The Ship Tavern
12 Gate St, Holborn
London WC2A 3HP
Reviewed on Thursday 4 June 2009
The Ship Tavern in Holborn
The Ship Tavern is a traditional pub, located in Holborn not far from the tube station. They have been there since 1549! Inside it is small, dark but cosy. They have more room upstairs in case it gets really busy. It is usually quiet during the weekend but during the week go early in the evening for securing a table. This is the third time we went there and we have been quite happy the previous time. Will it be the case again? 
We ordered the crisp pork belly (again! Third time now!) served with buttered mash potato, green beans, port gravy & spiced apple sauce (£9.95) and the steak & real ale pie made with Bombardier ale topped with puff pastry (£9.95) for trying something new. We had two Budweiser beers too. As at any pub you order your food at the counter and pay there in advance. Then you get a big wooden spoon with a number so they know who to serve. The staff were friendly and polite as usual.
The steak & real ale pie was great. Of course it is not exactly what we can call a light meal but the puff pastry was light and good, providing a nice contrast to the meat which was also good, with some ale flavour which reminded me of the Carbonnade flamande you can get in Belgium. The fries were crispy and good. I prefer when they are thinner but at least they were not huge and undercooked as it happens often in the UK. The crisp pork belly tasted good, was quite large but not warm enough unfortunately. Also it wasn’t as crispy as previous (which is probably due to the same problem – not cooked long enough the second time). It was better the previous times we went there, especially the first time. Maybe we arrived there too early this time?
Nice cosy interior, good beer!
The glass with the spoon we got after ordering
The counter. Nice ceiling.
The TV for watching sport
The crisp pork belly
Steak & real ale pie
Overview of the table with the two meals
Cost and conclusion: for less than £30 I think this place is a good value for money especially considering the location. Pity for the pork belly this time though and hopefully it was just an accident. You can read previous reviews of the Ship Tavern here (12 April 2009) and here (3 May 2009).
