A pub with a difference, The Wren Tavern in Watling Street offers classic pub charm with worldly whiskeys and brilliant gastro dishes to boot. You’ll find it in the heart of the City, between Bank and Mansion House, where it can always be relied upon to dish up a delicious business lunch, host meetings, and pour the perfect after-work drink. It may look like a traditional London pub, but the Wren Tavern also boasts a secret whiskey vault and speakeasy bar.
It’s named for the architect of St Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren, whose plans were made on Watling Street, a location known to be one of the best vantage points to marvel at the iconic structure. The dining room features the best parts of British pub design, from deep-buttoned maroon banquettes to intimate booths, and round tables surrounded by stools. But there are modern influences too, chiefly in the form of exposed brick walls, flatscreens, greenery and large glass windows.
As we’ve come to expect from the Urban Pubs & Bars group, you can guarantee a brilliant selection of beers, ales, whiskeys, and wines, but there’s much to be said of The Wren Tavern menu too. Drawing from the very best seasonal ingredients, it features lunch sandwiches and some hard-hitting favourites from the British gastropub repertoire. Starters include devilled whitebread with garlic mayo, braised pig cheeks with nduja and crispy pancetta, and St Austell Bay steamed mussels in a plum tomato and chorizo ragu.
Then, there’s a choice of elevated pub classics like cider battered haddock and chips; beef shin, stout, and Porthilly oyster pie; and Cumberland sausage with mash and beer onion gravy. But the real deal at The Wren Tavern is the ‘Butcher’s Block’ section, which features sharing steaks and prime cuts from the award-winning butcher HG Walter.