Part of our Best Pubs in London microsite. Is your local listed?
Many mourned when the Blue Eyed Maid closed its doors in 2019. This was one of London's historic pubs, whose former iterations can be traced back to the 16th century. Like the nearby George Inn and Old King's Head, it even leant its name to the adjacent alley (though now called Chapel Court). To be fair, the 21st century pub had become a little tired and run-down... but it was also an essential component of our '12 Days of Christmas pub crawl', which needed a maid-a-milking.
Well, now she's back. And how. Redubbed the Blue Maid (the historic name), this is an altogether different venue to the one we left before Covid. It looks superficially the same — wooden floors and backboards with whitewashed walls. However, the place has been entirely refitted with warmer textures, and blue paint around the bar to nod to the theme.
The real change, though, is the beer. There's a lot of it. Borough has some pretty spectacular pubs, but the area has long lacked the kind of place where you can choose among a dozen or more craft ales. Here we find an impressive 18 keg taps, featuring a carefully selected range from smaller brewers (think Kernel, DEYA, Five Points). Only three beers on cask, alas, but these too are of the lesser-spotted variety. And only £5 a pint, too.
This is a long, thin pub with plenty of small tables for intimate conversations. The raised back space has larger and cosier tables, and there's additional seating outside. Here you might admire the seemingly medieval building in Chapel Court, which is actually a fake as betokened by the uPVC windows — or the blue men scaling the walls of the Costa across the road.
