Bishops Finger

Great pub! I ordered the apricot and lamb sausage sandwich and it was good!

Great pub. Went on a Friday night, there were people but it was not über crowded. I organized a meet up with my fellows in the Masters program at a local university and they accommodated us perfectly. There is an upstairs which has awesome photos and pictures, take a look! Beer is slightly expensive here though.

One of the reasons I love this pub so much, is its almost like a home away from home local for me. As although I live in Salford, I have great friends who I visit almost monthly who live directly around the corner, so its a pub I frequent a lot.
The Victorian pub has a good selection of pub food, probably helped by being situated across the street from Smithfield Market. As the pub is owned by Shephard Neame, the oldest brewery in the country, it also offers a great selection ales and lagers. With cosy seating indoors, punters can also venture outside if the weather permits with some seating out front with spectacular views of the historic building now housing St Barts hospital, previously the site of the execution of William Wallace or the Grade II listed Victorian Smithfield Market.
The only downside is that it is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, as the pub, being located in the heart of the City of London, gains most its custom from business men and women.

I’ve always been a fan of Smithfields despite it’s often violent past — apparently it used to be the execution centre of London. Notable individuals who lost their heads include the great Scottish patriot, William Wallace who was executed in the vicinity in 1305. Now you know! Nowadays, it is known for it’s rather tamer existence as the last surviving meat market in Central London. Despite it’s rather odd and laughable name, the Bishop’s Finger is a charming little pub located in the heart of Smithfields belonging to the Shepherd and Neame stable. The décor is small and full of character with it’s candle lit wooden tables and floors. The food is delicious — I highly recommend the hearty bangers and mash! The staff are receptive and friendly but beware the bar area is quite small and it can get exceptionally crowded of an evening leading to a jovial and loud experience — especially towards the weekend. Good place to start a pub crawl around the surrounding area!

HA! I’m not sure why I found this pub so charming if for no other reason than the Bishop’s Finger marketing that adorns the walls… seriously, stop and read the posters, hilarious.
The crowd can go from sparse to overflowing into the streets, but luckily there’s no traffic in the circle and you can sit out and enjoy the few nice days we might get in the summer.
If you’re doing a pub hop around Smithfield, this could be a good first stop.

Shepheard Neame pub. I generally like these pubs and first impressions of this one were also favourable.
They had a mild on which is a rare and welcome sight. However the taste was not welcome unless you had a lot of chips and wanted something to put on them. The Whitstable Bay didn’t taste right either. Fair enough, they did accept our frank assessment on the taste and allowed us to get some Bishop’s finger. We probably should have gone for that from the start, given the name of the pub. It was a decent pint.
There is some kind of extra room/​function room upstairs.
I’m sure it has better days, but I left fairly unimpressed. I wouldn’t refuse to come here again, but it would have to be someone else’s suggestion.

Quite a nice place, though nothing extra special. We came in when it was fairly quiet but it gradually filled up. Another time — during a weekend evening — it was pretty full with no more seats available.
Numberous people are drinking wine and things like perry on ice but they also have some real ales. Especially Bishop’s Finger which is hardly available draught. (I know only two pubs!)
We really enjoyed our sessions there.

A quiet pub catering mostly to the afterwork crowd and thus virtually dead at all other times, it’s perfect distance for avoiding other cramped areas nearer to the City. They serve real ales and the prices are pretty reasonable and the staff are efficient at their peak times.
I did have a sausage sandwich last time I was there and wasn’t especially impressed, mostly because the sausage was very dry, but the flavour was good. I’ll probably stick to drinks there from now on.
They have a private room upstairs for parties; a book club was meeting there last time, so that’ll tell you what kind of respectable establishment this is, innuendo aside.