The Yorkshire Grey

Central London. Fitzrovia. The Yorkshire Grey exists in its own time, a time when there was no stereo sound in pubs, no televisions and talk was all you needed to make a place. It is a Samuel Smith pub, which goes some way to explaining why it clings to the past but it also fits the area, Fitzrovia, which, despite its central location, does a good job of resembling a ghost town on weekends once the offices have emptied and everyone’s gone home. But if all this is making the Yorkshire Grey sound like a stale box of boredom then forgive me, it was not my intention. The jaundiced glow of orange lamps, the egg yoke wallpaper, the patterned red carpet and the wooden partitions are nothing if not soothingly familiar. You could imagine coming to the Yorkshire Grey when you’ve got things on your mind. Big things. The comfort and rejection of modernity makes it a place to get your head down and do some thinking.

To help you reach deep thought the pub stocks the usual Sam Smith beers behind the bar. Lager, stout, ale and wheat beer offerings are the best value you’re going to find in London. During the week the pub attracts a raucous after work crowd, which only makes the Saturday stillness all the sweeter. The Yorkshire Grey would make a good stop for a central London pub-crawl if you like a boozer with the look of history.