The bar at Old Brewer's Yard. Yes, they have a lot of Guinness.
So, this is the big new Guinness brewery we've been hearing so much about?
It is indeed. After about five years in the planning and building, Guinness has launched what's essentially a London version of the Guinness Storehouse that you'll find in Dublin. While it has taken longer than anyone initially expected, it turns out to be pretty great timing as Guinness has never been more popular in London than right now.
Where actually is it?
They've opened in a space that was actually once a working 18th-century brewery, right in the middle of Covent Garden. As for finding them now, there are a few entry points. You can head down Neal Street and walk through their very smart gift shop but the best way is to go through the main entrance around the corner on Shelton Street. It's pretty straightforward to find from there:
The "Open Gate" in question - this is the Shelton Street entrance.
What have they actually opened?
The whole enterprise includes two restaurants, a (mostly outside) bar, a pie truck, private dining spaces, a tour and some pretty big event spaces. We'll cover some of that below, but we'll first be concentrating on the reason for our visit, heading up to the top floor to Gilroy's Loft.
What can you tell us about Gilroy's Loft?
In charge of (most of) the food at the brewery is Executive Chef Pip Lacey, best known for being behind Hicce (and also a former head chef at Murano), but who has also helped out Jeremy Clarkson in one of his Diddly Squat ventures a few years back (not his pub, though). At Gilroy's Loft, which you'll find up on the fifth floor, she's put together a menu that's mainly seafood-led, along with some excellent vegetable-forward dishes.
Is there a view?
There's a view of sorts, but frankly it's not high enough to really take in the London skyline, as you have buildings of the same height right next door. There are small pockets of views across town, but don't come up here expecting panoramic views.
That aside, it really is still a very nice space with, obviously, lots of light and the room is dominated by the central bar space:
This is Gilroy's Loft
So what's on the menu?
First up - oysters. Guinness has long had a strong relationship with oysters and if you're looking to pair a pint with some at the brewery, this is the ideal place. There is a selection of mostly Irish oysters served with shallot vinegar, lemon & Tabasco and you can order three of them for £15. Alternatively, they also have a small selection of dressed and cooked oysters and that's what we went for:
The dressed Achill oyster with crab apple, baked leek, seaweed cream and the Grilled Kelly No.3 (finished with fermented chilli, turnip, horseradish, breadcrumbs and chive oil) - both excellent oysters at £6.50
So even if you're just popping into the brewery for a drink, if the bar downstairs is looking packed (highly likely) and there's space up here, we'd recommend seeing if you can come up to the fifth floor for a pint, oysters and some snacks.
But the rest of the menu, going by our meal there, is also very strong. It's not the cheapest place to go, that's for sure (a half lobster is £48), but everything we had was really very good so there's clearly talent in the kitchen. Here's a taste of what we had:
Beer & potato bread with butter and seaweed salt (£6) - fantastic bread, even better extra creamy butter.
Guinness-rarebit chicory, pink grapefruit, carrot, pickled walnut, coriander (£11) - hard to pass up this rarebit.
Roast halibut, Lincolnshire brussels sprouts, beer velouté (£38) - a fish dish so good you wouldn't blink if you were served it in the Ritz.
Smoked potato, almond butter, king cabbage, onion seed, open ravioli (£23) - the vegetable-led dishes are excellent.
Pistachio ice cream brioche sandwich, hot chocolate sauce (£10) - loved those caramelised pistachios too.
They also have several Fruits de Mar platters, and we strongly recommend the fries. They come with either seaweed or oyster mayo and you 100% want the latter - it's fantastic. Ultimately, it was a strong meal, with really interesting touches throughout.
And what about drink?
Obviously, the Guinness is good, so there's that (a pint was £7.20 here at the time of writing). Is it quite Devonshire levels? Not yet, but there's time for that as the staff get bedded in and regardless, you can be assured of a very strong pint. Even if you don't like Guinness, they have lagers and IPAs too, as well as a couple of low and no options. On that last point, we were a little disappointed that the 0% option wasn't a proper draft pour yet (like you can find at The Devonshire), but hopefully that will be following soon.
While we did have and enjoy a standard pint of Guinness here, it should be noted that Guinness itself is not brewed on site. However, they do brew their own porter, and we'd definitely recommend you give it a go:
Guinness Brewer's Yard Porter (£7.45) - We've had a LOT of Guinness over the years, so we actually preferred the brewery's own beer instead and would definitely order it again.
Up at the Loft, wine prices start at £41 a bottle (pretty standard for mid-upper end in central London these days) with a predominantly European list.
And what else can we find at the brewery?
At the moment, by far the most successful aspect is the Old Brewer's Yard bar. That's a predominantly outside space, which has a little bit of cover from a high glass ceiling (we can see that cover being extended in the months to come). Given how Londoners seem to love having a Guinness outside, this is already doing very well and there was already a big queue building for it as it got closer to peak drinking times.
Getting a table/seat out here in the summer will be like gold dust.
If you want to move away from the elements, then head to The Porter's Table. Also run by Pip Lacey, that's more of a mix of traditional pub space and grill room. There you'll find steaks, a "butcher's skewer", and more. If you're just looking to try it out, their brioche patty melt paired with a pint looks like a good bet. Note that it's also on two floors - and we think the space on the first floor looks a bit nicer:
The first floor of The Porter's Table - the better room to our mind.
Finally, on the food side, they've also brought in pie God Calum Franklin to make the pies, with three pies on offer - beef and Guinness (of course), chicken and tarragon and spiced squash and Graceburn cheese. You'll find these in a pie truck parked in the yard and these will be perfect if you've managed to score a table out there. We've tried all three (£16 for three mini pies) and, as you can imagine, given Calum Franklin's involvement, they're all fantastic.
Calum Franklin brandishing pies at the launch party.
And finally, there are tours and tastings in the basement, from general tours around the place to Guinness masterclasses that will also get you an engraved glass.
Overall thoughts
Having known about the place for years, albeit with not much in the way of what Guinness were actually planning here in Covent Garden, it's been good to see in person just what they've been working on for so long. The space is much bigger than we expected (particularly the yard and tour space), it all looks great and they pour a good pint of Guinness. That's backed up with a really very good porter that they're brewing on-site and, from what we've tried so far, a much better than you might expect food offering. Some of the prices are on the high side, but there are ways to work around that and try out various parts of the experience without spending too much (as long as you don't go mad in the shop).
It's early days (we visited on day 2) and we can only see this getting better as the months continue, and they've got past the Christmas mayhem. It won't be everyone's idea of a good time, particularly if you can't imagine enjoying a Guinness anywhere but your local, but we can see this becoming a big hit. And when the weather warms up, you'll be winning in life if you manage to get a seat in the Yard when the sun's out.
More about Guinness Open Gate Brewery
Where is it? 1 Mercer Walk, London WC2H 9FA
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @guinnessbreweryldn.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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