The Steam Engine

They’ve recently teamed up with Burger Craft, so now there are *really* good burgers to go along with the friendly, relaxed atmosphere and the nice ales on tap. This is shaping up to be our favourite neighbourhood pub.

My husband and I were a bit jet lagged on our first day in London and this pub was right around the corner from our hotel. The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is very comfortable. We ordered some pub tapas and a pizza. The pizza isn’t the best we’ve ever had but definitely worth ordering. We feel like we have found an authentic London pub. We will definitely come back during our stay.

Nice looking building tucked away on a back street opposite the local cop shop. Has a hostel above. I had a pint of Fullers London Pride which quite frankly was nothing to be proud about. However the pub was clean and bright, service friendly and purely for that I would pop in for a pint. Pool table in here as well.

The Steam Engine is a nice hostel also operating a pub (
) on the ground floor with the same staff.
POSITIVES:
(+1) the bed linen were made ready, there was no annoyance of making them in the dark, or others doing it late in the night.
(+2) staff were very kind.
(+3) my bunk bed had a comfortable mattress.
(+4) below the hostel, on the ground floor there is a cosy pub, with discounts for hostel guests.
(+5) you can book with
NEGATIVES:
(-1) when I arrived there was a fight among some guests of the bar, glasses thrown and broken, a little beer was even splashed on my coat.
(-2) staff were busy with the fight so I had to wait to check in.
(-3) one of the roommates here was the smelliest one I met in any hostel so far.
(-4) here at the Steam Engine for some reason my housemates all arrived very late: 12.40am, 1.00am, 1.30am.
(-5) some late comers switched on the strong light in the room when they arrived. When we asked them to use the dim light only they were unable to switch it off. This must be due to some stupid automatic sensor built in the switch by the staff. In the end the strong light was on for a long time multiple times in the middle of the night.
(-6) the music and noises of the bar were well audible in my room, rooms are just above the bar.
(-7) the room was hot, the air was dry, most roommates were not using their blankets. I prefer sleeping with a blanket in a cooler room.
(-8) these factors (–3 to –7) made me unable to sleep until 2am and I was tired in the morning when I had to get up.
(-9) in the morning I had to queue for the toilet, because there were only two toilets for a number of dorms with quite many guests. (Maybe the smelly chap in –3 had no shower because of this, too?)
(-10) wifi was out of order.
NEUTRAL
very simple but not bad breakfast: toast, jam, cereals, milk, coffee, tea.
SUMMARY
— I won’t come here again if I have to get up before 10 in the morning, and I would plan to go to bed no earlier than 2am.

This pub is a hidden gem for a number of reasons. They include that it is set back from the main street. It is open to the public but is actually the reception/​living room bar of a hostel called Bright Inn Hostel. This means it has a few quirks. The first of these is that is doesn’t sell food so you are allowed to bring in your own or get some delivered. This means the air smells a little of pizza or kebab or chips. In addition, if you are a resident you can drink at the bar all night and all day. Yes. It is a 24 hour bar for residents of the hostel. There is a 10% discount on all drinks when you show your student card. On a Monday night it is £2 a drink between 8pm and midnight. At other times, it isn’t even wildly expensive by London standards to start with. Finally because of the international nature of the guests, it could be a good place to pick up!
So if you don’t stay or sleep here, why should you visit? Well, it is just like a normal pub. It has satellite sports on sky and setanta showing football, rugby or whatever is on. It has a darts board. It has a pool table, a beer garden too. The guy behind the bar on my visit could not be more chilled, most hostel receptionists are. At the steam engine, you have some real strange conversations going on and actually you could bag yourself a friend for life here, as long as you understand you have just been bagged as a tour guide.