London – Soho (Brewdog)

Part of my slow and steady attempt to work my way through the lists of Brewdog outlets, the Soho location is on two floors and is relatively spacious. The staff seemed to spend quite a bit of time worrying how they were going to fit their reservations inside the pub if it rained, not that they needed to worry, it didn’t rain and it’s still too hot in London. But, I digress and I can’t keep going on about how hot it is in the capital. Although it is very hot.

I was seated alone at a table for eight, which seemed a grand use of space for me, but they weren’t getting particularly busy until later on.

The interior of the pub, with the traditional Brewdog beer fridge.

The menu board for those wanting to order at the bar. But, there were also drinks lists at the table and customers could order via the app as well. The coronavirus standards seemed to be high and the staff were asking customers to leave their details under track and trace, which a good number of pubs aren’t bothering with.

I went for Wings Wednesday as this was half-price due to the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The first portion is served as a large-size and then they top up the wings on request. I was marginally irritated that I tried to hide the blue cheese sauce, as that isn’t replaced, but a staff member swept it up when clearing the first plate away and no replacement brought. I did think about querying this, but I didn’t want to cause a scene over some blue cheese sauce. Even I’d struggle to complain about something that minor. Although I thought about it.

The additional portion sizes were more moderate, even for Brewdog, and the service was reactive and never pro-active. I didn’t want another drink, but they didn’t ask about that, nor did they ever ask if I wanted more wings. I suspect they were suffering from having too many staff on, which can sometimes lead to poorer service.

This was the Dr Todd from the Wild Beer Company, which comes in at the best part of £14 for a pint. I’m not made of money and so I limited myself to a third, which was probably the perfect size drink as the taste is strong and this is better sipped than downed. It’s a sour, which was pleasingly not too, well, sour, but it did have powerful flavours of ginger and lemon, along with a more subtle hint of honey. The drink has been aged in whisky barrels, which was also evident from the taste and I remain convinced this is the best way to experience whisky. So, have a drink from a whisky barrel that isn’t whisky. Win-win.

The walk down to the toilets and also to the downstairs bar area.

The Government’s subsidy made this very reasonably priced and everything seemed well managed and under control. The service was always polite, but it could have been far more pro-active. I have to say though, the Brewdog choice of drinks was outstanding, perhaps not the cheapest, but there were numerous innovative options. The atmosphere was laid-back and friendly as well, it was a comfortable environment.