A snip at £2.
Now, we know this column by its very nature can sometimes lend itself to the suggestion of over-hyping. But on this occasion we’ve stumbled across a real find: the cheapest – and, tastiest – £2 sarnie in London. Perhaps the UK. What’s more it’s served in an actual pub. On a plate. By a nice woman, to boot.
We’ve said before that the George IV on Willes Road wins a prize for the most attractive exterior in Kentish Town, with its foliage and corner plot, a real sun-trap in the summer months.
And its interior is charming too, in a train-carriage red-lit kinda way, with its regulars propped at the bar. Peppered with old signs and a jumble of paintings, the boozer dates back to 1870, taking its name from one that stood a century earlier (now on Spring Place). As for the food, the faux-leather menu lists mostly sandwiches and some hot specials, all well-priced: “Remember,” it warns, “our food is BIG!”
Better still for health-warriors, the whole affair explodes with a cascading side salad: crunchy red and green peppers, sliced fresh cucumber, sprig or two of lamb’s lettuce, vitamin-packed red onion, messy nest of cress. Throw in half a lime and soda and you’ve got a faultless lunch for about three quid.
And that’s not all; there’s a whole page of alternative fillings at less than £2.45. So, what we want to know is, tell us the name of a pub – rather than a caff – that does a similarly good sandwich for just £2 or less?
7 thoughts on “Is this the cheapest decent pub sandwich in London?”
Faux-leather menu! Oh dear – I’m afraid that’s me out.
Point missed, I’m afraid. This is a lovely, real, time-capsule of how ex-Victorian pubs operated in the 1970s and 1980s. I love the well-executed faux-Victoriana of the Grafton, the coolness of the Camden Town brewery bar, the friendliness and youthfulness of the Oxford, the great beer selection and 1950s throwback decor of Tapping the Admiral. But the George has a place too, as a genuine locals’ pub still doing the same thing its been doing for 30 years, quietly serving lagers to blokes who want to watch the football in peace.
Great to dip in and out of for a quiet pint without being jostled by students, hipsters, professionals, or Sunday lunching families. I hope it – and all of the others I mentioned above – stick to their niche and keep doing what they’re doing.
The George is a healthy example one of a dying breed: a beautiful, real pub that does regular beer and has a lovely atmosphere but that hasn’t been over-run by hipsters or professionals.
I’m torn between wanting it to be publicised more – so more people will go and ensure it remains healthy enough to continue doing what it does – yet also wanting it to be kept a secret so genuine locals can still get a quiet pint and watch the footy.
Couldn’t agree more with julianator. I recommend the chilli on a freezing cold day
I just wondered – what julianator means by “genuine locals ” ? I have lived in KT for 14 years – is that long enough to make me genuine enough to pop in for a quite pint ?
That’s a fair question. I didn’t really mean ‘genuine locals’ to exclude people who have recently moved to the area. I just meant normal people who live nearby and want a quiet pint, as opposed to the youthful and braying types who can be found in some of KT’s ‘cooler’ bars and pubs.
Lovely comments, people (and they would be excellent under our main review of the George IV). But slightly off today’s topic, which is: where can you get a better sandwich for £2? We genuinely want to know reader suggestions, hence the question.