Lamb and Flag

Lamb and Flag

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Pubs in Covent Garden are habitually rammed, and this place is no exception. Venture upstairs to the Dryden Room, however, and the Lamb and Flag almost guarantees you a seat in a pleasant space with its own bar (though, depending when you visit, you may have to commit to dining).

The upstairs bar...always has seats.

And what a nice place. Formerly The Bucket of Blood, the pub dates back to the mid-17th century and was probably frequented by most of the great names of the Restoration period. A plaque outside notes how the poet Dryden was mugged in the adjacent alley.

Dickens is immortal, apparently. That would have been a novel twist in the film Highlander.

More tavern trauma inside, where a Latin inscription running around the top of the bar translates as 'My purpose is to die in a tavern, so that wine might be close to my dying mouth. Then a choir of angels will happily sing, May God be merciful toward this drinker.' Don't let any of this doom and gloom put you off.

The lower back room.

The booze is good, too, with something like eight draught ales from which to choose, though they're all from the Fuller's range. The food is of the traditional pub grub variety.

Curious artwork adorns the walls.

Finally, look out for the graffito on a high-up brick immediately facing the pub. It bears the name of Emma Bowden, thought to be a former landlady of the pub who fell on hard times.

If you don't like our photos, there's a 360 degree tour available on the pub's website.

On Facebook. On Twitter as @Lamb_and_Flag.

Last updated November 2018.

Looking down on the lower bar.
Looking down on the lower bar.
Before the internet, you had to look up names and numbers of businesses in something called the 'Yellow Pages'. We've no idea why the Lamb and Flag has painted one onto its walls.
Before the internet, you had to look up names and numbers of businesses in something called the 'Yellow Pages'. We've no idea why the Lamb and Flag has painted one onto its walls.
More on the pub's history.
More on the pub's history.
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Plaque to Dryden.
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Side passage.

Address: 33 Rose Street London WC2E 9EB

Phone: 020 7497 9504

Email:
[email protected]

Website:
http://lambandflagcoventgarden.co.uk

Monday: 11am-11pm

Tuesday: 11am-11pm

Wednesday: 11am-11pm

Thursday: 11am-11pm

Friday: 11am-11pm

Saturday: 11am-11.30pm

Sunday: 12pm-10.30pm

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