The Jerusalem Tavern is a no-nonsense pub owned by St Peter’s Brewery and has become one of the City’s finest drinking establishments.
Occupying an 18th-century merchant’s house, it accommodates just a handful of candlelit tables. The wonky, green-painted interior has two front tables and a fireplace partially screened off from the main room, which has a large fixed table at the back and a sweet little table above the friendly melée of lawyers, media workers and businessmen.
An unspoiled interior dating back to 1810 with a delightful asymmetrical symmetry thumbs its nose at the prescriptive generic interiors of your modern pub co bars. The hotch-potch of wooden furniture and faded decor adds to its authenticity and appeal as you scramble for a seat in its diminutive interior.
The beer on offer is the full St Peter’s range – including six cask ales sold in rotation. St Peter’s Brewery gift packs are on sale too, as are five litre kegs for £22. All of this merchandise is on shelves in amongst clutter including beer guides and a few teapots, lending a casual air to the commerce. If you’re looking to try some different real ales and interesting ciders, this is the place to be.
The bar snacks are pared-back, classy stuff – Scotch quails’ eggs, pork pies, and large sourdough sandwiches served with salad and potato wedges, while the lunch menu includes a stew, a burger and a veggie tart amongst some other offerings, all priced shy of £10.Try and get down for Sausage Tuesdays when diners can choose from a range of sausages (including vegetarian), mash, and gravies. The Cumberland sausage with spring onion mash and gravy for £5.50 is perfect for a cold winter’s day accompanied by a superbly mellow pint of St Peter’s Golden Ale draft for under £3. Of course, even if the food were rubbish, the beer’s brilliant and the (dare we say) “Dickensian” atmosphere makes this pub all the more precious amid a sea of Wetherspoon’s contemporaries.
Good food at sensible prices, decent and friendly service, fabulous real ales and an evocative ambiance that’s increasingly more difficult to find. The only downside to this pub is that it is closed at weekends.
Definitely worth the visit, it’s an historic and charming little place serving a refreshing choice of drinks that steer clear from the norm. Because it’s on the small side, it’s best to avoid the immediate after-work rush if you don’t feel like sharing a table.
