First in a one-part series, exploring the highlights of Western Europe's largest shopping centre.
Among the big-brand outlets of Westfield, we stumbled across a true surprise last week. Tap East is a tiny pub, covertly poised in the foodie corner of the shopping centre, on the lower ground floor (map). It serves around 150 bottled beers, with 17 kegged. Most impressively, it also brews its own beer on-site — currently, Jim Wilson Bitter and East End Mild. It's a micro-brewery in a mega-complex.
The small space is furnished and panelled like many other Westfield food-and-drinkeries, but the staff (faultlessly polite and helpful) have garlanded the walls with beer mats to beef up the character (even if it's the type of character last seen on our bedroom walls during student days).
We're told the place comes from the owners of Borough favourites The Rake and Utobeer (the market stall that specialises in international beers), which both have strong reputations. It's certainly a more satisfying choice than The Cow, Westfield's main drinking den overlooking the Olympic Park.
