The Red Herring is in the historic heart of the City, close to Guildhall at the junction of Gresham Street and Wood Street. For centuries the latter housed coaching inns to serve travellers. Dickens in Great Expectations records “traffic fraying out and about Wood Street,” which is where Pip alighted at the Cross Keys Inn. Now the Red Herring, already respected for its Fuller’s real ale range, is making a strong effort to be regarded for food. A new manager and new chef are determined to recapture Wood Street’s past reputation.

The Venue
The Red Herring is starkly contemporary in appearance. It is at the corner curve of a white tile, plate glass and red metal office block. It operates on two levels – ground floor bar and basement brasserie. The bar is open and high-ceilinged with much standing space in-between high stools, red upholstered chairs, sofas and blonde wood tables. There’s one long service area with a pleasant feature of wines in display racks.

Downstairs, the brasserie is designed in a more traditional manner. There’s open brickwork, wood panelling, thick mirrors and inn-style wooden tables and chairs. Dedicated to diners, it contrasts with the buzz of the bar.

The Atmosphere
The staff help create a cheerful but efficient informality. This is helped by an outside pavement area for drinkers. The clientele is made up of local office folk with a good spread of generations. It gets particularly busy in the evening when people are unwinding after days over hot computers or tricky financial reports.

The Food
New menus have been introduced recently. Given the intense competition from City eateries, the emphasis has been given on providing freshly-prepared dishes with good ingredients. The sandwich selection includes hot food offerings like steak or sausage, and the light bites available include hummus and fennel salad. Mains are standard gastropub fare, although the grilled lamb shank has a Middle Eastern taste as it’s accompanied by spiced couscous and a chickpea salad. The beer-battered haddock is predictably popular in a real ale pub. Desserts are solid fare and include a sticky toffee pudding.

The Drink
Real ale has earned the Red Herring a devoted crowd of quaffers. There are six hand pumps offering most of the Fuller’s range, including the powerful ESB, and there is usually a guest ale such as a Butcombe or Red Fox. In addition there are five lagers with a Czech Pilsner, Kozel, the most unusual. There’s also a good whisky choice with four malts. The Highland Glenmorangie is deservedly popular. The wine list is well-selected and the whites include a Sicilian grillo and Spanish albarino and the reds have a malbec not from Argentina but competitor Chile. Most notable, however, is an English rose from renowned Kentish winery, Chapel Down, famous for its sparkling wines. The rose has a distinct English quality – clean, refreshing, herbal and pear-like – but is an interesting blend of a German red grape, dornfelder and the French grape, seyval blanc.

The Last Word
The Red Herring is moving forward from alehouse to gastropub. With well-cooked food, a strong drinks choice and friendly service, it has a good chance of giving Wood Street a public house worthy of famed venues of the past.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (2) book a table