Former Lancastrian

We get many threads on where to find a good British style pub in Canada that serves decent beer.
I was reading several articles in the daily UK rags which shows that approx 26 pubs a week are closing in the UK with 2014 forecasts stating that between 2500 to 4000 are expected to close and 1000 new ones.
Its been over 25 years since I last went into a pub in the UK so I have no idea what constitutes a good pub nowadays.
So what is your idea of what a pub should or shouldn't be. I know as we get older our preferences change but as the UK has a pub culture is this slowly being eradicated and pubs are now becoming restaurants with a pub theme.
Should pubs allow those under 18 on the premises?
Is it a place to meet up with friends and have a few drinks without the need for gourmet celebrity chef inspired food?
Do your ears need to be assaulted by the latest Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry offering? How many large screen TVs need hanging on the wall showing the latest round of the European Poker Tour. Im ok with a midweek football game.
Has the smoking ban and cheaper supermarket prices added to the demise of the pub?
Obviously the type of ale being served is a big factor in a pubs success so this is where our Southern pansy shandy drinkers might be at a bit of a disadvantage in knowing what constitutes a good beer
http://www.theguardian.com/business/...-pubs-drinkers
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-outrage.html

orly

I don't drink alcohol so rarely had occasion to visit "pubs" back home. Would often be able to get decent food in them though so ended up in them from time to time. I don't recall there being much difficulty taking people under 18 into them provided they weren't drinking themselves. Don't recall there being any law banning under 18s per se.

dbd33

Yes.

Souvy

Apart from your usual tirade against southerners and your utter ignorance of decent beer brewed down south, your post contains many elements of truth.

The local pub, where everyone knew everyone else was for centuries the hub of many communities. I have many times tries to explain to my wife the importance of the local. She doesn't get it. Sadly, such places are now few and far between. I can only imagine that they remain in very rural communities or low-income areas where gastro pubs would not be viable.

I got quite depressed when I still visited Brighton. My old haunts, almost without exception, had become ghastly, soulless, drinking holes with screens and stupid food. It's like going into a bar in Canada, which I try to avoid.

The wholesale destruction of the local pub has been a very bad thing for British culture and the general psyche of British people.

rwin

British culture is looking more and more like American culture.

Former Lancastrian

Actually according to this list many Southern brewed beers make the list
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/country/england/240/

There again Im betting that Albert sat beside the fireplace with his Jack Russell curled up in some pub up North really doesn't give a shit on voting what he deems to be the best beer as he's been drinking that pint of mild for years and cant be arsed changing beers unless his pub closes.

Souvy

They are not really session beers, are they? Not the kind of thing you'd pop into your local for.

There are some good beers up north. Tetleys springs to mind. What's with the six inches of head, though? Is that the only head northerners get?

Former Lancastrian

Ah the good old days of having a pint pulled by a hand pump instead of the newer electrical ones. Now they have to put a stoopid line on the pint glass to show you that you are not getting ripped off. Actually many of the landlords using the old style hand pumps would top your pint off once the head had settled which resulted in you getting more than a pint as you had already had a few swigs.
And what is it with these bleeding foreigners expecting a pint of Guinness to be ready in less than 10 seconds
Seems like lots of pubs are now serving micro brewery beers as well as the big multi nationals.

Atlantic Xpat

Everywhere is looking more like American culture these days. But that's a whole other discussion...

On pubs, my definition has always been the a British pub is somewhere you go to drink, but not neccessarily get drunk, to socialise and perhaps to eat informally. Bars here, in comparison, are often around getting drunk rather than having a quiet drink or are, defacto restaurants where you go to eat and drinking is a secondary experience.

But things have changed in the UK in the nineish years I've been away & were changing before that. Pubs are becoming defacto restaurants. Gastropubs are taking over formally traditional boozers. Big screens, loud music and alcopop emporiums cater for the crowd that does want to go out and get sh1tfaced.

Now I think a pub as a place where one can get fresh, well prepared and cooked food is a good thing. So a bit of Gastro isn't too bad. But a little goes a long way. As an example, when travelling to London, I tend to frequent this place as it's near where I am working: http://www.theprincessofshoreditch.com/ It's a bonafide gastropub, upitself with it's self importance, catering for a hipster/City crowd. The food is OK and at least one can get a pint of cask ale there. But it's not a real pub. For that, one has to go behind Moorfields eye hospital, a short walk away and go here: http://www.oldfountain.co.uk/ which is a gentified boozer that offers some food, but is resolutely about having a decent pint and a natter.

That decent pint thing, is the core of a pub for me and - the scarcity of cask conditioned ale in Canada being what it is - the aching void one has to learnt live with upon moving here. You just can't get a decent pint from the Liquor Store or Supermarket. You have to go to a pub for that.

Souvy

Try this place if you ever find yourself in SW London. It is a Young's pub (a real pub). The food is great. It is also a hotel (13 nice rooms). Breakfast comes with the room and they will give you just what you ask for.

I love the place, which is why I always stay there. I seem to be on first name terms with the staff. I will be there again soon. My trip is split into two bits. I don't want to drag all my worldly possessions to York. No problem. They will look after my suitcase while I am away.

No, I'm not on commission.

orly

I'm not sure that's really accurate. For decades as travel, communications, TV and radio have improved or become easier there will be more of a mixture of cultures. In the case of the US, Canada, UK and other english speaking countries, a primarily english medium internet just speeds that along.

I don't think it's an "American take over" but as one of the "biggest" english speaking countries they'll put in their fair share.

It's not like the Simpsons or McDonalds are a new fixture in Canada or the UK.

Likewise they get to suffer from Piers Morgan and go a bit bonkers over royal weddings and births. Goes both ways.

bats

One of the good things about a modern pub is that they are no longer predominantly for men. I would feel comfortable going in one alone and just sitting with a G and T and a book. - or even a glass of wine as the wine choices are much improved.

dbd33

It's not reasonable to equate Canada and the UK in this regard. Canada has always been USA-Lite while the UK has a different culture than the US, arguably one that's more similar now than decades ago.

Atlantic Xpat

Just as well as you neglected to post a link or any other information on the name of the pub/hotel you are recommending!

Souvy

Oops!

Rose & Crown in Wimbledon.