The Shakespeare — Restaurant in London

🚇 Barbican 🍺 £6.70 Moretti ❤️ A brutalist Barbican boozer.

The Shakespeare sits on a corner of a crescent of shops and flats at the front end of the Golden Lane Estate EC1. The nearest Tube is Barbican which is only a two minute walk.

The Shakespeare was built in 1964 and is Grade II listed. The name is inspired by the Bard himself, who lived some hundred metres away throughout his time in London.

The is a one bar pub with a comedy club in the basement. The bar is set out in almost a “H” shape with the servery on the left hand side as you walk in. Even though this pub is traditionally decorated, due to the architecture of the building it does feel modern in here. The seating is a mix of elongated leatherette banquettes, a few poser tables and traditional tables and chairs. Around the walls are gold framed Elizabethan era repro portraits, mirrors and chalkboards with promotions.

The beer choice was a straightforward selection of keg beers and ciders. I opted for a Moretti, decent enough pint but a bit pricey for this lager. There is a simple eclectic food menu comprising of Burgers, pasta and Toasties, a Ham & Cheese Toastie cost £5.95.

I arrived around 4.30pm on a sunny Friday afternoon in July. The pub was fairly quiet as Fridays in the city are not as busy as they once was. There were a few punters sat inside, the majority were sat outside enjoying the summer sun and watching the world go by. The service here was excellent, the Guvnor is a bit of a character, he was jovial and set an upbeat tone.

@theshakespearebarbican is not the most handsome of boozers you’ll come across and almost has an estate pub feel. I enjoyed my visit here primarily due to the pub’s location and sitting outside watching the comings and goings around the Barbican. This pub is worth a look of you’re in the area.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

Came here for Cocktails & Rhymes: A Poetry/Monologue Open Mic ( every Monday from 7-9.30pm ( fb CocktailsAndRhymes ) LOVED the venue, the small intimate space downstairs provided the perfect ambience. Open mic went really well although I did get quite emotional. Hopefully will do more in the future. My thanks to Ed Keates for giving me this opportunity & friends Paul Hannah & Will yr support. Love the venue will be back. This was my debut of 'You Led Me From Eternal Darkness Into The Light & Saved My Life' motivated by selfish reasons ( damn good mental health therapy! ) and the hope that if just one person can gain something positive by my shared experience in the public arena then my efforts have been all worthwhile. I will for sure be doing more in the future and hopefully less rough around the edges!

Hanhan Ardwell 'Had a truly magical Monday with Michael Peacock and friends yesterday. I will definitely go again. Thanks Michael, inspirational.'

Michael Peacock 'Ah thanks darling blown away that you and Paul came to support me - for sure want to come back here in the future to present a more 'polished' version - and to be properly filmed this time - well I did not have...

Went for lunch mid week a few months back (just now getting around to writing a review). Unfortunately, I can't say much for this pub. The food was mediocre and the drinks were okay. Basic pub, right? Fine.

However, I got halfway through my meal and pulled out a long black hair! Easily as long as my forearm!

When I told the wait staff, they insisted that the meal was free, which was nice. However, the drinks were not, and my friend still had to pay for their meal, which I thought was a shame. If that had been me serving, that entire meal would have been comped and a free round of drinks would have been brought...but maybe I'm over-doing it.

When I spoke to the manager, he apologised and said, 'It's strange because no one that works here has long dark hair'. Which he probably said to vindicate himself, but all it did was make me more concerned about their health and safety. If the hair wasn't from a staff member (which I could understand) then where was it from!?!?

I haven't been back since, and I won't be going back again. There are so many other pubs in the area that have better food and drink, why would...