Even those people who profess to love beer, I've noticed, hesitate to drink it in a restaurant but it is one of the most effective ways of cutting the cost of eating out. True, not every restaurant has a decent beer list but they never will unless we beer-lovers press them to stock our favourite brews. One of my new year's resolutions is to order beer rather than wine at every opportunity so I was pleased to get off to a good start with a bottle of Samuel Smith's Organic Best with the very tasty beef, carrot and pickled walnut pie I ordered at our local café. OK, a pie and a pint (or half a pint) is a predictable pairing but it was a deliciously fresh, hoppy brew - even at £3.50 a 350ml bottle, better value than the £3.75 they charge for a 175ml glass of wine. And, of course, twice the amount. You can buy it online for £1.55 a bottle from Vintage Roots.
If you find yourself in London and are on the lookout for a cheap drink, check out the Sam Smith pubs. There are a number of them across London, all fairly low profile. They are the cheapest places to drink in London, and the beer is great to boot! The John Snow in Soho is a classic.
ReplyDeleteI never hesitate to drink beer in restaurants. In fact, I'm the pain in the backside who sits drinking beer when everyone else wants to share wine. Unless the beer is terrible, of course. Then I drink water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Tom, I'll look out for them.
ReplyDeleteAnd good for you Anonymous. In fact one could regard the others as the pain in the backside for refusing to drink beer and keep down the cost of the meal ;-)
Sam Smith's Organic Best is one of their best beers, and it's brilliant with so many foods from sandwiches to salads to roast dinners. And definitely head to their pubs - excellent value, excellent beer and generally fantastic buildings.
ReplyDeleteSure you're right, Mark. Think it would have been great with the roast belly of pork we had this lunchtime. (In fact we had a bottle of La Chouffe blonde which was OK but the Sam Smith Organic Best would have been better)
ReplyDeleteI have heard that Sam Smith's haven't put the price of their beers up since 1900 - the price is soley from duty increases. Of course, that's probably apocryphal, but it does make you wonder how their excellent Old Brewery bitter costs something like £1.88 in their central London pubs.
ReplyDeleteCertainly does. Obviously I must go on a Sam Smith crawl . . .
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