The Water Poet (permanently closed)

Address: 9-11 Folgate Street , (just off Bishopsgate), London, E1 6BX, United Kingdom

Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Gastro pub
Food: Set menu

The Water Poet is a sprawling pub with numerous generously sized rooms including a pool room, dining room and function room, not to mention one of the few walled beer gardens in the Square Mile.

The food offing falls firmly into the "proper pub grub" genre with very generously proportioned dishes that look the part but veer slightly towards quantity than quality - good but not up to the lofty food standards of some other London gastro pubs. The beer, wine and spirits offering here is also good but below what we have come to expect of truly high-end gastro pubs - although you will find five traditional cask ales on draught.

While the Water Poet's food and drink offering may let it down, this reincarnated pub does boast a City location that's surrounded by offices and close to Spitalfields Market, generous proportions made cosy by being spread across so many different spaces, and friendly good service. Add to that regular stand-up comedy and other live entertainment.