Jezza's Guide to Beer on the Southbank

For this guest post on London's increasingly beery South Bank, I've turned to the well-informed Jezza from www.beerguideldn.com (@BeerGuideLondon.) He is one of a select group of London heroes that keep me in the know in their respective fields, and his guide to pubs and breweries in London is second-to-none. Over to you, Jezza...

Choosing where to drink good beer in and around Waterloo or on the South Bank used to be a simple task: you went to the ever reliable Kings Arms on Roupell Street: 

This traditional pub in a gorgeous 'olde worlde' back street near Waterloo Station has long offered excellent Thai food (or roasts on Sundays) and more recently its beer range has gone from strength to strength.  8 cask ales sit alongside a keg range of growing quality and a small but well chosen bottled range from breweries such as Kernel and Fourpure.

But recently, and out of virtually nowhere, London's South Bank has become a beer destination oozing with potential for a great day out.  Here are some of the new places to check out:

The Hop Locker - Owner Joel loves good beer, and this is reflected in the outstanding selection in this busy market stall in the bustling Southbank Centre Market, directly behind the Royal Festival Hall. This bottle shop cum bar provides such a great range of beers you'll always find something of the very highest quality. 

Now offering 8 drafts and around 30 bottles, you can choose either to drink in the tiny bar area or at a table in the general market area.  Breweries such as Magic Rock, Kernel, Moor, Siren, Fourpure, Beavertown, Burning Sky and Arbor feature regularly, so you can see it's very much the best of British brewing.  The market is open Friday 12 -9pm, Saturday 11am - 9pm and 12 - 6 on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and you're sure to find some excellent food from one of the other market stalls.

N.B. The Southbank Centre Market (and therefore The Hop Locker) is not open this weekend (11th-13th September), but it will return on 18th September.

At the front of the Royal Festival Hall there are now three additional stalls offering good beer. Firstly, Beany Green - of Broadgate Circle coffee fame - is at the top of the steps leading down to the river, just beside the main front entrance to the Royal Festival Hall.  Usually offering several beers from Bermondsey favourites Fourpure, they also offer guest beers from the likes of Partizan Brewing Co. & Pressure Drop.

At the bottom of the steps nestling under The Golden Jubilee Bridge you'll find Look Mum No Hands - again a South Bank offshoot - their permanent location is on Old Street - and then perhaps most prominently, Bleecker Street's burger and beer van - the third of the triumvirate who also have a permanent location elsewhere (in the case of Bleecker Street their regular venue is Old Spitalfields Market - read more here).

N.B. Look Mum No Hands is currently closed for the Winter, and Bleecker Burger has moved, but only as far as the Southbank skate park. Phew.

Look Mum No Hands offer up to 10 draft beers, including some outstanding selections from breweries like Beavertown, Moor and Magic Rock.  Bleecker Street meanwhile currently offer 6 draft lines, often from standout American breweries such as Flying Dog and Brooklyn.  However there's a great additional reason to come here: to eat their superb burgers, such as the award-winning Bleecker Black, which contains black pudding as well as their stand out 40 - 50 day aged beef.   

Both Look Mum No Hands and Bleecker Street are likely to be summer only venues on the South Bank, so visit by the end of September to be sure to catch them in full swing.

Walking along the river towards Waterloo Bridge you'll soon come to the National Theatre, and here you'll find the rather excellent Understudy.

Don't be put off by the rather grey and foreboding concrete exterior: this super relaxed and comfortable venue offers a great selection of around 12 draft and 35 bottled beers, including many from excellent breweries such as London's Brew by Numbers and Siren Craft Brew from Berkshire.

Photo credit : Philip Vile

As you can see, the South Bank is now an excellent beer destination in its own right and a visit is highly recommended.

Guest post written by Jezza, SW London, with photos (mostly) from Matt The List.  Jezza's guide to pubs and breweries in London can be found online at www.beerguideldn.com

The site contains full details of The Hop Locker, The Understudy and The Kings Arms – including opening times, which you should check carefully while planning any visits. You can also follow Jezza on Twitter @beerguidelondon or @bonsvoeux1 for frequent updates.

Night Elm - Som Saa - Look Mum No Hands

Friday 31st October - Battersea to Broadway Market takes about an hour on a good day, so when an East London amigo of mine threw a Halloween party, I decided to do a little pre-drinking and eating to kill two (or in this case, four) birds with one stone.  Fittingly for the 31st October, we started off at the new bar beneath the fabulous Rita's - Night Elm (on Mare Street - see what they did there?).

A glamorous walk past the toilets takes you to the downstairs space at Rita's, which has just been converted from private dining space to bar.  Asian influences (often present on the main Rita's menu) are noticeable in both the drinks and the décor at Night Elm, with bottles of lesser-known booze lined up, and the likes of Singapore Sling & Sake Low/Hi-Ball on offer.  Mary enjoyed the former, whilst I had an excellent Dark Rum & Fig Old Fashioned for only £6.50.  That's approaching Seven at Brixton territory.

Complimentary popcorn is just the start of the snacks.  Save space for Honey BBQ Pork Puff (£5), Hot Bean Devilled Egg (£3.50), Spice Sesame Cucumbers (£4) and Rita's famous Soy & Ginger Hot Wings (£6).  Had I not filled up on Salted Caramel Doughtnuts at Pont Street earlier in the day, I would have ordered a Dough-Friterole - a doughnut filled with dulce de leche & covered in chocolate.

At the time of writing, Night Elm is only open Thursday-Saturday, 6pm-midnight, but check their holding page here for the latest timings.  It's a great little spot for affordable cocktails - you may want to pair a visit with the full dining experience upstairs.

Top foodie spots nearby - Bouchon Fourchette // Lardo // Rawduck // Licky Chop // Hill & Szrok

Fancy another cocktail? - Try Pearl above the Cat & Mutton and the recently reopened Peter's & Co. Gin Palace, both on Broadway Market, or go a bit further afield to the fantastic Peg & Patriot at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green

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We powered on, down a couple of dark & dingy side streets, past the tempting London Fields Brewery bar, to Climpson's Arch, one of London's real hidden gems.  This stunning, secluded coffee roastery and bar also has a La Marzocco Linea Barbecue out the front which is put to good use by rotating chefs & foodie residencies.

The latest team to take over the cooking are Andy Oliver and Tom George who have brought small town Thailand to the arch in the form of Som Saa.  Andy has worked in Thai kitchens for almost 10 years, and wants to showcase lesser-known dishes from the Northern and North-Eastern provinces of Thailand.

Unless you know your nam prik nuum kap moo from your jan naem, or you are allergic to nuts, you are best off going in a big group and ordering everything.  

We kicked off with tua prik krob (£3) - moreish Thai cashew nuts with kaffir lime, dried chilli and lemongrass.  This was swiftly followed by pla dip bai cha plu (£5) - Betel Leaf with citrus cured wild sea bass, kaffir lime, lemongrass and mint that was anything but subtle.  I loved it, Mary found it too much.  No cutlery needed so far.

We finished with gai yaang (grilled chicken le with jaew dipping sauce - £6.50) and moo yang (grilled pork neck, chilli, lime and garlic - £8), accompanied by unlimited sticky rice baskets (£2.50/head) - enjoy shaking the rice out of its little bag.  Lime, ginger, garlic, chilli are all recurring flavours in this cuisine, but the different combinations never seem to tire.

See some nice B&W shots by Ben Broomfield here

Depending on your hunger levels, you can move on to bigger plates such as geng hung lay (Northern style pork belly curry with pickled garlic and ginger - £12.50) and nam dtok pla thort (deep fried seabass with Isaan herbs and roasted rice - £14) and finish up with kluey thord "ice cream" nan dan beep (salted bo.lan palm sugar ice cream with turmeric grilled banana - £4.50).

And once you've exhausted that menu, return for brunch: "Classic Thai brunch dishes such as Chinese doughnuts and rice porridge with crispy pork will be served at weekends, alongside a special Thai coffee developed in conjunction with Climpson and Sons Coffee Roasters."

Oh, and there are cans of Beer Lao, Thai-inspired cocktails, Sang Som Whisky-Soda buckets, and cracking wines to keep you hydrated.

There's a real buzz in the foodie community around the Som Saa residency, and for good reason. There's affordable and exciting food & drink of the highest quality, the setting is stunning (reminding me of the outstanding Big Crow in Toronto), and if you don't spend all your money on gung pao nam jim talay, you'll be booking your flight to North Thailand as you walk out the door.

Matt The Thai Tips - Smoking Goat (more Thai BBQ from the Begging Bowl team) has just opened in Soho and is also generating quite a buzz.  I've also heard good things about Esarn Kheaw in Shepherd's Bush for more Northern Thai food.  Then there's always the bonkers bargain Churchill Arms in Kensington, the equally nutty Spicy Basil in Kilburn, and cheap & cheerful Kaosarn in Brixton & Battersea.  

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For one last drink before wandering down to Broadway Market, we dropped in to Look Mum No Hands, the stylish café / bar / cycling refuge that stays open til 11pm Wednesday-Saturday on Mare Street - N.B. The Old Street branch (open til 10pm every day) has a bike repair workshop on site and runs bike maintenance courses. 

It was incredibly chilled at 8.30pm on a Friday night considering they have one of the best beer selections around - I would be a regular if I lived locally.  Expect to find the likes of Kernel, Partizan, Beavertown and Pressure Drop on their taps.  If hops aren't your thing, wine, cakes & Square Mile coffee are also on offer.

Two "cycling cafés" have just opened near me in Battersea, but they don't come close to matching the effortless cool of Look Mum No Hands.  Fingers crossed they expand to South West London soon.

Matt The Beer - for another pint or two nearby, try London Fields Brewery, The Dove, The Cock Tavern or Sebright Arms