EXPERIENCED LICENSEES TAKE PRIDE IN RESTORING THE CHESHIRE CHEESE TO ITS TRADITIONAL GLORY

Just a stone's throw from the Royal Courts of Justice, hidden gem The Cheshire Cheese is the fourth Shepherd Neame pub now being run by experienced licensees Darren and Janet Wellman.

The couple recently took on the characterful Grade II listed pub after having their eye on it for some time.

Following five months of refurbishment work, they reopened the building, which offers three floors of traditional hospitality - two bars and a top floor dedicated to dining. 

The couple, whose three other pubs are all in the London area, knew what potential The Cheshire Cheese had, thanks to its central yet quiet location away from the hustle and bustle of The Strand and the Thames, and its deceptively spacious accommodation inside.

“It’s a prime London site; the opportunity arose and It was too good to pass up,” said Darren. “It’s a more central location than our others and has so much potential – we have been able to open up the top floor as a restaurant, when it wasn’t used before.”

A pub has stood on the site since the late 18th century, though it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by revered pub architect Nowell Parr Senior. Today the Grade II listed building retains many of its 1920s features, including coloured glass panes above the bar and in its windows, and wood panelling.

With its bars now lovingly refurbished, and new furniture introduced, the pub has also been sympathetically redecorated throughout, including in its top floor restaurant and is flooded with light from windows on two sides.

The couple, who operate their business as Wellman Taverns, first began working with independent family brewer and pub company Shepherd Neame when they took on the Princess of Prussia in Prescot Street, close to Tower Bridge, in 2011. They then took on The White Swan in Aldgate followed by The Spanish Galleon near the Cutty Sark in 2022.

Janet added: “We knew The Cheshire Cheese well and had hoped it would become available. It is a traditional London pub but needed refurbishing and some love. We have tried to keep that traditional feel.

“We are very proud of what we have done here. We put the effort in, and it has been worth it.”Concentrating on building up a regular clientele again, word has spread and the pub is enjoying a steady trade, helped by the return of food supplied by Bang Bang Kitchen, the same caterers used at The Spanish Galleon serving a delicious selection of dishes and daily specials.