Punch Tavern - Fleet Street

Punch Tavern – 99 Fleet Street:

Punch Tavern Bar, London

Along the Fleet Street stretch of our London Walk, we come across the Punch Tavern. As it happens, it’s nearly lunchtime, so this calls for a stop in this heritage London pub which Tony knows very well.

The pub was quite empty when we arrived, but from 1:00 p.m, it started to fill with office workers.

How the Pub got its Name

The Punch Tavern is one of London’s historic pubs. The tavern, previously known as the “Crown and Sugar Loaf”, was renamed the “Punch Tavern” in the late 1840s, because of its association with the satirical Punch Magazine whose journalists frequented the pub.

The Punch Tavern was rebuilt by Saville and Martin in 1894-5. The building has many original Victorian features. Walk through its glazed tiled entrance hall and you’ll see etched glass doors, barrel-vaulted ceiling, ten 6-foot mirrors, marble bar, dark oak panelling, ornate fireplace and a series of original Punch & Judy themed paintings.

Despite being located in the heart of the City of London, the team at this English pub roast their own meats and hams and make their own pies, burgers, salads, chutneys, terrines and puddings. Their belief is freshly prepared pub food that’s cooked on the premises gives customers the home-cooked meal experience that they can’t find at a chain food outlet!

Lunch at Punch Tavern, London

The pub’s lunch menu includes roasts, pies, sandwiches and salads, all at below GBP 10.00. Some of the Classic dishes include:

Biggles Sausages, Mash & Red Onion Marmalade
Beer battered Fresh Haddock, Pea purée & home-cut Chips
Salmon & Crab Cakes with Wilted Spinach
28-day aged Sirloin Steak, Grilled Field mushrooms & Home-cut Chips
Homemade 8oz Burger, red Leicester & Home-cut Chips

What We Ordered

We decide on something lighter, a Ploughman’s lunch and a pint of Guinness for Tony and a vegetarian quiche and salad for me. Both our meals are very nice. You can tell that the chutney which comes with the Ploughman’s lunch is freshly made and that it didn’t come out of a jar. It also has interesting Indian spices added to it. My vegetarian quiche has a whole lot of different vegetables in it and the salad includes some cous cous. It’s much nicer than I had expected.

So if you’d like to experience traditional English food in a historic pub, call in at the Punch Tavern. Certainly after a long London Walk, one of their Classic dishes will appeal to rumbling tummies.

Address:

99 Fleet Street
London
EC4Y 1DE
Tel: 020 7353 6658

Opening Hours:

Mon to Wed – 7:30am-11:00pm
Thu and Fri – 7:30am-12:00am
Sat – 10:00am – 5:00pm