Coach & Horses

The Coach & Horses was famously the favoured drinking den of Spectator columnist the late Jeffrey Bernard; latter-day soaks sustain themselves on draught Bombardier & Stowford’s Press, wines from under £15, sausage rolls & Scotch eggs. Will the old dame’s louche character survive under new ownership? At the time of writing, it has just been announced that the pub has been taken over by Fuller’s. Reportedly, the Grade II-listed building will receive a sensitive refurbishment, ‘maintaining its own unique character & style as a pub untouched by modern trends’. Let’s hope so. As it stands, there’s a singsong around the old joanna on Saturdays & Wednesdays & an upstairs parlour, The Private Eye Dining Room, serves trad English grub &, from 3-6 pm, becomes a secret tearoom as imagined by Jack Buchanan (see Wikipedia or ask your great-great aunt Maude).