London – City of London – Crosse Keys

I’ve visited Crosse Keys in London many times over the last decade, as it’s spacious and convenient for London Liverpool Street railway station. It’s a glorious location, named after an inn that was located here before the nineteenth century. I thought I’d write something about it, as it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and I’m working my way around that.

This is the former banking hall of the Hong Kong and Shangai Banking Corporation and it opened in October 1913. The picture on the left is recent and the one on the right is from last year, before the current crisis.

Easily missed, there’s also an upper area that overlooks the main part of the pub. I was sitting here last year when a staff member looking over mentioned to me that Tim Martin often sits in this area before board meetings. I have no idea how true that is, but there are some grand function rooms here.

This was my drinks selection from this weekend, keenly priced at £1.10 each, it was a convenient table location within the pub as it was near to a plug socket. I have found myself coming here before getting the train home, as Hamilton Hall (a JD Wetherspoon outlet actually within London Liverpool railway station) is often too busy to get a seat.

These photos are older, the burger and the chicken wrap, which for some reason I can’t recall I ordered with salad rather than chips. The selection of real ale is usually excellent, one of the widest varieties in this area of London, and all keenly priced.

And back to the days in 2018 when this was an option with chicken club…..

Anyway, this is one of the grandest buildings that Wetherspoons have and they’ve operated it since the 1990s. It can get busy in the evenings and at weekends, but it’s usually possible to find a table without too much of a wait because of its size. And it’s quite rightfully in the Good Beer Guide with its history and the range of real ale and craft beer.