Great London Songs

13. Maybe It’s because I’m an Irish Londoner – Biblecode Sundays

This is a great London song for those of us who grew up in London with Irish parents, or those who have moved from Ireland to London. It celebrates both London and Irish culture. This song was released in 2007 by the Celtic Rock band The BibleCode Sundays. They are still together today and still play live around London. If you get the chance, you should go see them or their lead singer from the time this was released, Ronan MacManus. They both do great sets of rock/folk/Irish songs in pubs and small clubs. In terms of local live gigs in London, it is hard to get better than Ronan or the Biblecodes.

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TT Liquor, Kingsland Road, London E2.

When you approach TT liquor, it appears to be a remarkable off-licence. Which, of course, it is. It has hundreds of different types of bottles of alcohol arranged neatly on wooden shelves around the perimeter of the shop. However, (this is where you impress your friends with your in-depth knowledge of hip and trendy London hangouts!) go through a wooden door at the back of the store and you arrive in a hallway with wooden stairs up and stone stairs going down.

Upstairs are rooms where they hold cocktail making classes, wine tasting evenings and other events. I have to say that I haven’t tried these yet, but they sound like they should be fun. If you go down the windy, stone staircase into the cellar there is a small speakeasy type bar set up with tables, chairs, and a bar, set along a brick lined wall, this bar holds only about 10 or 12 people.  Apparently, the building is a conversion from an old police station, and so, off this room are some smaller rooms that used to be police cells, these are now  private, old fashioned snugs, set up for individual parties.

 

The cocktails are good, there is large selection of many different types. The bar staff are helpful and knowledgeable, they will advise you on what you might enjoy. The noise level is low, so your conversation can be heard without shouting, but of course, should the evening become a little more raucous, later on, you will be in a semi private room and not disturbing other customers.

I do understand those of you who say that the last thing the world needs is another new bar in the Shoreditch/Hoxton area, but this one does bring something different and despite the number of bars there already, this is a good and innovative addition.

I have to say that we had a great night in TT Liquor, I loved this bar and I will bring friends here, whenever I come back to this part of town.

 

The Devonshire, Balham High Road, Balham, London

There are very many pubs in Balham and the competition is fierce. The Devonshire has many things going for it. It is huge, so it is very good if there is a big group of you who wish to meet up. It has a large back garden with cabanas which are nice in summer when it does barbeques. It is an old Victorian looking pub that hasn’t been messed around with much, so it still has a quaint old English pub type vibe going on, despite its size, this makes it a good place to bring visitors to the UK, for a typically British, Pub Sunday Roast.

We have eaten here a number of times, both for Sunday lunch and in the evening when it also does food,  and it has always been pretty good, not cheap but reliable. We met with a group of friends, 10 of us, for Sunday lunch. The food was okay but the service was dreadful. Our waitress told us that we should use her for table service rather than go to the bar for our drinks. We promptly ordered and then watched them sit on the bar for 15 minutes until we went and got them ourselves. The place was busy but it wasn’t packed. I saw others complaining about the service too. The problem with ours was that it was slow and very offhand.

The food was slow to arrive, and there was another 15 minutes between the first person being served and the last. This did not ruin our meal as we did not stand on ceremony and everybody ate when their food arrived. The root vegetable pie was very nice, if very cheesy. The sausage and mash was pretty good, but the roast beef was not as good as we would have expected. The wine list is ok and both the house white and the house rose were enjoyed by the group.

As we waited to order our last round of drinks and get the bill, our waitress was nowhere to be found. I asked the manager to find her, but she was unable to and eventually brought the bill herself. As I paid, our waitress appeared. the manager just looked at me and rolled her eyes.

This is a worrying state of affairs for a large pub in an area where there is a surfeit of good eating opportunities.  Although the Devonshire is a pub which has a number of good points, I suspect we shall be trying a different one next time.

The Jugged Hare, Barbican, London EC1

This is a smart looking bar at the front with an attractive bright restaurant at the back. It was very busy at 5.30pm on a Tuesday when we were there, we would not have found a seat in the bar, but luckily we had a table booked in the restaurant. As you might expect from the name, the menu is very meat orientated, indeed, the only vegetarian main course is simply listed as “vegetarian” with no description – just a price.

We had the devilled plaice while we discussed the menu, nicely crisp but hardly any spiciness. We also had the dish of large olives, they were indeed large, they were nice but not particularly flavourful.

There are two types of hamburger on the menu, each made with a different breed of cow, the waiter was quite specific in enquiring which one we wanted, we had one of each but were not able to find much difference between them. They are quite expensive, but very substantial, both people who ordered them left half. I had the pork belly, which was unlike any pork belly I had had before, it was like a huge pork chop. However, it was very good and I forgot to enquire afterwards. The “vegetarian” dish was reportedly “fine”.

The hamburgers and the pork were all served on flat wooden boards, I thought we had moved on from this irritating fad, and they are totally impractical for a dish served with gravy.

The wine list has plenty of choice, the prices are at the high end for the quality. The service was excellent and it is very handy for the Barbican. Overall, it was good, without exactly setting the culinary world alight.