Whitechapel · Tower Hamlets
Sir Sydney Smith
A hidden Dock Street pub on a site licensed since the 1810s, with a 1920s Truman's front
- Address22 Dock Street, Whitechapel, London E1 8JP
- Phone020 7481 1766
- Websitesirsydneysmith.com
- OwnershipIndependent pub
About Sir Sydney Smith
An independent pub on Dock Street, between Tower Hill and Wapping, on a site that has served drinks since at least 1816, with a 1920s Truman's exterior, real ale and homemade pizzas.
A pub has stood on this stretch of Dock Street since the early 1800s: it is recorded as open by 1816, and over the years it has traded as the Pepper Pot House, the Pepperpot and the Sir Sidney Smith, after the admiral of the Napoleonic Wars. It took its present spelling, Sir Sydney Smith, around 2016. The exterior is a 1920s Truman's, Hanbury, Buxton pub front, and the Truman's name still crowns it. Inside it is traditional and dark, with exposed brick, deep green walls, a large gold-framed mirror and plenty of old furniture. It is an independent pub, listed in the Good Beer Guide, registered as an Asset of Community Value, and a couple of minutes' walk from Wilton's Music Hall. According to CAMRA there is live music on Friday evenings, and it is dog-friendly.
On tap
Real ale, craft beer, continental lagers and wine. According to CAMRA there is a regular cask (Ruddles Best Bitter) plus changing guests, often including a London brewer.
Food
Homemade stone-baked pizzas and burgers.
More pubs in Whitechapel
- The Blind BeggarThe pub where a Salvation Army sermon and a gangland murder both made history
- White Hart, WhitechapelA Hertford brewery's outpost holding the corner where Whitechapel Road becomes Mile End Road
- Goodman's FieldA cavernous Wetherspoon named for the Aldgate field where Garrick made his stage debut