The Porcupine, London

Posted on 28. May, 2012 by Robert Gale in Pubs

The Porcupine, London

The Porcupine is a Nicholson’s owned pub located in the heart of London just a short distance from Leicester Square. Located on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Great Newport Street, the pub can trace its history back almost 300 years.

Brief History

There has been a pub on the site of the present day Porcupine since 1725. Back then Charing Cross Road hadn’t been built and the pub would have been located on Castle Street. According to the Guide to Real Ale in London WC1 and WC2, the Lodge of Confidence freemasons used to meet there between 1807 and 1829.

The present dates from around 1880 and would have been built shortly after the Metropolitan Board of Works built Charing Cross Road in the 1870s.

The Interior

The pub is split over two levels with a bar downstairs and a dining room and bar upstairs. The semi-circle shaped downstairs is relatively small with a bar taking up the rear of the room. Behind the bar is some interesting tiling. If it gets too busy inside there is a small amount of seating outside the pub.

The Beer

As the pub is owned by Nicholson’s you can expect to find up to six real ales including the permanent beers Fullers London Pride and Sharp’s Doom Bar. The other guest beers usually feature breweries such as Thornbridge, Caledonian and Brains.

More Photos of the Porcupine

Venue Location

The Porcupine

48 Charing Cross Road

London

WC2H 0BS

Tel: 020 7379 9855

twb.im/theporcupine

View on Google Street View

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.