Fox and Anchor

The Fox and Anchor is the sort of visitor to London would expect to see. It’s got a traditional feel to it, with lots of wood panelling and a Victorian looking interior. If you have been to the Harp near Charing Cross, you would know what to expect. It is part of the Youngs brewery chain, although it felt more of an independant pub to me.
The pub is long and can be a tight squeeze trying to get a pint, as the drinkers seem to graviate to the narrowest part of the pub. If you want a quiter drink, at the back of the pub is the Foxes Den, which houses small snug booths, which were originally designed for people who did not want to be seen drinking. The seastingin the den is on a first come, first served basis, although they can be reserved at the weekend.
I did not eat here, but felt the prices were a bit on the pricey side for a pub. They do offer a ‘City Boy’ breakfast. It consists of 2 eggs cooked anyway, 2 sausages, sweet cured bacon, a minute steak, lambs kidney, calves liver, white pudding, back pudding, tomato, mushroom, baked beans and fried bread. To wash it down, you get a pint of London stout, all for £16.95.
This pub also acts as a hotel. It has six rooms upstairs, all individually decorated. One of which is a suite with an outdoor terrace.
It is worth signing up to their mailing list if you are in the area, as they currently send out a voucher for a free drink. This is not a pub I would ogo out of my way to drink in, but would certainly pop in should I be passing.

Loved the interior of this pub! We brought a friend here for a new year’s eve dinner and were tucked away in a booth in a private nook. We had the fish and chips, scotch egg, and duck salad. All were good, but I could have passed on the duck salad (I wasn’t crazy about the beetroot crisps sprinkled on top).

The Fox & Anchor has everything you’d want in an authentic pub but does a good job of meeting the present day — decent music, some craft beers, etc.
Firstly they have some non-​standard beers and ciders available. When all the pub-​group owned pubs serve Becks, Carlesberg and Heineken — the Fox & Anchor has the standards but also some more interesting options.
The atmosphere is laid back. They have a few screens for football. With a full food menu we’ll definitely come back, and given how close they are to Smithfiields market and the local meats on the menu I have a feeling well feast well here.

Das Essen war qualitativ sehr gut, hat aber auch seinen Preis. Etwas überteuert, daher ein Stern Abzug. Das Ambiente ist klasse und durchaus einen Besuch wert. Auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen.

If you’re in the Farringdon area and are looking for a very traditional pub to go to — this is definitely where you SHOULD go.
Everything about this place is quirky and cute, and makes you want to hug it — but you can’t, and that would be silly: this is a pub.
I fell in love even more when I discovered the little hidden rooms at the back of the pub, which gives an extra sense of mysteriousness and quirkiness to it.
But besides the settings, the food itself was to die for. Death by Scotch Eggs, yes, that is a thing. Because I literally had the best scotch eggs in my life here.
And since they are right next to the meat market, and get super fresh food — their steaks are really decent as well. But for me? A pint of shrimps.
Yes, a pint of shrimps. A load of shrimps (whole) in a huuuuge pint, yummy mayo and lemon — and that is all. And it was great.
I’m hungry now, I really fancy going back.

The foxes den — located in the back — is no less than small, cozy, intimate… it is supposed to be a nod to the ‘drinking unseen’ trend of the past. (that the story we were told when my mates and I originally went — been back several times since). It really is a great place to drink with a few people and converse without competing with speakers and multiple teles. It is also a great place to eat. I don’t often have the type of business meetings I could see being appropriate her-​but it makes me wish i did.

It’s near London’s meat market. No not that kind of meat market, the other one, with steak and stuff.

I found the Fox and Anchor experience to be a slightly disappointing one of a terrible Sunday roast and mediocre IPA, offset by a charming interior, good service and some surprisingly good desserts.
I’ll be honest: we came here because the Old Red Cow on the other side of Smithfields had stopped serving Sunday lunch. So the friendly reception with which we were greeted at the Fox and Anchor immediately got things off to a good start. The ye olde interior consolidated this, with high ceilings, plenty of wood panelling and some nice sunken booths.
The food and drink however were two steps back in the experience. First up was a pint of IPA — the waiter’s choice — which was the blandest IPA I’ve ever drunk. The food (Sunday roast) was worse, having clearly been sitting in the kitchen for hours. The potatoes were hard, the horse radish sauce tasteless and everything slightly cooler than it should have been. I was poised to rate the experience as 2 stars at this point.
The desserts saved the Fox and Anchor from this fate. My bread and butter was an excellent, unusually delicate creation with the inspired addition of marmalade on the top. My girlfriend’s apple crumble was similarly special, with the pureed apple rather than normal apple chunks a heavenly choice.
Overall? Worth checking out for the old, well-​maintained interior (and indeed the hotel rooms) and friendly service. Just be careful what you order from the menu and when — a late closing kitchen is not necessarily a good thing.

Summary: Good food, decent space.
Came to this gastropub on a weekday night. Tried a bunch of small plates. They unfortunately were out of two of the things I ordered (cracklings and pickled egg), which was surprising.
I ended up getting the cockles, soup of the day (watercress), Welsh rarebit, and Scotch egg. All of the food was good, and reasonably priced.
Would come again if in the area.

Delicious starters, classics reinvented. Mains are disappointing. Service seemed to not be a fan of having non-​brits as customers. Hopefully I’m wrong.

This is less like a proper pub and more like a upscale restaurant with a huge selection of drinks in a brightly lit, quiet venue with staff that dress like formal restaurant waiters and snicker at you if you just want a beer…
Perhaps I am too trashy for a place like this. Or perhaps this place is just kinda boring. I’ll try the food if I ever go back, cause everyone else here seems to rate it highly. But I guess even though it’s traditional to eat rodents, it just didn’t take my fancy the time I visited…

Fox and Anchor was recommended to me and I’m really glad that I did. I enjoyed my visit. I had the lambshank pie, which made me feel like I was a character right out of the Flintstone’s and some chips. Food tasted wonderful, felt like it had been made with care. Staff were helpful too. I cant remember which beer I had, but it was one of the lighter ones. They come in large «pewter tankards», which is a nice touch.
Inside the Fox and Anchor, there are several sections, so it caters for intimate outings, larger social groups and it could also be ideal for casual work meetings as well. Its in a really good location, but as its the last pub on the road with lots of competitors its very easy to overlook it.

On the outside, it seems a traditional pub, but the dinner menu and selection of brews make it much more special.
Greatly located near Smithfield meat market. There’s comfortable seating inside for drinkers and diners alike. Fox & Anchor has it’s own brewery, and I highly recommend their ale.
The oysters were a good size and very salty (but in a good way). The scotch egg with curried mayo was a great starter as well. You can’t go wrong with any of the meat dishes, but the pork belly special (on Fridays currently) was by far the best thing on the menu.

With all the great traditional pubs in the area I unfortunately bypassed the Fox & Anchor for way too long. What a fool I was as this is one of the good ones.
Right across the road from Smithfield meat market in happening Clerkenwell, this lush pub is traditional in every sense of the word. It serves a good pint, has gastro pub capabilities and you can even check into rooms upstairs to spend the night.
Ornately decorated outside you can’t miss it. Inside the public space is cozy, with sitting booths giving way to a dining room in the back. The front room is ‘old England’ at its best with plates of cheese and bread on the bar, hanging glasses from the dark wood racks, and smokey mirrors along the walls. The rooms upstairs are stylish boutique hotel types with each room being different with themes like that of the St. Bartholomew Church (which is just down the road). The serving staff are amiable and cheerful.
Don’t make the mistake I made of walking by this pub. Stop in and stay for a pint.

Located in the old industrial part of London, the now-​gentrified streets still carry that Dickensian feel. The pub itself was all mahogany and green leather, with «snugs» or small private rooms situated behind the bar. Handcrafted ale was served in quaint pewter tankards, but the biggest surprise was the food which was simply, traditionally, unpretentiously and faultlessly prepared — from the Welsh rarebit and lamb shank pie to the bread and butter pudding.

Fantastic bar with a lot of character great selection of beers and spirits and really helpful bar staff.
I love the interior and that you can get your pint in a tankard.
I would also recommend the pork pies with Piccalilli. These are very tasty and the perfect bar snack.
I actually cannot find anything to fault this bar, for me it’s brimming full of character and style and is a true London treasure.

Big fan of their meat pies. A little pricey for a pub, but that’s London for you!
Meat pie #1: Rabbit, bacon and cider… oh, yeah! So tasty!
Meat pie #2: Chicken and ham… creamy filling… yum!
If you are staying at The Malmaison, I definitely recommend stopping in for a visit… it is literally 2 doors down from The Mal; perfect for dropping in, grabbing a cider or beer, eating a meat pie, and stumbling back to the hotel.

A great but small and intimate pub, it was a great find whilst walking the streets in the City area of London, close to the Barbican. We didn’t stop for food, although we did drool over fellow punters delicious looking steaks and chips and rabbit pies.
There is a great selection of champagne, wine and cocktails, but we stuck to the stout and draft ales of which there was a good selection and spent a pleasant 2 hours people watching and sheltering from the cold weather outdoors.
Warm and friendly with helpful staff, definitely recommended.

As a Canadian, living in the U.S., I am easily wow’ed by proper English pubs! The Fox & Anchor and the Frank Incense brews were delicious, the Tempranillo was spot on, the food was delicious and of good value.
We had:
Goose fat fries/​chips (underwhelming)
Scotch egg (perfectly cooked egg although maybe slightly burnt on the outside)
Braised ox cheeks with mash (perfect. hearty. buttery goodness)
Rabbit and cider pie (yum)
Roasted turkey from the cart
All were solid and came out to £75 for the three of us!
My favourite thing about this place is the atmosphere. I love the creaky, old, dark wood, the ornate jade-​coloured tiled ceiling, the bar area, the booths, the dining area in the back… the patrons are great too and the bar staff are real attentive and friendly. Enjoyed every minute of my visit there!

The name of this pub makes me laugh, as I can’t think of 2 more unlikely items to come into contact with each otherbut it works somehow.
This pub has 6 different real ales, most of which I had never seen before, including a couple from the Nethergate brewery (one sharing the name of the pub). Had a couple of them in a dimpled mug and they were good. They also have some pewter tankards here, but I’m not sure what you have to buy or ask to use one.
Although this place was refurbished not too long ago, it has a wonderful old fashioned décor and some lovely little intimate sections at the back. I suppose some would complain that it’s not the original décor, but I thought it looked rather nice.
The back part of the pub does seem a bit more geared towards food. It does have a bit of a gastro feel to it. Still I would recommend it for a pint or 2. They even have posh rooms to stay in if you happen to drink too much (and happen to be loaded).

This place. I discovered alot more once I got home and got onto their website then I did while I was actually at the damn place. This would be simply because it was so packed! I had to shuffle down between the bar and all of the people tucking into some traditional British fare (and believe me, every single table had someone sitting there eating.) and I managed to find a single table at the end. The waitress thought I was a very shady character indeed — not 60+ years old? Not well to do? Not eating?! How dare I sit in her restaurant. To be honest, I was a little bit uncomfortable as well.
I looked around and was just mightily impressed with what I saw. The place reeked of old fashioned class, wooden and felt walls complete with what seemed like fully genuine paintings, wooden finishes and felt. Like a luxury train, a 1950’s royal train carriage. Their are little alcoves that can be closed off from the rest of the restaurant floor, and it is here that you can imagine tycoons doing their business over a spot of Rarebit, or maybe even mafia kingpins deciding on who to kill… okay, getting a bit ahead of myself. But you get the picture — such a classy place. The menu itself is quite small in terms of the range of food but the food is so unique and traditional that this doesn’t really subtract from it at all. Still awesome. Still beyond me. for a good 10 – 20 years. Until I’m at the top and I can close off my alcove and cut my deals…