Soho has three pubs called the Blue Posts alone and there is also one in Fitzrovia plus another near Green Park. The first stop on my Saturday afternoon crawl was the Blue Posts in Newman Street, a very pleasant Samuel Smith’s pub with dark wood panelling. I enjoyed a pint of Old Brewery Bitter on cask, away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Oxford Street.
The legendary Blue Posts in Berwick Street, Soho is only a short walk away. The pub has always welcomed a wide range of people from all walks of life, ages and backgrounds, from students to tourists. The new management, who took over in 2021, haven’t changed the character of the pub. There was Fuller’s London Pride on cask available on my visit. The pub has live music on Tuesdays, comedy on Wednesdays and cabaret on Sundays upstairs. The pub featured in the 1925 film, Lost World, where a brontosaurus destroyed the building.
The Grade II-listed Georgian Blue Posts in Rupert Street, dating from 1739, is just around the corner. It had a makeover in 2017 and has a beautiful pewter bar on the ground floor serving beers from a good range of independent breweries. The standout beer for me was the Anspach & Hobday, London Black. The Redemption Trinity ale on cask was also very good.
The Blue Posts on Kingly Street had a different vibe; this is a busy Greene King pub, with an upstairs bar, featuring attractive stained glassed windows. The pub sign hints at the explanation of the pub name, featuring posts that were hiring points for sedan chairs, like taxi ranks.
The final Blue Posts of the day was on Bennett Street, near the Ritz Hotel and Green Park tube. This is a large spacious modern Greene King pub. The clientele mainly consisted of tourists on my visit.
This is an easy crawl to do in an afternoon but, if you are short on time, I would recommend the one in Berwick Street.
Joanne Scott
Editor’s note: A previous article on this subject by a different author appeared in our October/November 2018 edition.