Where Floral Street meets Garrick Lane, Rose Street cuts between the two; here you'll find the Lamb & Flag, a small wooden fronted pub. At over 300 years, it's the oldest in Covent Garden, and possibly one of the oldest in London if claims of a Tudor past are true.
It used to be known as the Bucket of Blood because of the bare-fist fights that were held here. Today the only fight you'll see is the one to get to the busy bar. In 1679, the poet John Dryden is said to have been attacked by hired thugs in the alleyway at the side of the pub and was nearly killed. The upstairs bar is called the Dryden Room, presumably in honour of the man, rather than his beating. It's a good place to escape to when the ground floor bar is heaving.
The downstairs rooms are delightfully simple, with a well worn, olde-worlde charm, created by the low beams, wood panelling and bare pine floorboards. The back bar area has a fireplace and plain wooden settles. The Lamb fills up in the evenings with office and shop workers and can get a bit too busy. In the summer, drinkers spill out into the courtyard.
paulk, 2008-10-01
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