The newly refurbished Dispensary Pub & Dinning Room at Aldgate East has been named CAMRA’s East London Pub of the Year, largely because of its appeal to female beer drinkers.
The Dispensary Pub & Dining Room
With period features dating back to when it was the ‘Eastern Dispensary’ hospital for poor Eastenders in the 1870s, now updated with contemporary furnishings and subtle shades of Farrow & Ball paintwork,
The pub’s appeal endures, despite its historic links with “Jack the Ripper”. One of the prime suspects in the unsolved serial killings was Queen Victoria’s surgeon, Sir John Williams, who practiced medicine in the building and only a few hundred yards from where most of the murders took place.
Eschewing the more usual spritzers, insipid Pinot Grigios and bland Chardonnays, The Dispensary serves real ale and craft beers.
Glass for glass, beer is less calorific than wine, with a half pint of beer with 90 calories in a pint of compared to around 160 calories in 250ml glass of red (150 calories of white wine).
Chef David Cambridge’s new menu features carpaccio of beef “Harry’s bar” style; escalope of chicken cordon bleu served with boulangere potatoes, homemade ground steak burger with relish and hand cut chips. Desserts include the delicious sounding Mars bar cheesecake and Coconut panna cotta chocolate shot.
For three days in October, real ale drinkers of both sexes will be able to sample an extensive array of Paulanier beers when the pub hosts to its own Oktoberfest. The Dispensary will be transformed into a Bavarian ‘bierstube’, complete with the ‘Bavarian Strollers’ oompah band and traditional German food. Tickets are £15.
Open: Monday to Friday 11.30am – 11.00pm
The Dispensary Pub & Dining Room, 19a Leman Street, London E1 8EN
T: 020 7977 0486 Tw: @dispensarypub
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