Essex Street Brewery
Essex Street Brewery
4.5
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
About
– London's Most Central Brewery – You can’t miss The Essex Street Brewery – built right at the heart of the Temple Brew House pub, it’s the first thing you see as you walk down Essex Street. Inside, our Head Brewer, Vanesa de Blas Montoya, toils daily to create great artisan beers for the good people of Temple. Exciting and easy on the palate, these hand-crafted beers travel just 15 feet from tank to glass and Vanesa is usually on hand to tell you more about them and what other brews are in the pipeline. Private tours take place monthly or on request, and you can even take home your own TBH pint glass or t-shirt as a souvenir. We are hugely passionate about our beer and want to share what we do with as many people as possible. Essex Street Brewery's visit is not your average beer adventure; hosted by our own Head Brewer, it’s a fascinating journey through the history of brewing and secrets of the trade.We can accommodate private groups and bespoke packages.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: City of London
From its ancient past as a Roman trading outpost to its 21st century status as the wealthiest square mile in the world, the financial district known simply as “The City” is one of London's most historic and fascinating neighborhoods. Here high rise office towers such as Norman Foster’s Gherkin mingle with Roman ruins and architectural marvels from virtually every era in between, including Christopher Wren's glorious St.Paul's Cathedral, and John Soane's dauntingly classicist Bank of England. This neighborhood is also home to some of the finest restaurants and plushest hotels in Europe, in addition to an assortment of watering holes, upscale shops, and Tube stations. During the week, the City is abuzz with white collar workers going about their business; the weekend sees this area turn into a quiet haven for sightseers.
How to get there
- Temple • 3 min walk
- Chancery Lane • 8 min walk
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Best nearby
Restaurants
10,000 within 3 miles
Attractions
2,847 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
26 reviews
Excellent
19
Very good
4
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Adam T
Leeds, UK11 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
I must admit, when I arrived for my £20 brewery tour and was shown to THE ROOM in which it would take place I was wondering if I'd been had, but it was one of the most interesting and insightful tours I've been on.
It is literally just a room in which the magic happens but to a certain extent once you've seen one microbrewery you've seen them all anyway. This one was worth the money purely to be able to talk with the brewer (a Portuguese (I think) lady whose name I've unfortunately forgotten) who was a real expert and was happy to tell us the spiel but also chat with us for a good 40 minutes talking us through different brewing techniques, telling us about how the industry works, and talking about how she got into it all in the first place.
After that we got to try some of the beers (a pints worth each) though the bar staff kept throwing extras at us to sample, including the Pimms beer created ahead of Wimbledon (very nice) and some samples they'd been sent from other microbreweries. The food also added to the value for money, a massive tray of the stuff that tasted incredible and that we made couldn't leave a drop of despite having a massive breakfast about three hours before.
Staff were friendly and engaging both on the 'tour' and in the bar, and the range of beers on offer was incredible with some great breweries represented beyond just what was brewed in houses. Again staff were very helpful in selecting a few tipples that we'd like and a few to expand our tastes.
My only regret was that I didn't give their mystery wheel a spin, though I can see that becoming dangerously addictive!
Would thoroughly recommend at least a visit but the tour was brilliant too.
It is literally just a room in which the magic happens but to a certain extent once you've seen one microbrewery you've seen them all anyway. This one was worth the money purely to be able to talk with the brewer (a Portuguese (I think) lady whose name I've unfortunately forgotten) who was a real expert and was happy to tell us the spiel but also chat with us for a good 40 minutes talking us through different brewing techniques, telling us about how the industry works, and talking about how she got into it all in the first place.
After that we got to try some of the beers (a pints worth each) though the bar staff kept throwing extras at us to sample, including the Pimms beer created ahead of Wimbledon (very nice) and some samples they'd been sent from other microbreweries. The food also added to the value for money, a massive tray of the stuff that tasted incredible and that we made couldn't leave a drop of despite having a massive breakfast about three hours before.
Staff were friendly and engaging both on the 'tour' and in the bar, and the range of beers on offer was incredible with some great breweries represented beyond just what was brewed in houses. Again staff were very helpful in selecting a few tipples that we'd like and a few to expand our tastes.
My only regret was that I didn't give their mystery wheel a spin, though I can see that becoming dangerously addictive!
Would thoroughly recommend at least a visit but the tour was brilliant too.
Written July 18, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks so much for your kindness, much appreciated.
I'm so glad you enjoyed not only the brewery visit but our food and beers as well.
Vanesa de Blas
Head Brewer
Written July 24, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Guy Hartley
Carshalton, UK78 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
Here with my father in law, very welcoming.
Excellent selection of beers in this friendly small brew-pub!
Booking required, but very worthwhile.
Excellent selection of beers in this friendly small brew-pub!
Booking required, but very worthwhile.
Written November 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
theboygds
London, UK1 contribution
Sep 2019 • Friends
About 15-20 mins of chat about the beer ..but let’s be honest you don’t go to a pub to do a tour you go to drink beer !....then the paddles of ale started to arrive (3rds not pints) and they kept coming, giving all in my part of 11 plenty of opportunities to find an ale they liked, then a few more paddles to make sure !! When the ale was flowing the food started to arrive....absolutely perfect beer munchies...far too numerous and varied to list....just don’t eat before you go in !!
I’m short the Temple Brew house was an excellent way to start a gentleman’s stag do, lots of beer and food = good value for money. The staff were superbly attentive and well informed about the brewing process, a big thank you to you all !!
I’m short the Temple Brew house was an excellent way to start a gentleman’s stag do, lots of beer and food = good value for money. The staff were superbly attentive and well informed about the brewing process, a big thank you to you all !!
Written November 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peach S
Southampton, UK4 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
I bought this as a gift for my dad and my husband went with. They both enjoy ale and reported that this tour was interesting and the beer was tasty. Also, the amount of food they brought out was huge! They really enjoyed themselves.
Written February 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paradise39916936594
1 contribution
Nov 2018 • Solo
It was really interesting brewery visit . The brewer has been trying to make beer in unique way . There was so many things I was surprised . But it was also the reason why their beer is special .I recommend the factory tour of Temple Brew House to understand the basic of making beer !
Written December 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vacation150688
1 contribution
Oct 2018 • Couples
Booked this as a birthday present and my dad loved it. The staff were very knowledgable and passionate and the food included was excellent. Only thing would change is that the paddles should be given after the tour so you don’t have to carry them round.
Written December 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi
Thanks so much for your review and feedback. We will give a choice of having your paddles before or after the visit to the brewery from now on. It's a great comment.
Kind regards
Vanesa de Blas
Written December 10, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ian1232015
London, UK231 contributions
May 2018 • Couples
Popped in here for a couple of pre-dinner pints on a wet Saturday evening and to be honest i was expecting it to be quite quiet as most city pubs are at weekends. I couldn't have been much more wrong. We grabbed the last free table and settled down to run through a small portion of the huge range of beers available. I started on their own IPA before moving on their dry porter. I've never heard of a beer being described as dry before but was impressed by the depth of taste. We didn't eat but a couple sitting near us had Mac and Cheese and ribs and the portions were epic and looked delicious. This is one that will definitely return to and hopefully arrange to do the brewery tour with our beer loving friends.
Written May 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swacer
Kingsport, TN268 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
We took the standard brewery tour hosted by the head brewer herself (and only employee of the brewery). It is amazing that she is able to keep up with demand given how small the operation is and that she does it all by herself. The brewery is tucked into a closet-sized room in the back of the pub. Having visited lots of breweries, this is definitely the most unique and interesting one I have seen.
The tour was great and the food that comes with it was delicious. The website makes it seem like the food is just a snack, but come hungry as it is a huge tray filled with lots of different pub foods! Even while we were still getting through our samples, the head brewer was bringing out more for us to try from brews that hadn’t been released yet!
Will definitely return if we’re ever in London again!
The tour was great and the food that comes with it was delicious. The website makes it seem like the food is just a snack, but come hungry as it is a huge tray filled with lots of different pub foods! Even while we were still getting through our samples, the head brewer was bringing out more for us to try from brews that hadn’t been released yet!
Will definitely return if we’re ever in London again!
Written November 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Montyf1
Reading, UK1,135 contributions
Oct 2017 • Solo
Excellent range of beers and a very warm and friendly welcome. American/ Mexican food. It’s in a basement but the atmosphere is good. There is also some Limited outdoor seating on the path outside. The lady behind the bar was knowledgeable and an excellent host.
Written October 28, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James M
2 contributions
Sep 2017 • Couples
Great place , great staff , one of my most loved pubs in London ......food is great and full of imagination. Loved it !!!!
Written September 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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