Old China Hand — Restaurant in London

🚇 Angel 🍺 £5.80 Big Smoke Lager

Located in historic Clerkenwell close to Exmouth Market, you’ll find The Old China Hand pub. The nearest Tube is Angel, it’s a ten minute walk to get here.

This Grade II listed pub was built in 1856 and started life as The Three Crowns. In 2005 the pub was bought by the Smith family and renamed The Old Chine Hand.

All the family were born and raised in Hong Kong. Old China Hands is an affectionate term for expats who have spent most of their lives living and working in China

This is a cosy one bar pub with an unfussy, stripped back and minimal interior. The servery is located just as you enter on the right hand side. As you head further into the pub there is a narrow section with a Piano and TV. At the back of the bar is a spacious area with two dartboards. There is plenty of sturdy seating throughout, the lighting is low which makes for an atmospheric setting.

The beer selection is very unique, in that all of the beers are only from independent breweries based in the UK. I decided on a pint of Big Smoke Lager from Esher brewers @bigsmokebrew . My pint was excellent, price point was less than average. If you have @city_stack beer mats, you can obtain a discount here. There is no food available but you can order in pizzas in.

I arrived around 5pm on a mild Saturday afternoon in March. The pub was fairly busy with a predominantly young crowd watching England v Ireland in the six nations. The atmosphere was very relaxed and chilled so it was easy to settle in. I managed to have a chat to the charming owner Rowena who was kind enough to tell me all about her time here at her wonderful pub.

This pub is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from roughly 5pm.

Visiting The Old China Hand was a fantastic experience, it was great visiting this understated, unique and fiercely independent pub. This “Me Old China Plate” is a must visit London pub.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

Great selection of ale and handy for a last pint due to the 2am close. But the regulars are pompous and self entitled buffoons that think it's ok to walk behind the bar on a whim! And staff working a solo shift is absurd!! Abusive customers seem to get more sympathy than a solo staff member juggling serving/stocking/glass collection and keeping order. If you are in with the landlady then you're quids in!! Poor pub!!! The night i was let go i was on a 5pm til closing on my own serving, glass collecting and barrel changing. Leaving a bar unattended is a no no but I had no choice. Then I'd get harangued by customers because they needed serving or there were no glasses. Then a customer buy a pint of IPA. He walks away and over the span of 15 minutes drinks 2/3rds of it. He then comes back to me and says " this pint is a bit off, can I have another one?" If he had come straight back to me I'd have poured another but after 15 minutes? No. He goes off on a rant, I initially stay calm. But because he is not taking the hint I lose it.

Anyway, I think all of this was a set up by someone who has no regard for their staff. I'm surprised this place is still trading, I thought COVID would have finished it off!! Piss poor employer!! Constructed...

As a former employee, I can say that this is the worst place I've ever worked in.

A few months back, one night at closing time I was confronted by a customer who was very aggressive towards me. He threatened to burn down the pub and kill me. At one point he raised a glass in the air as if he was going to throw it at me. All I said to him was “I'm closing now...drink up”

As I was on my own I wasn't going to take any chances so I called the police....

When I spoke to the Landlady about what happened, she was very angry that I called the police and saying things that an employer shouldn't be saying like “I'm going to find it hard to be nice to you” “No one has any sympathy for you” and “everyone thinks you done a stupid thing” I doubt the last two statements were true.

Someone who says these things to their employee needs some sort of HR training or something.

How I was treated was wrong and should not have happened

This pub has a late license and most nights it's just one person working on their own until 2am, the landlady has a complete disregard for staff safety!

During my time there I was polite and pleasant with everyone who walked through the door staff and customers

My only regret was not sticking up for...