My 2 Pints
Pub names. The Cock & Shadow. The Beach & Musket. The Cloud and Fishing Rod. These days, thinking of a new and exciting name for your boozer is as easy thinking of one thing, then another thing, and dropping an ampersand in the middle. That’s all it is in fact.
I prefer my pub name to have a little more history behind it. This one in particular is more than history. It is legend.
The John Snow is not named after the silver haired lothario Channel 4 News presenter. Although he himself is worthy of a pub with his name swinging above the door, This pub is named after the legendary Dr. John Snow of Soho. Soho has been the seed capital of the capital for the past 150 years. Walk around Soho today and it won’t be long before you’re offered a ‘good time’, but in the 1850s you’d catch Cholera just by straying too close to the wrong side of Liberty.
Dr. Snow’s research found the reason for the Cholera spread, was those dumb-ass 19th Century urbanites not washing their hands after using the area’s closest water pump. Dr. Snow invented the science of epidemiology, he found that if you used a water pump also used by someone infected with a disease like Cholera, you might be able to catch it. Sounds simple now, but he was the first to think of it… and saved thousands of lives!
Sadly The John Snow Pub does not live up to the legend of the man…. It’s a Sam Smith’s branded chain so doesn’t sell any popular brands, thanks to this it’s about half the price of anywhere else.
There’s no music, which means it’s quiet enough to talk if you don’t fancy raising your voice. However it’s also completely devoid of any atmosphere. If you CAN get in and get a table, then it’s not a bad place to while away the hours, but it’s so small you can only really fit two people comfortably around a table. Don’t worry about that though, unless you’re in there in there at 2pm on a Wednesday, you won’t be sitting anywhere. The good news is that the exterior is a nice enough place for street drinking.
Basically if it’s Summer (or strangely warm outside), and you’re just out for one or two… then it’s not too bad… but I wouldn’t bother if you plan to stay for anything more.
BEER SELECTION: No Brands, but everything available. Nice enough. - ***
COST OF A ROUND: £4-£5 - *****
STAFF – Friendly but too far too few when busy. ***
FOOD – Never realised they did it. *
SKIRT RATIO – Mainly young creative types (mainly men). No atmosphere. **
Overall - ***
John Snow - Soho - Brought to you by James Wormald -