Fancyapint? in London

Posted on 31. Oct, 2010 by Robert Gale in Books

Fancyapint? in London is a comprehensive guide to pubs in London.

About the Book

This is the second edition of the book and was released in 2009. It features over 650 London pubs all of which were visited at least once by a Fancyapint? reviewer. Each pub review has a photo along with information about the atmosphere, the food and drink on offer and also any features such as Sky TV, a beer garden or if dogs are welcome. Some reviews also inform the reader of sights that the pub may be near to.

The pubs are handily organised by the nearest underground, overground or DLR station. All stations within travel zones one and two are included as well as popular outlying districts such as Wembley.

How the Book is Compiled

The book is based on the Fancyapint.com website which has been online since 1999 and offline since the mid-80s. The site consists of a team of more than thirty volunteers from all walks of life and aged between 20-55+.

The site contains reviews of pubs from all over the UK and Ireland but its main focus is on pubs located in London. All 2,500+ pubs listed have been visited by a reviewer and each review is around 150 words. Around 650 of the best, and sometimes worst, pubs have then been compiled into the book.

How the Book Compares with Other London Pub Books

There are many, many London pub books available (and I own the majority of them!) and they cover subjects such as pub walks, historical interiors, and pubs featuring only the best beers.

This book offers many more pubs than the other guide books but the reviews are not as detailed as other books and the photos are limited to just a small shot of the exterior. This was the aim of the authors as they wanted to provide readers with a quick yes or no as to whether or not they should visit a pub.

I frequently use this book when visiting London so would recommend it even if you already own some London pub books.

Purchase the Book

The book is published by Metro and costs £9.99. You can get the book cheaper from the usual places including Amazon and The Book Depository.

Robert Gale (Twitter: @awv)

Beer Taster, Pub Attendee, Photo Taker

Robert Gale likes beer, pubs and beer festivals. He also likes to take photos of beer, pubs and beer festivals. Most weekends of the year you can find him travelling around the UK (and sometimes beyond) photographing and reviewing good quality pubs and beer festivals. He also has a day job in the form of a web developer for Ozum.