Welcome to Drinking Dens: a new series in which people share their favourite spots for a glass or two.
The venues can be anything from dive bar to five-star hotel, a regular haunt or a place visited once but cherished forever. They can be at the end of the road or halfway up a mountain on the other side of the world.
The only requirement is that the writer has enjoyed booze there. Here, Square Mile Features Editor Max Williams shares five of his.
The Leigham Well – Streatham
The Leigham Well has the considerable advantage of being a minute’s walk from my flat but I promise I’d love it regardless. It’s a proper local’s pub, the type of place where regulars have specific seats and your pint is being poured before you’ve even needed to order it. (Well, there are only about five on tap.)
Multiple TVs show sport although the stiffest competition is normally found at the darts board – there’s even a trophy in situ for the winner to wave around.
Food? Don’t be silly but you can bring stuff from outside: menus from the pizzeria up the road are displayed on every table. The Thursday pub quiz is the stuff of local legend, and the 30th answer is always Aston Villa.
Before moving to Streatham, I’d never had a local – where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. (Unless you’ve missed last orders.)
Such places are increasingly imperilled; I was lucky enough to find mine and I urge you to search out yours as well.
1-3 Wellfield Rd, London SW16 2BT
The Horseshoe Inn – London Bridge
The Horseshoe Arms
Look, I shouldn’t be telling you about this spot, the only pub in London Bridge where you are basically guaranteed to find a table.
Partly because it’s massive, one of those brilliant Victorian buildings with the spatial dimensions of a Tardis, or Mary Poppins’s handbag – the thing just keeps on going.
Even better, it’s hidden away off a backstreet, barely two minutes from London Bridge station yet impossible to locate unless you know it’s there.
And even if you find the pub itself, will you notice the little staircase that leads to the second floor and the outdoor balcony overlooking Vinegar Yard?
One of the optimal people-watching spots in the capital. There are benches out front, a beer garden in the back, and some psychopath put the darts board right beside the men’s toilets. Equally great in summer or winter.
26 Melior Street, Bermondsey, London, SE1 3QP
The Spire and Spoke – Watlington
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I had to include one country pub. The Merry Harriers in Hambledon is wonderful, dating back to the 16th century and serving an incredible seasonal menu, but The Spire and Spoke gets the nod here.
It’s located in Watlington, a gorgeous Oxfordshire village surrounded by hills and fields and other green stuff we Londoners know only by hearsay.
The pizza is superb, a special topping created every week, plus plenty of great beer on tap.
There are huts in the garden and a massive outdoor tipi for gigs and other events. If you sit outside a cow from the neighbouring field might come over to say hello – you don’t get more countryside than that.
21 Hill Rd, Watlington OX49 5AD
Paddy O'Shea's – Beijing
Paddy O'Shea's
I got quite lonely travelling China. Days passed without me exchanging a word of English with anyone. (In fairness, I doubt Chinese visitors to Europe have much opportunity to speak Mandarin.)
In Beijing, I heard of this Irish bar – Paddy O'Shea's. There had been an Irish bar in Guangzhou but the place was basically deserted. Nonetheless, options were limited so I decided to check out the Beijing version.
I found nirvana: a lively venue filled with interesting people from around the world, all of whom were keen to chat.
On Thursday, I joined a massive darts game and celebrated someone’s birthday with cake and karaoke.
On Saturday, I became an honorary Irishman to watch the Six Nations at two in the morning. My flight was the following afternoon; I gave serious consideration to missing it.
28 Dongzhimen Outer St, Chaoyang, China, 100027
Downtown Las Vegas
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Yes, nominating an entire area is a bit of a cheat, but whatever, it’s my list.
My love for Vegas is total and totally unironic. The Strip is brilliant to explore during the day – take photos of the various replica landmarks and pretend you’re on a world tour – but at night, head downtown to Fremont Street for the authentic Vegas experience.
We’re talking neon signs, dingy motels, slot machines practically on the pavement, and of course an abundance of dance clubs and dive bars.
Oddfellows is a personal favourite, a weird and wonderful spot – the booths show cartoons and there's a backroom for live music.
I once met a girl there carrying a cardboard cutout of Guy Fieri. She took me to another place that looked like a members’ club, all expensive furnishings and stuffed animals. No idea what that one was called – but head downtown and you’re sure to find something cool.
Las Vegas, NV 89101, United States
