London – City of London – The Pelt Trader

This bar is listed in the Good Beer Guide and I’m not sure how I’ve missed it in the past, given that it sells craft beer and pizzas. It’s located under a railway arch at Cannon Street railway street and it opened here in 2013. I was fortunate with my timing, as I hadn’t realised just how small this venue is. I asked if there was space for me and the helpful team member said that they were giving up with a table booking for six people that hadn’t bothered to turn up or let them know. That table had been left empty for half an hour, a really unhelpful thing for such a small venue. Anyway, the team member asked if I was happy with that table, which I most certainly was.

There’s a canoe hanging from the ceiling which all adds some atmosphere to the proceedings I suppose. Ordering could be done via a web-site, but it was just as easy to order from the staff member. There were beers from a number of decent breweries, with a balance of different beer types which met my approval.

The beer list is chalked up on the back bar, but it was somewhat easier to read it using the bar’s on-line menu system. This is one advantage that has come out of the blasted pandemic, pubs have been forced to be more innovative in their ordering systems. The food could also be ordered on-line, including 12 and 18 inch pizzas, not unreasonably charged at around £12 and £18 each. My knowledge of maths is sufficiently good enough to know that this makes the larger pizza considerably better value for money. Anyway, I digress.

The branding on the glass isn’t relevant to the drink that I ordered, with this one being Orange Crush from Brick Brewery and I also went for the Tropical Deluxe from Howling Hops. Both very agreeable beers, well kept and those are both excellent breweries.

I was a little unsure what to expect from this bar and I was entirely pleased with its offering, which remains on-trend although was perhaps ahead of its time when it opened. Friendly service, comfortable environment and a quirky feeling all bode well, especially with that mix of decent craft beer and pizza. Nice.