One of the diminishing number of the ‘Eerie’ pub chain’s venues, The London Stone is the last standing in London. Although at first glance the name doesn’t appear to have similar spooky credentials as its past brother ‘Ben Crouch’s Tavern’ (used to be just off Oxford St), it seems befitting to the situation the Stone now finds itself. Named after an ancient stone (now set back into the wall a couple of doors down), popular opinion is that the stone was used as a geographical marker to measure distances, at some point someone decided it was more important than that, and if it ever left the city, London would fall. What exactly that means I don’t know, but just like the ‘Eerie’ chain, I wouldn’t like to find out.

Eerie pubs are like any other chain’s in that all their houses have a similar feel, little originality, and therefore similarly poor atmosphere. The London Stone et al, don’t really suffer the same fate, there’s only about 4 of them across the country, so it’s likely you won’t have been to more than one before. As you walk through the narrow doorway, and you’re lead down into their funky dungeon, it’s clear you’re being offered something a little different. Everything is gothic themed, cast iron, dark wood, and huge glass cabinets filled with beakers, serving no purpose whatsoever apart from setting the scene.

This is all well and good… but it’s also completely fake. The problem with opening a themed pub in London is that it still has to cater for more eclectic tastes, if you’re a hardened fan all of things gothic, then this may be a bit light for you. It’s quite obviously decked out for a tourist trade of punters ready to dip their toe, but don’t really want to get wet.

The point is no more substantial than in the venue’s different music nights. Admittedly it’s mostly metal and rock during weeknights, but there’s all types of live music from time to time, 80s, and pop nights. Come the weekend however, the place has a 24 hour license, so does put on a few afterparties where you can hear anything the outside DJs think the crowd will like, including house, techno, electro and soul.

The best thing I can say about the feeling of the place is just that it’s completely relaxed. You might expect the atmosphere in a gothic themed pub to be quite pretentious, and it can be a bit scary to walk into those places without your New Rocks and a dog collar. But thankfully the staff and fellow punters aren’t this type of closed-minded person. They understand that it’s all about fun, to use the old adage, everyone’s friendly, and they just want to have a good time.

BEER SELECTION: Usual suspects, but nothing additional beerwise. No real ale, but a themed ‘7 Deadly Sins’ cocktail menu and test tube shots. ****

COST OF A ROUND: About £10 round. Not bad, but my advice, stay away from the 7 deadly sins if you want to get drunk. ****

STAFF: Friendly, smiling, never get stressed and can remember the order of people arriving at the bar, which is always handy. ****

FOOD: Reasonable and generous menu. Good for lunches, and evening snacks are a good idea if you’ve acquired a booth. ****

SKIRT RATIO: Easy enough to mingle, don’t worry if you’re not into the goth-look either.  ****

Overall: Solid 4. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone looking for a hardcore goth-bar experience as it’s all fake really, but it’s just a bit of fun. Good food, good music, good vibe. What else do you want? ****

The London Stone - Bank - Brought to you by James Wormald -