The Williams

Great pub with a brilliant beer selection, friendly staff and busy but chilled atmosphere. Good location down a side street by Liverpool Street where you can stand with a drink if too hot inside. No nice outdoor seating though

I’m kicking myself for working in this area for years and never going far enough down Artillery Lane to find this place before last night! A friend from NYC was visiting and god knows how she found it but arranged her catch-​up drinks here.
It’s a lovely gastropub that feels different from plenty of other quite bog-​standard pubs in the area. They have an emphasis on local London and micro-​breweries with a variety on tap, some for a monthly rotation by the looks of things. I tried a Five Points pale ale that was new for me, while mates tried others from Camden Town and the Truman’s Brewery (or just had g&ts).
It was obvious from the menu that they take the food offering seriously too though we didn’t eat here. The rustic stone walls and slightly calmer pub vibe were quite inviting though, with some of the ale and cider highlights on blackboards up around the bar. Other highlights were spotting a piano (must come back on a piano jazz night) and even better, a mini library! Yes the front window-​sills and some shelves inside are full of books and they work on a trust basis, so you can help yourself and hopefully bring them another back one day. Love it!
I think that won my bibliophile heart over more than anything else :) Word of warning if you book an area though — my mate had done so just in case for 14 of us, and we got two tables that were slightly too far apart to all stand together, so check they’re actually adjoining! It’s a little gem for the area though and I’ll be back for sure.