— Story —
Three generations on Baldwin Street. A Whitbread house that became a free house, and stayed in the family.
— 1964 —
The Old Fountain has been in the hands of the Durrant family since 1964. It was a Whitbread brewery pub then, with the short beer list that came with a tied estate. The family poured the pints, looked after the room, and watched Old Street change around them.
It is a three-generation house. David Durrant keeps it now, still at 3 Baldwin Street, still a pub before it is anything else.
— Free house —
Both the beer world and the Old Fountain have changed beyond recognition in the last fifteen years. Before becoming a free house we were part of the Whitbread estate, and the choice was narrow. As a free house we can follow the breweries that are actually worth drinking: cask from the Kernel’s neighbours and further afield, keg from Bermondsey, Tottenham, Manchester and Cornwall, and a proper pint of Guinness when that is what the afternoon requires.
We love beer, and we are neither nerds nor snobs about it. The pub is a place for conversation. Ask, and we will try to find the right glass.
The beer list
9
Oakham Citra and Fuller’s London Pride sit beside six lines that move through pales, bitters, milds, porters and stouts.
20
Permanent lagers and Belgian bottles-on-tap, plus a rotating board of independents. Thirds and tasters are always offered.
1
Kamu cooks Sri Lankan street food in the open kitchen: their table, brought to ours. Sundays are for the roast.
See the menu
