I'm flying into Heathrow around lunchtime on a Sunday. I'm planning to store my luggage and attend Evensong at Westminster Abbey at 3pm. Afterward, I'd like to have a meal and a few pints of real ale at a good pub nearby before catching an evening train to Bristol. On CAMRA's website, I see several nearby (Red Lion, St. Stephens, Westminster Arms, Speaker, White Horse & Bower, Marquis of Granby, etc.). Thoughts on those or others? Or, should I hop on the tube and head elsewhere? Thanks!
It depends a lot on what you're after - a snapshot of the UK "craft" scene, wallowing in traditional cask beer, or enjoying amazing pub architecture. Unfortunately they tend not to go together, particularly in central London where there are lots of amazing pubs but many are owned by traditional brewers whose beer is not that exciting to start with and that's before it's abused by temp staff who don't look after it properly. In general if you see Badger (Hall & Woodhouse) or Greene King then it's best to walk on by.
You're going to be tight on time, so you don't want to waste it. If you're looking for architecture then the CAMRA Pub Heritage site is a good starting point - the likes of St Stephens and several of the Red Lions are listed there. However the ones around Whitehall tend not to be that exciting from a beer POV although it's worth poking your head through the door just to appreciate the buildings if you pass any of the Pub Heritage-listed ones. Some pubs get listed for arcane reasons but it's generally pretty obvious for the central London ones, they tend towards the glamourous gin palace end of things.
Cask is great although a bit limited on the food front, and it's a bit of a way away in the wrong direction. If I was doing a half-mile trek I would go the other way and walk/bus up to Trafalgar Square to
the Harp where the algorithm is simple - if they have Fuller's Porter on have that, otherwise/then have the Harvey's Best which at the Harp are two of the great cask pints anywhere in England. Then move onto the guest ales or the Dark Star APA or the keg Kernel that they usually have on.
Since you don't have much time, I'd go back up to Paddington which has pretty decent options for food and beer and which saves you the stress of rushing to catch your train to Bristol. At some point in London you need to have some Fuller's -worst case you get it in their new "pub" in the station, I've not been to that one but assuming it's like their other new station "pubs" it will have good beer albeit not cheap and in an atmosphere that's a bit soulless but could be a lot worse - and it's at the station. If you have time, you could go down to
the Victoria which is a great Fuller's pub between Paddington and Hyde Park which is probably your best option for reasonable food in a pub. But ideally you want to also call in at the
Bear on Spring St about a block south of the station which is the latest opening from the Craft Beer Co (under the same ownership as Cask) - at the very least you should be able to pick up some sexy craft train beers there...
So a lot depends on your timings - ideally you have time to do the Harp before church, maybe poke your head through the doors of the Whitehall pubs before/after, then spend a bit more time around Paddington.
