I stopped by Streets of London for a drink yesterday and decided its still too early for Streets of London. Streets is a proud member of the Big Eight, Summer Edition. Why? Because it’s a great pub and most of its plaudits are earned in its outside area.
Between the outside foosball table and fact that there’s more seating in the backyard than inside, this little pub’s every quirk favors the great outdoors to its claustrophobic interior. For one, Streets is cacophonic when it’s crowded; you’re going to want to be outside. For another, did I mention foosball? Yeah, that’s outside too.
Yes, the outside area is perfectly bearable during the winter. They even roll out the space heaters for you. But let’s face it, if you’re out there in January it’s because you’ve been pushed out by the crowds and possibly a loose cannon at the dartboard. If you’re out there in June, it’s because you’re enjoying the fresh air and every liberty to spoil it with cigarette smoke.
The same way I don’t go to Buds Buffet from May through September because summer heat turns it into a meat swamp, but still I adore every minute in that carnivore’s paradise during the cooler months, I respect Streets’ seasonal identity because that’s what a pub this great deserves.
I do see the paradox in assigning strict climatic preferences to a pub named after a city known for rain, fog and gray skies. But maybe you’re just asking for paradoxes when you import a gem of medieval English heritage to sunny California.
Try to get there while it’s still light out (you get more of that in the Summer too). Sometimes I hear people say the crowd changed when Streets got its hard liquor license a few years back, but I don’t really see it. I dig this place.
The Sac Rag 