What's the cheapest pint to your local station? You can find out via this canny tube-style map.
Its creators, Storekit, phoned or visited the closest pub to every tube station, including those on the new Elizabeth line. In each case, they asked for details of the cheapest pint. The info was then transposed onto this unique pastiche of the tube map, complete with central pint shape.
The map shows the incredible variation you can still find in central London. A pint of Estrella near Marble Arch will set you back £6.40 (and, remember, that's the cheapest pint available in that particular pub). Head four stops east to Holborn and you can grab a Becks for £1.59.
If the concept sounds familiar, that's because we have seen it before. The map was originally created back in 2019, when the variation ranged from £1.89 to £5.55. Now, Storekit have rejigged their map to account for the huge developments of the past few years. Many pubs have either closed or upped their prices in the wake of Covid lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis.
Comparing their research from 2019 and 2022 raises a number of interesting (and occasionally worrying) trends:
- 262 pubs featured on the map 2019. 17 have since closed down.
- This time round, 302 pubs are on the map. 29 of them will still serve you a pint for under £3. Thirteen offer a pint for under £2, which is remarkable.
- Despite the cheapest pint now being even cheaper (£1.49), the mean price has increased by 56p, and now stands at £4.47.
- The ‘most expensive’ cheapest pint now costs £6.50.
- The researchers also asked pubs to reveal their most expensive pint (not shown on the map). The most common answer was the ubiquitous Neck Oil.
- Peroni was the most commonly ordered pint according to the pubs surveyed, though it's never the cheapest.
- The poor people of Twyford on the western Elizabeth line are "not applicable". It's the only place where the local pub did not respond.
The full, high-resolution map can be viewed over on the Storekit website.
