My Pub: The Britannia, London Bridge

The Britannia is close to the hustle and bustle of London Bridge but sits within the Kipling housing estate so community ties are strong along with the potential for tourists to visit.

Here, Leigh White, director of Smok’d pubs and a self-confessed huge fan of Guinness and potatoes, tells The Morning Advertiser all about this pub.

The pub

This was the first pub I ever ran back in 2006 as a relief pub manager for The Only Pub Company, which was operated by the huge character that was Bob McCarthur, the son of a master whisky distiller who had turned publican and started a whisky pub company.

I came back to run the pub for Bob a second time in 2011 as the general manager but unfortunately in 2013, after Bob lost his battle with sudden terminal illness, the company was passed down and I was no longer needed.

In October 2020, just before the second lockdown, my pub in Kingston, south-west London, had been trading fairly well with takeaway food and drinks that year and I saw the Britannia on the market.

I took a gamble on it during a very risky time. I took ownership of the leasehold on a short term free-of-tie lease the day after the November lockdown was announced. A calculated risk I was willing to take to acquire a pub that I held dear to my heart.

The pub is now a thriving hub for locals as well as the nearby office workers for a quick lunch as well as after work drinks. We have live music on the weekends but not in the summer months as the clientele are all outside enjoying the sun trap in the side courtyard with its beautiful overgrown palm trees. The courtyard looks out onto the enchanting leafy Kipling Street.

The pub is also a destination for whisky enthusiasts because I have continued a whisky theme across my pub company as a whole due to developing a love for the tipple after spending time absorbing Bob’s passion for it some years beforehand.

The publican

I started my career in 2001 in a Davy’s Wine Bar called the City Pipe in Foster Lane, St Paul’s – blessed with the opportunity to work with some of the most passionate and enthusiastic people I’ve come across in all of my years in the industry.

This started me off in good stead. I gained strong customer service skills as well as wine qualifications working for Davy’s before shifting my focus and interest towards cocktail knowledge.

I went on to work in the prestigious Red Bar in London’s Park Lane serving cocktails for some very high-profile clientele from the entertainment industry.

I developed my cocktail knowledge further, spending time working for Celebrity Cruises in the Caribbean where I got to learn firsthand from the original celebrity bartender and personal bartender for the Rat Pack, Dale DeGroff.

All of this varied experience of the industry gets channelled into The Britannia as well as my other pubs.

The trade

This is a premium backstreet boozer in the vibrant SE1 area. Delivering a phenomenal standard of cocktails as well as award winning barbecue food and a great selection of beers.

In an area rife with offices as well as a high density of residential apartments, it is a buzzing trendy back street near to Bermondsey Street.

The team

There are six front-of-house and three back-of-house staff members in the team.

General manager Richard Bonus has come from a strong cocktail background spending time in trendy Mayfair cocktail lounges.

My son Cameron is a trainee assistant manager in this site after working within the company for five years working from back bar through to bar supervisor then leaving to spend a year in Brighton. He has now returned to continue to grow within the company.

The drink

Each of my pubs is a whisky pub but with a unique focus. At the Britannia, we try to focus mostly on British Isles whisky.

We still have American, Japanese, etc. but we offer significantly more English, Welsh and Irish than you would normally come across.

However, the main body of the list is made up of Scottish single malt whisky.

We also offer a solid range of cocktails, a list of in-house innovations as well as classics done right.

The food

We specialise in smoking meats as well as serving some creative, juicy burgers. We have a Burger of the Month and we have a Vegan Burger of the Month. They have their own cult following.

The events

We do live music and occasional comedy. We will be developing the comedy further soon.

The future

We will continue to expand into more sites as and when possible. We have just taken a new site last September, which we are nurturing, once it is in a stronger place we will be moving on to another site.