I visited the UK’s ‘most anti-Brexit pub’ – that is having a dig at Wetherspoons | Express Comment | Comment
Pubs are wonderful things, and many are today finding it hard, enduring a perfect storm of inflation, customers saving their money and Rachel Reeves’ looming National Insurance hike. The opening of a new pub is like seeing a new bud on a battered garden shrub. They add to our communities and help to bring them together as people often live very separate lives. Not to mention, having a good ale on tap locally is always welcome. A firm in London, Remarkable Pubs, recently added to the city’s still significant catalogue of venues by opening The European.
It used to be under the umbrella of JD Wetherspoon, owned by Sir Tim Martin, a Brexiteer. The new name is a dig at him and was decided upon by Roger Thomas, 81, a fellow publican and the European’s current owner. He told me he believes the UK’s exit from the EU has “failed us strategically and economically”, and Waltham Forest was “overwhelmingly remain”. It is “not much of a hazard”, therefore, to display the EU flag and tease Sir Tim.
I visited last week to speak to punters and the parent company’s creative director, Jake Miller. One can sense the £350,000 renovation as soon as they walk through the door, as a faint smell of rejuvenation enters their nostrils. The new owner has certainly made his mark, proclaiming his anti-Brexitness with its new name and an exterior sign featuring a ring of gold stars on a royal blue background. Inside, the walls are adorned with pictures displaying Europe’s cultural history, from the Renaissance to 20th-century French nightlife.
Overall, the decor hinted at the building’s Victorian origins while not coming across as having tried too hard. If I had to offer constructive criticism, I would say the chairs and some tables were a tad small.
A Remainer myself (sorry, not sorry), I felt quite at home as I sat at the bar and ordered a half pint of Five Points Best bitter. This was just the job, and only set me back a reasonable £2.40. Later, I enjoyed some bangers and mash with onion rings and a pint of lemonade, costing £19.50. All hit the spot after a busy day, and a rather tiring week overall.
The European is a great addition to Leyton’s hospitality offering, those inside telling me it is a large improvement on what was there before, a venue called the Spark House – “home to contemporary electronic DJs”.
You know what you’re getting with Wetherspoon pubs. The quality of the food and drink available are what you would expect given the reasonable price you pay. Sir Tim’s venues are sometimes maligned unfairly and can oftentimes be familiar, warm places to enjoy valuable time with friends and family. I have been a regular punter over the years, using them to catch up with people close to me and as a much-needed pit stop while out and about.
At the same time, however, we do not want a complete monopoly. The same goes for other large firms like Marstons, Fuller’s and Greene King.
God knows Brexit was contentious, and still is. But, as is often said, despite each side’s differences, their end goal was the same: a more content and prosperous Britain. The new pub in Leyton should be appreciated by all. There was not, by the way, any sign of people turning away from the pub because of its rebrand. But the point still stands.
Whatever your politics, unique pubs standing on their own two feet is always a good thing. Apart from closing, the worst thing that can happen to our pubs is for them all to be exactly the same and lose their individual charm. We don’t want to see Edgar Wright’s Newton Haven made real.
