• November 14, 2003
  • Posted by Marc

THE ESSENTIALS #4 - TOP LONDON DRINKING SPOTS BY PMH

A few months back, I had the distinct
pleasure of hooking up one Friday evening in the East End of London with PMH and
his crew.  It was clear to me after the third spot we hit, that this guy knows
his bars.  I had an amazing time that night and, in all truth, didn’t fully
recover from it until I was safely back at home in Manhattan three days later.
So when PMH sent us his essential guide to London last night, I wan’t at all
surprised that he had chosen to hightlight the best places to drink in London.
Nor was I surprised that he had me laughing out loud and wishing that I was back
in the East End buying the next round of drinks with PMH and his
mates….


THE ESSENTIALS #4 - TOP LONDON DRINKING SPOTS BY PMH



Theres nothing better we english do is to drink. Trust me,
we’re world masters. Americans drink coors light or some shit, aussies drink
pussy VB which tastes like granny juice, and the japanese love Sake which I
think white spirit beats it in taste tests (trust me, me and mysterious al have
experienced drinking meths .. but that’s another story). So if your coming to
london you gotta get your drinking shoes on, so let me take you by the hand and
guide you through the bars of london…

1. garlic and
shots
(frith st, w1)

Dude, if your on a crash course for a
stomach pump you gotta hit the garlic and shots and hit that shit HARD!! It’s a
metal pub run by norweigen bikers (no joke no lie), and has a basement bar with
skeletons, coves and everything else that you wanna see when you’ve just outdone
a james belushi drinks binge. And if you like garlic, check out the food menu -
but garlic ice cream? Hell yeah!

2. cafe 2001
(trumans brewery brick lane)

kinda like a warehouse bar,
like the kids from heartbreaks highs crib, but nice and inviting. Dj’s play some
of the finest beats ranging from rephlex electonica to cool fania style latin.
But the highlight is not the communal chilled cozy atmosphere, but the fact that
when its busy it’s a good place to smoke - nudge nudge wink wink. Serious guys
it’s a nice place to chill and escape from the harsh london winter.

/>

/>3. Dragon Bar (Leonard St,ec2)

perhaps London’s
finest writers hang out. Exposed brick? Check. Tasty Modern art? Check. Bombed
out Toilets? Check. Yup, still there and still got it. Everyone’s been there at
least once to put up a sticker or tag. Again with live dj’s often (or well
picked cds by the bar staff), it’s a regular haunt for me and regular associates
of mine. However, as I’ve learnt the hard way, keep Krink away from the door in
case some donught brushes into it and complains. But come prepared (i.e stickers
and pens)

4. The Endurance (berwick st,w1)

/>on Friday night all the media whores cram into this pub so if you easily get
pissed at hoxton fins fawning over their latest topshop wares, stand your
ground. Why? Because its one of the best pubs in soho, that’s why. They have the
best jukebox around (zeppelin and the stooges, enough for me but they have more,
ho ho ho! So much more), darts (I entered and lost at their darts league),
stuffed animals (my mate cosmo got so pissed he climbed on the table and tongues
the boars head) and mainly because they sometimes hook me up with TRIPLE shots
which is illegal but sure does warm the cockels of my hearts.let me hear a hell
yeah! HELL YEAH!

5. The Dive Bar (Chinatown)
/>
ok I don’t know why I’m telling you about this place, as its my
favourite ‘secret’ from the tourists, but guys, I love you, so here it is the
dive bar (but you still gotta’ find it in chinatown, no exact address! Some
things in life you gotta earn). Its expensive, they don’t except credit cards
and you can’t dance (some shitty bylaw) but its still cool as hell. It’s a
shitty door in dodgy chinatown and its basically a shitty flight of stairs down
that lead to a subterranean drinking den. The bouncers are cheery cockernies, so
don’t be put off by them. Once your downstairs there two so badly lit its almost
black wine tunnels where you can get cheeky with a lady and the main room just
gets rammed. Its hasn’t been redecorated since the fifties and you can tell. The
head bar man is a gay Chinese man who always wears a silver shirt and is super
cool - he reminds me of that bar owner from ‘good morning vietnam’. There always
an amazingly dope dj playing either latin, jazz, or reggae, which is THE SHIT.
always hardcore, no played to shit stuff just crate digger classics (to peep the
DJ he always has his back to the audience). The crowd is a mix of mods, east end
types, stag nights, indie kids, and peeps in the know like you and me. Now go
and act like you heard

Go, check these places out, drink and be merry
and if you see me buy me a drink, mines a triple rum (dark) and coke

/>... PMH