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Scary, isn't it?

Good beer or good marketing? Guinness Red

Last Friday I had the chance to try the state-of-the-art in beers here in the UK: Guinness Red.

Before tabling my opinion, let's get a short history lesson. Guinness stout, aka "The Dark Stuff", has been brewed since 1759 in St. James Gate Brewery, in Dublin. It is actually possible to visit the old brewery if you go to that city, indeed it's its main attraction. Even when some other lisenced countries brew the beer under lisence, it is always based on a basic stuff produced in Ireland and shipped to those other countries. As the essence of the beer, the wort extract, loses some properties when it is transported for long distance, that's the reason why the best Guinness allegedly has to been tasted in Dublin itself.

Apart of that, it's one of my favourite ones, and the one that made popular the concept 'stout' more than 200 years ago. Alright, but... what's new?

Well, what is new is that Guinness sales have been soaring down on the last years, and as a result their strategic action has been the development of a new different type of beer, Guinness Red, in origin just for the British market and hoping that sales will come back with a milder product, hopefully more adapted to the youngsters market. If that's going to work out or not, that's something the time will decide...

And I have the opportunity to try it last Friday, as stated above, more specifically in an O'neills pub quite close to Carnaby Street (at the moment O'neills is the only chain offering it). My impression? Well, it's quite good, but it has nothing to do with the original black stuff, with a completely roasted barley. The colour is beautiful, that's true, but, apart of that, it's quite smoother and milder, more like Worthington or Caffrey's creamy bitters. Quite similar to John Smith's as well. My point is: if I want a creamy, low alcoholic bitter, there are several pretty good on the marketplace, so... what's the point about this Guinness-labeled one?

Spot the differences if you can...

The real point, I think, is that this is not about a new beer, but about a huge marketing campaign. And I'm indeed playing their game, as I'm wasting part of my precious time writing about it. Well done, guys!!

PS: have a look at the ad. 'Good things don't just come in black and white'... bloody hell, I would have bet my brother a couple of years ago something like that NEVER was going to be in a Guinness ad. Times changing...

PS2: have you ever asked yourself why Guinness bubbles go downwards instead of upwards as in every other drink? The scientific answer, both here and here.

They want to close down The George Tavern, I say "no no no"

373 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LA

First of all, a bit of history. In a post here I said The George Tavern, in Commercial Road (east end) looked like a red-light bar ('puticlub', in the Spanish written original post). And I have actually believed it until quite recently, when I noticed several campaigns on several papers talking about... saving The George... they couldn't be possibly talking about the same dive, could they?

Well, they actually did. Just two links (of many):

http://www.vogue.co.uk
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk

So, the thing is people as Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss, Ian McKellen (yes, Gandalf!), Mick Jagger and even several MP have actually campaigned to save the place, even wearing some t-shirts about it (see pretty Kate on the right). So, what the story is about? Isn't it really a red-light bar? That were the questions I had in mind when some guys asked me about going to a 60's party on the East End. Whereabouts, I asked? Commercial Road, called the George Tavern, they said... fair enough, that was the chance I was expecting to find out!

So there we went, my brother and me, after enjoying several pints and pool games on The Castle (unfortunately the Spanish waitress wasn't around, and the pool hole to get your money back was closed). We have been told to be dressed up on a 60's themes, but, you know how it actually works: you go to the towncenter for having a couple of drinks around 4pm and, after that, you are not going back home to wear a stupid flowered shirt. Indeed, we weren't even dressed for a good night out, but... hell, we had already been in The George, and it didn't worth the fucking fancy dress. So there we arrived, and, surprise surprise:

1. Almost anybody was dressed up (hurray for us!)
2. Around 30% of the people over there were Spanish, included former Victor flatmates (that's another story...)
3. The cover was 6 quid, not as bad as told in advance (around 12)

And so, we did what we would't ever expected to do one year ago: go upstairs to the first floor, that is, where we expected some hookers to be. Of course, they were right: not red-lighted rooms, but a concerts venue, a pretty small one indeed.

Once concealed our deception, we went down again to the bar. As I've said before, Guinnes is really nasty on that place, so we went for the common stuff (Becks, Stella and so on). They have great sofas, that's something to concede the place. And decoration is quite weird... of course, if you like the Madrid's Lavapies way of life you'll love it. Bymyself, I'm done with hippies selling pretty expensive booze, pretty expensive and bad food, and trying to convince you how good communism and anarchy are as well. So, please, sweep the bloody floor from time to time, lazy bastards! :D

The concerts were quite different, the three of them. The first band was a bit boring, and Aqua Nebulla Oscilator were alright, but maybe a bit weird for my musical taste (psichodelyc punk, they call it). Volume was too up, on their defense.

The last band, The Draytons, was the one I preferred: just pop, how can it be that difficult to do that? We are in London, aren't we? Bloody hell...

Anyway, DJ were much better than live music, if you want my real opinion. They played fairly good music, and got the mood up quite a lot. Closing at 1.30 am, after paying 6 pounds, it's not a good deal, though.

Final brief? Well, clear enough, the place is not a red-light bar (it's got one attached, by the way, but it's not part of The George). And it is a quite good place, indeed... as so many others in London. Stuff is cool, DJ are fairly good, and, like'm or not, you have live bands performing on the weekends. Even a bit of history, if you believe the story saying Charles Chaplin and Oliver Cromwell used to drink there (yeah, the original pub dates from the 17th century). But from that to get Amy, Kate and all the others supporting the place and its greedy owner... well, that's maybe a bit too much.

Let there be Rock: The Intrepid Fox

15 St. Giles High Street, WC2H 8LN

JuanFran, a friend of mine, took me to this pub when we met back here in London, about two months ago. And I’ve been there again, and again with him, which makes clear a couple of facts:

1. JuanFran’s got a great taste for pubs.
2. Maybe I don’t, hence this blog is a complete waste of time

The Intrepid Fox used to be kind of an institution in Soho,at Wardour Street, as one of the most famous heavy metal pubs up there. I weren’t there at that time, but I’ve heard it was really a funny place to enjoy a pint in, completely stuffed with weird goth memorabilia and shabby decoration. A classic dive in London.

But it closed, and reopened not too far away on its current location, quite close to Tottenham Court Road tube station. Hence, let’s forget about what this place used to be, and let’s talk about what it is about at the moment.


First thing, decoration is absolutely great. Imagine a hard rock café devoted to heavy/dark/goth music, and you almost got it. A huge budget is backing the place, that is clear enough, and if the investment is worthy enough, that’s something we have to explore… anyway, deco is great.

Second think: drinks. Not too many different beers, that’s true, but at least they taste decently. And that’s something important on a place like that: I am just remembering how close to be poisoned I was last week, back in Madrid on holidays, on Chill Out (Malasaña). Ono of my former favourites places in that area in Madrid, where I enjoyed great binges as a teenager, and prettily nice decorated at the moment. But don’t even dare to enjoy a drink, whatever the fuck it is. Just shit, and my stomach suffered it the whole fucking night long. I’m digressing, aren’t I? Anyway, I was saying that drinks are ok. And they pass the 10 quid trial (buy three pints with a tenner and get spare change). Good enough for me.

The most important thing in a place like that should be the music. In fact, the whole thing. And that’s a little flaw the Intrepid Fox has… as they play not just the expected stuff, but also new metal (‘chandal metal’, as I love to name it in Spanish) covering bands as POD, Korn and that kind of things you might like, but not listen in a Heavy Club. Neither Amy Winehouse is a rock band, regardless I like it or not. Nevertheless, don’t expect Bisbal, Bustamante or Reggeton… in the end, that’s still London. And there are usually live bands performing, as it is a quite famous venue as well.

Anything else? Well, one of the waitress is Spanish, but she is so fucking full of herself that trying to make up a friendly conversation is just a waste of time. I’m a heavy goth modern here in London, did you know that, bloody tursist? (You actually do that bouncing your body as Eminem, and you just have the picture). And that’s a pity, as she’s shagable enough (yeah, the blog is becoming a bit more romantic every day). Apart of that, I’ve read somewhere you might get a pentangle on your Guinness foam, but I didn’t when I asked for one… very likely the bitch I’ve talked about isn’t able to perform one. And what else… well, they have an outside area where you can enjoy a sunny day –yeah, I’m just kidding- and the corridor to go to the toilets, and the toilets themselves, are really successful.

The biggest flaw of the place, JuanFran says and I agree with him, is it has lost a great part of his original charming. Plenty of tourists are around, and you really feel like in a Theme Park instead of in an original pub. Just as I told before, as in Hard Rock. And, still, it’s a place I’ll go over and over again, ‘couse… it’s cool…

Churchill Arms: we shall never surrender

119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN

We shall go on to the end.
We shall fight in France,
We shall fight on the seas and oceans,
We shall fight with GROWING confidence and GROWING strength in the air.
We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be.
We shall fight on beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds,
We shall fight in the fields and in the streets.
We shall fight in the hills,
We shall never surrender.

Winston Churchill, June 4 1940.

Talking about Winston Churchill here in the UK is talking about one of this godless country Gods. I'm not going to devote a whole post here about this great man, politician and, over all, fighter. It wouldn't make sense, as there is plenty of information about him wherever you have a look at on the Internet. Just recommend three different things related with him: 'The Second World War', a six volume book describing WWII under his perspective and a wonderful piece of literacy masterpiece that can be red with absolute delight and enjoyment (and the best history book I have ever red); Churchill's museum, very close to Downing Street in London, recreating the WWII cabinet war room; and Churchill's arms, of course, a magnificent pub.

The post is, of course, about the pub. One of my favourites in London, I have to say, and that's saying quite a lot. It is located very close to Notting Hill tube station. This area, notoriously famous for the well-known Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts movie (the blue door is now painted in black, to avoid tourists taking pics), is an interesting one: it deceives notably when you are looking for something special on it, an it takes pleasantly by surprise when you just go for a walk around there. Nevertheless, George Orwell lived there, and just that should be enough to pay the place a visit.

The best day for visiting it (forget about finding the movie's famous house, they have painted the main door in a different colour to avoid the touristic vermin) is Saturday, as you can go walking to Portobello Market, a really cool one I'll talk about in a different post. However, on Saturday Churchill's Arms is packed, so pay it a visit a different day, please!!

First great thing about the pub is the outdoors decoration. Fully loaded with different type of flowers, it really looks lovely from the outside. And that's just the first impression... let's better go inside.


The pub have two different areas: the pub itself and the restaurant. The pub, obviously, is completely devoted to Churchill itself. Pictures, paintings, statues and different memorabilia object cover every single wall or ceiling inside. If you go alone (and you shouldn't go alone to a pub, that's what alcoholics do, you know?) you can just enjoy your pint while you have a look at that many different objects related with one single subject: a great English statesman. Not only that, though. There is one of the best Guinness objects collections I've ever seen in a pub, and one wall holds photos of every British Prime Minister, from Sir Robert Walpole through to Margaret Thatcher. And some old fashioned rubbish scattered around: copper kettles, jugs, coal scuttles, brass instruments, old radios, violin cases, an accordion, old manuscripts, lanterns and a long etcetera.

The restaurant is another pleasant discovery. Fully covered with literally hundreds of plants, they offer Thai cuisine there. Prices are alright (6 pounds per course, and you just need one to be fed up), and the quality of the food is more than alright: it's quite good. Again, avoid it on Saturday, as there will very likely be there so many people that you will not enjoy your meal as you should. Even if it's not Saturday, it is quite possible that you'll have to queue up a bit. Just for once, it's better to get back the Spanish timetables and drop there around 3 pm, as it will be much easier to get a place. As it is quite small, it makes quite a difference if you get a good table or a bad one.

It is a historic pub as well, as it is more than 200 years old (of course, it wasn't devoted to Churchill in the beginning :D). But it's not one of those wrecked ones you can find in London: it's quite clear the owner appreciates his business. The beers? Fuller's on the tap, including the typical stuff (Pride, etc.). They also have London Porter on the tap, which is not quite usual (it's usually served bottled). Moreover, Guinness is perfect in Churchill's, allegedly one of the best in London. Finally, beer prices, though not cheap (this is one of the poshest areas in London), are not as expensive as they might be according to the quality of the pub.

Anything else? The pub is awarded in almost every pub website (try www.fancyapint.com, www.pubs.com or www.beerintheevening.com) as one of the best pubs in London. And pintofcarlingplease agrees with them. And, just as an ending coda, a bit more of pure Churchill:

It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Churchill, May 13 1940

Let there be party: Fabric

77a Charterhouse Street London EC1M 3HN

Everybody who knows me is pretty aware I am not really a fan of electronic music of any type, whatever you wanna call it: drum&bass, house, electro, progressive, Spanish 'bakalao' or any other imaginable variant. I don't like huge clubs, where everybody is completely drugged and the favourite drink at bar is just water.

But I do like Fabric. Oh, yes, I do.

What does it offer? Well, three different rooms, better known by the light colours performed in them: the blue (and main) one, green and red. Let's go after every single one...

1. Green room. If sound could be defined with an object, this one would be a huge screwdriver. Every single clubber here is dancing a weird mezcolanzza of drum&bass and some other stuff. The craziest one, so my favourite one. And the green colour effect is great!



2. Blue room. The main one, where concerts take place. Usually too crowded, good fun anyway.



3. Red room. You can avoid it if you want... they EVEN sing sometimes... what kind of club is that? LOL

But Fabric is not just the rooms... but:

1. People. Surprisingly, and really opposite to what you frequently get in Spain, people are truly friendly. Everybody is in a high mood (well, yeah, maybe some pills around have something to do with that), and you really feel you can enjoy the party the way you prefer and annoying nobody while doing it. That's basically great.

2. The toilets. Good fun. Guys and girls almost together, and in the central corridor a nice fountains collection pouring water in a non stop downloading into everybody's bottle, of course, just in order to drop thirst.

3. The sound. In their website they say they broadcast in low frequency and around the floor in order to make you 'feel' the music. Not too sure if that's true, but friend, you feel it... I've been twice and the first time my ears were burning when I came out. That bloody green room...

4. The venue itself. Built up in brick with some narrow corridors, it looks like an old maze/factory. It's brilliant, indeed.

Of course, it's not perfect. A 330ml Stella bottle is 4 quid (still, cheaper than in most clubs in Spain). Last time we had to wait two hours to go in, hence you should avoid arriving there on Saturday between 1 am and 3 am, as it is when everybody's on the queue. By the way, if you are lucky enough (as we were) to go in just after 4, you get half price cover (from 16 quid to 8 quid, again, cheaper than most Madrid clubs). And finally, there's no off licence around the queue, so, if you wanna drink there, you should bring your own booze in advance.

Some other things about Fabric are just odd. As the sectioned queue which allows to maintain all the shops doors free of people. Or the superb respect to the queue itself, as anybody jumps it (again, the bloody-prof-bouncers have something to do with that).

Anyway. Last Saturday I fabric-ed til 8 am. And it will not be the last one. Quite sure about it.