How do you pour the perfect Guinness? It’s not black and white.
“It’s all about the lines…” so begins every Guinness-bore’s misty-eyed lecture about how to achieve the perfect pint of the black stuff. The trouble is – they’re right. Alongside a few other key details (we’re talking keg room temperature, glass cleanliness, and gas mix, amongst other things), the cleanliness and length of the beer lines are crucial. And over at The Ned – the slickly-delivered hotel-slash-culinary-destination-slash-members’ club – there’s a special St Patrick’s Day pop-up bar devoted to delivering the ultimate Guinness experience which boasts the shortest lines in the City, meaning they have a plausible claim to be offering the freshest pint of Guinness in London.
What’s more, the pop-up has been organised in collaboration with no less an authority than… Guinness themselves, meaning if there’s anywhere you might expect to find an immaculately delivered pint on St Patrick’s Day, it’s here. The Ned doesn’t do things by halves (unless that’s what you’ve ordered, of course), and the aptly named Guinness Bar offers a deep dive into the drink’s lore, with a space filled with the company’s classic Toucan posters – the work of legendary painter and adman John Gilroy – and vintage Guinness paraphernalia.
And, despite those long-held claims that a pint of Guinness is a meal in a glass, The Guinness Bar also offers food served in the more conventional manner (ie. on a plate). High-end bar snacks on offer include mini beef-and-onion pies with Guinness gravy, Guinness-infused cheddar croquettes, and – for those City denizens whose bonus has come in – caviar and Guinness crisps.
For cocktail aficionados, there’s a list including a Guinness-inspired take on the espresso martini, and a variation on the mighty black velvet, one of the all-time great (and most alarmingly-potent) mixed drinks.
To be clear: Is this all a vast and shameless promotional exercise brought to you by international drinks brand Guinness and its all-powerful owners Diageo? Absolutely yes. Have we been thoroughly beguiled by the whole thing to the point that, come St Patrick’s Day, we’re likely to be in the queue jostling for a spot at the front of the bar? Also yes. And we’ve made our peace with that.
Of course, for those seeking a less carefully-mediated experience, it’s possible to step outside of the hermetically-sealed Guinnessverse and experience great Guinness in the wild – and on that front, here are our top tips.
And for those braving The Guinness Bar pop-up, there are no reservations, meaning the shortest lines in the City may well result in lines round the block – but then with Guinness a wait has always been part of the experience.
NOTE: The Guinness Bar opens on 17th March at The Ned. It will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30pm to late. There are no bookings, it’s walk-ins only. You can find out more information about the pop-up on The Ned’s website.
The Guinness Bar | The Ned, 31 Bell Lane, Shoreditch, E1 7LA
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