Pub crawl

A local pub (or local for short) is an essential part of many Briton’s life.

There’s something very nice about having a pub where everyone knows each other, plays the odd game or two and has a good time. I fear it’s going to be something I’ll miss when I move.

For example, this is being written in my home local pub, the Dog and Bell – a shining jewel in a slightly grubby setting. This is because my local area has a largely undeserved rough reputation (Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death here and it was the location of George Orwell’s grimiest spike in ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’), but this pub is a marvellous place to relax and sink a few pints of CAMRA-approved ale, has free wi-fi supplied by a local co-operative and also is one of the few London pubs with a bar billiards table.

My work local is The Ship in Soho. By day it’s a quietish bar with an eclectic music mix (one day fifties classics, another eighties new wave, with the chance of industrial punk or modern lounge – the randomness is part of the charm) and as a Fullers pub the beer is good. By night I avoid it – it gets completely rammed and you can’t hear yourself talk; although come closing time it’s an excellent place to find someone who’s up for a night on the town.

Both pubs share certain qualities. The bar staff are great, you don’t have to tell them what you want because they already know and if someone wanted to start a fight they’d have your back in an instant. But whether you just fancy a good pint, a chat with friends, painting the town red or a quiet read they are perfect.

By contrast my Californian colleagues tell me that having a local pub is the equivalent of becoming Norm in Cheers, a sign of a problem drinker. This is a bit rich coming from a state where twenty years ago people were doing cocaine for breakfast but horses for courses. It seems people drink at home by in large, which ruins it to my mind – sociability is the essence of a good drink.

Nevertheless I shall attempt to find a good local. I’m very fond of the San Francisco Brewing Company, which has very home made good ale and a good historical feel. For example, the base of the bar has a (now thankfully unused) urinal which customers could use if they couldn’t make it to the loos. Writers such as Kerouac used to drink there and it’s just down the road from City Lights so you can go to a reading, pick up a good book or six and then have a civilised pint down the road while perusing one’s purchases.

However North Beach is probably a bit pricey and I’m looking more likely to move into the Mission district. It has the advantage of having good Mexican eateries (non-existent in London) on the doorstep, some great bookshops and being in walking distance of work. But will it have a local?