Dovetail

October 4, 2008
Very difficult to find, as the address is nowhere on any of my maps :o) But we found it. Went here both before and after Beer Exposed. Before was an okay experience, their taps were broken, so they’d sold all their bottles! Only a few cold ones left. Really great food, though - a wonderful burger with wild boar - nice! An impressive selection of Belgian beers in both bottles and on tap - very friendly staff.

May 23, 2008
Damn hard to find - even with map in hand. It’s best to just count the streets and not worry about names. Of course it’s no problem, if you turn correctly out of Farringdon. Otherwise it can take awhile. It did. Worth the effort though. It has its own (almost) lilttle lane. Limited to 4 seats outside. Sort of like a cave inside. Or a something darkish. Good selection on draft and in bottles. Helpful staff.

March 27, 2008
My mate arranged a Belgian Beer tasting here for my birthday a couple of weeks ago for tweny of my friends. It was great. We had our own part of the bar and everything was laid on for us. Loads of different beers and glasses and food to complement. Even the girls were having a great time and I can now tell my Leffe from my Krek. Really reommmend for office groups which can be so boring. Downside only that it dodnt go on long enough, and even though it was massively cheaper than other tasting evenings on the market it was still great value.

December 31, 2007
Belgian bar with a solid beer list which, although not containing any rarities, has always maintained my interest. Decent food and friendly service helps to make this a pleasant venue to visit.

August 4, 2007
The last comment is rather unfair - this place has in fact been on the up recently, though I’ve always enjoyed it anyway. The beer selection isn’t adventurous, they stock what they can sell, and avoid the very obscure stuff. There are, however, 101 beers, so you won’t go thirsty. There have been a few interesting additions recently. The food is excellent and well priced - the menu has been exanded, and they recently started opening on Sundays for roasts. Nice staff, although as people have pointed out below, they aren’t all beer experts. This is a popular place locally, and everyone I take there loves it. The reason why? It isn’t simply aimed at beer geeks and snobs. If it was, it would be out of business by now.

April 22, 2007
Our favourite spot to grab a nice veggie burger with frites for lunch or dinner. Good food and a decent selection of beer for a moderate price - two half pints + 2 dinners for £20. Sadly, this place has detriorated over the years. The knowledgable bar staff are long gone and the beer selection is in great decline. While the menu hasn’t changed much, they are often out of stock and no longer have any wild cards on offer. The cask selection is rarely rotated - frambozen, fruli strawberry, de konnick and the essential pilners have been there for damn near a year. We haven’t seen our beloved Celis in some time (though it is still on the menu). Credit to them for putting St. Feuillien on cask during Christmas. The bathrooms have gotten better, but everything else is falling apart. A real shame. What is happening to London?

February 5, 2007
Nice pub, drifted into here at about 3pm, and the staff were nice and friendly. Had a few beers, everything was quite normal though. By six o’clock, it was heaving and stuffy, though it was a Friday. The chips were good, but chips, mayonnaise and gueuze to drink made me feel decidedly queasy and I left quite early. OK, but the selection really doesn’t hold any pearls. I’ll be back, just not on a Friday night.

May 16, 2005 [ Updated September 14, 2006 ]
ok its true they have a reasonable selection. exactly 101 on the menu at the last count. sadly it is all fairly stadard stuff and the longer i have been coming here the busier it gets. i would strongly reccommend that you avoid this place on a friday and saturday night. you wont even get through the door. also there has been a steady influx of stella drinkers. a big downer. go on a sunday afternoon is my advice. just MAKE SURE you pour your own beer, the staff simply do not have a clue. and do not expect anything other than miserable service. oh and the toilets are some of the worst smelling i have ever used.

February 4, 2004
Just metres from my house, I’ve been going to this pub for years. It’s tucked away in a dark little passage that never sees the light of day. It’s struggled along for years but now its coming to prominence with the young and trendy looking for a hole in the wall to drink anomalously at. The food is reasonable Belgian style fare, mules, frits, etc. Its small which makes the inside good for the winter but it’s the coolness of the passage that I seek in summer. It’s one of the best places to escape the increasing hot London summers. Beers don’t change much but for the uninitiated Belgian drinker its got plenty of rates. It's also surrounded by a selection of classy rating pubs. Most notably, The Jerusalem Tavern (St. Peters Pub), the Eagle, The Well, The Bishops Finger.

February 3, 2004 [ Updated February 5, 2004 ]
This really is a hidden jewel in Central London. Tucked away down a small alley in Farringdon, this bar has an enormous range of Belgian beers, including 14 on tap, and most served in their proper glassware. It's an unassuming place, with low lighting and lots of Belgian beer adverts on the walls. This is a great place to pick up some tasty and unusual brews, and to try and initiate wary pals into trying some delicious Lambic - Fruit beers. I try to come here whenever I visit the capital.