The Pride of Spitalfields London — Restaurant in London

🚇 Aldgate East 🍺 £4.80 Fosters

The Pride of Spitalfields Is tucked away down a side street just off Brick Lane in the East End of London. The nearest Tube is Aldgate East.

Built in the mid-19th century, The Pride of Spitalfields was previously called The Romford Arms. Intriguingly, two suspects in the Jack the Ripper murders are reputed to have drunk here.

This is a cozy, one bar pub that immediately makes you feel warm and welcome. The servery, complete with brass rails and wood paneling, is located on the right-hand side. To the left of the servery is a food serving area titled "Mary's Pantry," while to the right is an intimate and inviting snug. The decor features velour banquettes with matching stools, historic images of the East End, a lovely stock brick fireplace, an ol’ Joanna and the icing on the cake, a proper pub carpet.

The beer selection offers the cultured imbiber five cask ales, familiar favourites and some local brews. I decided on a pint of Fosters, my pint was great, price was reasonable at under a fiver. The food offering is sandwiches, the salt beef tends to be the sarnie of choice here.

I arrived just after 11 am on a sunny Saturday morning in April. There were about half a dozen punters present, most of which were seasoned regulars. The atmosphere was convivial; the solo drinkers, myself included, were having a good old chinwag about the joys of this wonderful pub. I could have stayed here all day, but once the pub gets busy, it's standing room only. The service is fantastic; the staff here are personable and immediately make you feel right at home.

As the old saying goes “If ain’t broke don’t fix it” which is definitely the case here. I last visited this East End bolthole back in 2018, and thank God, with the exception of a new carpet, not much has changed. This is one of London’s most delightful boozers, you’ll find remnants of the old East End, a great choice of beers, friendly locals and one of the most relaxing environments to spend time in.

This is a must visit London pub, but make sure you visit early before everybody else does.

📅 12th April 2025

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It was only when the lengthy Vittles Mag pub list came out last year that I found out about this pub. I felt like I'd been deceived, years working around this area, countless events on Brick Lane and in Shoreditch, and yet I'd never come across it for pre-drinks or a destination boozer.

Jimmy Mac wrote an excellent piece recently on the gate-keeping of pubs, I wonder if this is one of them, a sort of unwritten rule for this pub in particular, given the propensity for any pub in the area to be covered in a sea of blue business shirts and smart casual spilling out into the streets. Although the correlation between that and £7.50 Neck Oil being served is near perfect, so perhaps this one dodges that crowd. I'm sure some manage to find their way in after work is done.

It feels special when you walk into it, the phrase "stepping back in time" gets thrown about a bit but here, it does. The front room is essentially the main room, sweeping plush seating coating the edges of the place, the covers matching the curtains matching the carpets. A burgundy warmth swallows you up as you choose where to plonk yourself down. I grabbed a pint of Five Points pale on cask for under a fiver and occupied a corner.

The side room is cosier, but arguably less comfortable, with wooden chairs and tables bunched together. This is typically where the tourists off Brick Lane stumble into, the main room still has that locally imposing factor to it. You're welcome there, it's friendly as ever, but if this is one of your first experiences of a London pub after chasing down bagels and graffiti then looks and the huge groups of blokes sinking beers might set the tone before you've had a chance to figure it out for yourself.

In the evening, apparently the piano gets "given a good workout", it's much busier and you have to take advantage of the multiple perching spots distributed around the pub. I'll have to come back at a later time, on a weekday, when the trains are running properly, and soak in one of the last remaining pub-pubs...

Nice classic London pub. Bit frustrating on arrival to be asked three times within three minutes if I was ready to order from the bar. I was waiting for a friend and explained this but gave in to the repeated requests (from same barmaid) and ordered a pint just for me. Then told min spend on card is £5 which I said it would be over that once I was able to buy a pint for a friend. Then told I could open a tab by leaving my credit card behind the bar next to till. I don't think so and I explained I wasn't happy to do that. Told that I should trust them and it's fine to hand over my card. I responded that trust is two ways and in wanting my card they weren't trusting me to pay. I received a lecture about the rules and a few shakes of the head, my pint held behind the bar which was released once my friend arrived and paid I for his pint along with mine. Can't say I'll be in a...