Join the Anchor Bankside club – Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, Tom Cruise...?

The Venue
The eighteenth century Anchor Bankside has morphed from the miniscule medieval Castle and the Hoop, to a modern-day brobdingnagian lump containing a wriggle-rama of rooms. Christened the year the American Revolution kicked off, it used to be revolting until it was refurbished in 2002 with a megamix of old English red and blue with bits from the river. Now a fully grown pub-hotel, it’s the perfect place to eat, drink and put the world to rights.

On a more sombre note, the tiny ground floor area where Johnson et al once huddled debating social issues is no more. Neither is the small rectangular window that framed the burning of St Paul’s Cathedral in the Great Fire. However, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible table is still available in the concrete garden. Quite seriously, if at all possible, avoid the toilets.

The Atmosphere
This big, old pub rarely descends to a hullabaloo as the many rooms and close furnishings cushion discourse to a hum. The Anchor Bankside isn’t the place to visit if you’re in a hurry as the measured service, cosy ambience and beckoning booze warp time and render wrist watches inutile (honest, boss!).

The Food
Order food and drink at the only bar downstairs and pinpoint a table. If you can’t find one, keep going up, up and up - the waiting staff will probably find you. Sausage lovers prepare for a fit. Sausages appear as a snack, to share, as a main, and even in a sandwich.

Every day the carvery serves a traditional roast for the paltry price of £8.95. The slow-roasted beef, lamb and pork has had an age to settle and tender slices fall away upon carving. Help yourself and spoon on caramelised roast potatoes, crisp battered Yorkshire puddings and ladles of gravy. The sage stuffing belies its name and sits divided in a lone basin. For pud, go for the golden treacle sponge pudding and yellow custard. This is how food was before Jamie Oliver.

The Drink
Courage Best, Directors and Guest are among the beers at the Anchor Bankside. Change direction and go to Vinopolis if you’re after a decent wine.

The Last Word
If for no other reason, visit this decent pub whilst humming the Mission Impossible tune, donning dark shades and making out like you’re Tom Cruise for the afternoon.

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