We’ve all been there. Stood at the bar not quite concentrating and pondering great questions. Cash or card? Do I know that person over there? Could that ache in my knee be cancer? What’s Cher’s real name?

You’re vaguely aware that at any moment you’re going to be approached by the errant bar person and posed with the question ‘What can I get you?’. All of a sudden, they’re there, expecting some sort of answer.

You’re not ready. You didn’t think. You’ve messed up. You don’t want to look a tit. You panic. You point. You end up with something entirely expected.

My initial visit to the Well and Bucket resulted in this happening not once but twice. First time around it was my purely fault and second time it was at least partially down to the lethally strong pumpkin ale I’d ended up with following that initial panic decision.  Both times however I found myself supping a fantastic beer from a dizzyingly huge selection and I’m pleased to note that all subsequent trips to that gleaming bar have yielded equally satisfying tipples.

The Well and Bucket is doing something that not many other pubs in the area have done successfully in offering this smorgasbord of drinks in a notably stylish setting (the nearby ‘Brew Dog’ is aiming at the same thing but it feels like you’re having a pint in a half built public bog). The central bar feels like it ought to be blowing steam out of its jungle of brass, pumps and bottles whilst the distressed tiles of quasi Victorian decor on the walls lend a gothic quality. Whilst seating isn’t luxuriously comfortable I can’t complain that this is anything less than an impressive pub interior.  

As well as the powerfully ambitious beer range there is a menu stuffed with gems to suit all tastes. You might want to brace yourself and try the old East London staple of porter and oysters given that the bar has a specialty in the delicacy. Or if you’re less confident about the strength of your constitution you can opt for some more classic dishes like a lobster roll…

The new incarnation of this old pub as the Well and Bucket is young, exciting and for all intents and purposes, epic.

Oh and in answer to my bar ponderings. Card, no I didn’t, no it wasn’t and Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre.