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Many a birthday have I begun by sitting alone at the bar, in a cubby hole, at The Princess Louise, reading for pleasure and necking G&Ts, in a gradually-improvi

by vr46 2y ago

Many a birthday have I begun by sitting alone at the bar, in a cubby hole, at The Princess Louise, reading for pleasure and necking G&Ts, in a gradually-improving mood until the evening, when friends begin to show and we find a bigger - never better - spot in the pub. And no visitors to the city have ever felt disappointed in an English pub if taken to the Louise, John Snow, Cittie of York, or a few of the other unmodified Sam Smith’s pubs in town. I even like most of their beers. But they are a bit weird and stories of the boss are pretty legendary, and this confirms it in glorious detail.

jamespo 2y ago
I could not imagine spending all night in a Sam Smiths pub. Particularly on my birthday.
- fidotron 2y ago
  Maybe in the Cheshire Cheese. I swear years ago the Sam Smiths cider used to be hallucinogenic. And the other stuff they serve is definitely a bit curious.
  - westi 2y ago
    Been there, done that ;) tis a gem of a pub
  - vr46 2y ago
    Met my wife in there, but the refurb ruined it a bit for me. Much prefer the Mitre at the bottom on Hatton Garden, have had to be carried out of there on occasion, but I know what you mean about Sam Smith's Zoider.
- afandian 2y ago
  There's one in my town. It's a nice, very popular old-school pub. It's a relief not to have a TV on in the corner.
- lores 2y ago
  Those pubs are seriously lovely, though. A bit too busy, but they look grand.
dcminter 2y ago
Not really relevant, but the context doesn't arise all that often: I used to live near the Cittie of Yorke and the 'Y' on the sign was so florid that I genuinely thought it was called the city of "Porke" for the best part of a year!
zabzonk 2y ago
> And no visitors to the city have ever felt disappointed in an English pub if taken to the Louise Well, I have, because you can't get proper Guinness there, only Smith's inferior substitute. But it is a nice pub, despite that. Toilets are particularly good.
- vr46 2y ago
  There is that, but nothing can really temper unrealistic expectations. You can enjoy stout for what it is on its own merits, though. And plenty of stouts beat Guinness in blind testing (or is it tasting?) such as London Black. Not that one will find that in a Sam Smith's pub.
- lproven 2y ago
  > Well, I have, because you can't get proper Guinness there An ex-GF of mine complained about that very pub, 25 years ago, for the very same reason. > only Smith's inferior substitute. She was wrong, and you are too. Guinness is an indifferent to bland stout and the Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a vastly better example of the style. Widen your palate, learn to appreciate variety and diversity, and recognise that brands are your enemy, in beer just as much as in social networks or political parties. Slavish loyalty to any brand is rank foolishness. Even if you do like it, your life will be better if you learn more about the wider options.
  - zabzonk 2y ago
    i have no "slavish loyalty" to anything - i just like the taste, as presumably your gf did as well. i do not like the smith's stout. and i think i have drunk enough beers in my 70-odd years to know what i like!
    - lproven 2y ago
      What do you think of Murphy's or Beamish?
  - alexjplant 2y ago
    > Guinness is an indifferent to bland stout and the Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a vastly better example of the style. For what it's worth I agree with you but this is a non-starter for most people even in the US. I briefly tended bar someplace that specialized in higher-end, small-batch products; we didn't stock any of the usual suspects and if somebody asked for a Guinness we'd have them try the craft stout that we had on tap. The majority of the time people wouldn't be into it because "it's not Guinness"... not because "[they] don't like it", but because it isn't the exact thing that they have been drinking for the past 30 years of their life. Grey Goose and Crown Royal drinkers were the worst offenders in this regard. Triple-filtered Polish potato vodka at 1/3 the price? No way - too cheap. Organic single-grain wheat whiskey? Not today - it's a Crown and Diet, not a whatever-the-heck-this-is and Diet! Also can they have the purple velvet bag since the bottle is already open? All of these exchanges went towards my realization that for this crowd of people it's more about the ritual than the taste. If something is decent and consistent enough to provide familiar respite in a chaotic world then it serves a noble purpose. Just because I'm a hipster doesn't mean everybody else has to be too.
kjs3 2y ago
I went to the Cittie of York first time I was in the City (many, many years ago) and remember thinking "this platonic ideal of the cosy, perfect English pub I've been told about my whole life...it's fucking real". Good times.

by vr46 2y ago

jamespo 2y ago

I could not imagine spending all night in a Sam Smiths pub. Particularly on my birthday.

fidotron 2y ago
Maybe in the Cheshire Cheese. I swear years ago the Sam Smiths cider used to be hallucinogenic. And the other stuff they serve is definitely a bit curious.
- westi 2y ago
  Been there, done that ;) tis a gem of a pub
- vr46 2y ago
  Met my wife in there, but the refurb ruined it a bit for me. Much prefer the Mitre at the bottom on Hatton Garden, have had to be carried out of there on occasion, but I know what you mean about Sam Smith's Zoider.
afandian 2y ago
There's one in my town. It's a nice, very popular old-school pub. It's a relief not to have a TV on in the corner.
lores 2y ago
Those pubs are seriously lovely, though. A bit too busy, but they look grand.

dcminter 2y ago

Not really relevant, but the context doesn't arise all that often: I used to live near the Cittie of Yorke and the 'Y' on the sign was so florid that I genuinely thought it was called the city of "Porke" for the best part of a year!

zabzonk 2y ago

> And no visitors to the city have ever felt disappointed in an English pub if taken to the Louise Well, I have, because you can't get proper Guinness there, only Smith's inferior substitute. But it is a nice pub, despite that. Toilets are particularly good.

vr46 2y ago
There is that, but nothing can really temper unrealistic expectations. You can enjoy stout for what it is on its own merits, though. And plenty of stouts beat Guinness in blind testing (or is it tasting?) such as London Black. Not that one will find that in a Sam Smith's pub.
lproven 2y ago
> Well, I have, because you can't get proper Guinness there An ex-GF of mine complained about that very pub, 25 years ago, for the very same reason. > only Smith's inferior substitute. She was wrong, and you are too. Guinness is an indifferent to bland stout and the Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a vastly better example of the style. Widen your palate, learn to appreciate variety and diversity, and recognise that brands are your enemy, in beer just as much as in social networks or political parties. Slavish loyalty to any brand is rank foolishness. Even if you do like it, your life will be better if you learn more about the wider options.
- zabzonk 2y ago
  i have no "slavish loyalty" to anything - i just like the taste, as presumably your gf did as well. i do not like the smith's stout. and i think i have drunk enough beers in my 70-odd years to know what i like!
  - lproven 2y ago
    What do you think of Murphy's or Beamish?
- alexjplant 2y ago
  > Guinness is an indifferent to bland stout and the Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a vastly better example of the style. For what it's worth I agree with you but this is a non-starter for most people even in the US. I briefly tended bar someplace that specialized in higher-end, small-batch products; we didn't stock any of the usual suspects and if somebody asked for a Guinness we'd have them try the craft stout that we had on tap. The majority of the time people wouldn't be into it because "it's not Guinness"... not because "[they] don't like it", but because it isn't the exact thing that they have been drinking for the past 30 years of their life. Grey Goose and Crown Royal drinkers were the worst offenders in this regard. Triple-filtered Polish potato vodka at 1/3 the price? No way - too cheap. Organic single-grain wheat whiskey? Not today - it's a Crown and Diet, not a whatever-the-heck-this-is and Diet! Also can they have the purple velvet bag since the bottle is already open? All of these exchanges went towards my realization that for this crowd of people it's more about the ritual than the taste. If something is decent and consistent enough to provide familiar respite in a chaotic world then it serves a noble purpose. Just because I'm a hipster doesn't mean everybody else has to be too.

kjs3 2y ago

I went to the Cittie of York first time I was in the City (many, many years ago) and remember thinking "this platonic ideal of the cosy, perfect English pub I've been told about my whole life...it's fucking real". Good times.