Bridge House (Bar)

Bridge House sits plum in the middle of a beautiful area of London - picturesque Little Venice. Only a short walk away from Royal Oak, Warwick Avenue & Paddington tube stations.

It was built in the early 19th century to serve the boats on what is the meeting of the 18th century Grand Junction Canal and the Regents Canal. Today you can still sit at one of their outside tables and watch the boats bob along the canal. Canal boat trips pick up and drop off just minutes away from the pub.

The Bridge House is a friendly pub, stylishly decorated in a rich boudoir style with thick red drapes in keeping with its famous upstairs theatre. They even have large theatre curtains around the toilets, tempting you to take a bow on exiting, well after a few beers. The area around the pub is mainly residential with some offices, so is fairly quiet during the day, with a few old time locals and then fills up in the evening.

The first floor of the Bridge House holds the Canal Café Theatre; a well-respected fringe comedy theatre whose News Review Show has been running from Thursday to Sunday for the past 25 years.

Food is served daily at very reasonable prices (mains start at £5.90) and includes traditional English dishes such as Sausage and Mash (£7.50 and delicious) and Steak as well as pastas and salads. A good, and very filling starter is a shared platter of flat breads, Quesadilla with wedges, roasted peppers, olives, feta cheese & dips at £7.95. If you're in a rush to see a show upstairs it would be perfect for two, especially if you include the Chicken Yakatori (£5.50). The Salad salmon nicoise (£7.50) and Pasta with Goats Cheese Salad (£6.50) got the thumbs up from my dining partners too.

The Bridge has a good choice of drinks on offer, they have London Pride and Adnams on rotation with guest beers and de Konninck, Leffe, Hoegaarden on tap, starting at £2.40. Their wine list is decent, with a glass starting at £2.50 and they offer a choice of Champagnes, cocktails and liqueur coffees.

The Bridge House serves as a perfect canal side boozer with its good views, warm atmosphere and welcomig land lady - ideal for pre/post theatre drinks and food....read more