the mayflower

probably my favorite pub in london. the food is decent, theatmosphereis oldie worldie and cosy, and the views from the shoreline are terrific. great for a thursday or friday night out, especially watching the sunset from the outside deck and when the heat lamps are on.

one of the oldest pubs in london, absolutely teeming with history, you can almost hear the ol' seafarers wiling away time in this river facing pub.

inside, all the old beams are intact, lending a warm cosy familyatmosphereand outside you can sit by the river and watch the world go by. the pub quizzes here are legendary although unfortunately i've failed to make it for this, but it's on my list and one day i'll make it, a group of friends in tow and tuck into one of their lovely fish and chip or cheese dinners.

mayflower, a long-standing favourite pub of mine and my husband's. it is one of london's oldest pub and has a massive history behind it, thoughtfully dotted in quotes around the place.

we went there for a fantastic cheeseboard and an enormous independent pub lunch. three of us had a chicken and leek pie, fish finger bap, and sausage bap. all big and filling, perfect for a freezing cold day and downed with a good pint selected from quite a good range.

there is a good, funatmospherewhich draws a good evening crowd. what i also like about this place is that they do this excellent pub quiz which doesn’t have a sports round (well, it didn’t when canadian jen, alison and i went the one time) which meant that the team “two brunettes and a blonde” managed to come in second. mr man and i go there a lot and will continue to do so as long as i live in london. just don’t tell too many people about it – we don’t want them to run out of their fantastic cheeseboards…

the mayflower can be found just around the corner from rotherhithe station on the east london line. prices are very reasonable and the view, when it’s not raining, is superb.