I've never understood why 90% of Irish pubs are called after an (erstwhile) owner or some character (The Wolfe Tone, Matt the Thrashers, Biddy Earlys) and English pub names are so much more imaginative.

It must be the Shibeen culture. What's the Scottish habbit?

good lord, it's worse than i imagined...my condolences...

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Disco roast in Shoreditch
If you like your Sunday lunch with a side order of electronic music then head upstairs at the newly opened East Village where local DJs spin house, breaks, hip hop and funk tracks while hungry ravers tuck into fairly priced roasts.
Taste presents Dayrise Enterprise, Upstairs at East Village, 89 Great Eastern St, EC2A ( 020 7739 5173/www.eastvillageclub.com). 2-11pm. Old Street tube/rail.

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You make your own luck.

www.shootingthecheese.ch
The place for fun and chat in Switzerland.

From the London Time Out Guide:

Find Jesus at Soho’s church of rock
Everyone is welcome to this weekly meet-up of God-botherers with the tortured souls of the capital’s goth, metal, doom and punk rock scene. Asylum Weekly Fellowship meeting has a strict no-preach policy and instead provides a forum to discus current affairs in a biblical context while occasionally throwing in some free (fair trade) scran, film screenings and live music.
Asylum Weekly Fellowship, The Intrepid Fox, 15 St. Giles High St (020 7836 8956/www.intrepidfox.com/www.asylumlondon.com). Tottenham Court Road tube.

Having just reread this...I know this pub! It used to be called..."The Conservatory" and I used to go in it three or four times a week. Bizarre...

BigD

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here a good description of the source of English pub names.

and here is a bluffers way to choose a name to set up an Irish pub. Is Noble-Paddy-Pickwick-Dubliner in there ?

BigD

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You make your own luck.

www.shootingthecheese.ch
The place for fun and chat in Switzerland.

For proper sit down British food, go to Simpsons on the Strand at lunchtime, go downstairs for just the best roast beef and trimmings (upstairs is just too grand)



In the evening head to Rules in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. Have a roast Guinea Fowl for starter followed by Venison, their game is exceptional.



In both places drink the house claret to avoid having to take out a mortgage.

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I ain't grumpy at all.

You have a whole host of pubs across the park in Bayswater although I couldn't recommend any specifically. I'd head up to Camden to do some pubs, you don't really need recommendations because your spoilt for choice. The World's End is huge and famous so go for a pint there, you probably won't stay but it's worth a shot. The Devonshire Arms is full of weirdos, you might like that, not sure why all pubs called Devonshire arms are full of weirdos (thinking specifically of the one in Sheffield here). You should be able to get a decent ale at the Hawley Arms.

For daytime drinking I like the pubs around Primrose Hill, mainly because you can walk there over Primrose Hill and pass it off as a sightseeing tour for the missus (it is worth a look). The Queens on Regents Park road is ok and the Greek restaurant (Lemonia) down the road is worth a shot. I also like my two old locals, The Ordanance in St John's Wood (A Sam Smith Pub) and The Star in St John's Wood (A proper pub).

N.B. All the above is based on where I'd go because my folks used to live in the area, there might be some great places a similar distance South of Mayfair but I doubt.

I can't think of any curry places I'd recommend really, Bar Shu just outside China Town for Chinese.

And for the best value good wine bars I heartily recommend Davy's. Although a chain they are well run and import most of the wine themselves (at least they used to) My favourite is the Crusting Pipe downstairs in Covent Garden market. If you are lucky you can get a table outside and get free opera and classical music street entertainment all evening (OK, bung them a quid when their box comes round)

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I ain't grumpy at all.

Or you can try the Angel (Islington) as a lively nightlife area.

At the weekend Make a visit to Spitalfields market (close to Liverpool St and Brick lane) for a great day out. It is generally commercialised these days but offers a lot of interesting shoppes like FairyGothMother and Duke-Of-Uke without being as naff as Camden market. You could combine it with the Brick-Lane experience and curry.

BigD

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You make your own luck.

www.shootingthecheese.ch
The place for fun and chat in Switzerland.

....and just between the pillars in the background of this picture is a cigar shop.

BigD

__________________
You make your own luck.

www.shootingthecheese.ch
The place for fun and chat in Switzerland.