Cloudwater London

Nineteen keg lines and one cask handpump all run out of a 5 degree cold store standing next to the bar, so nothing here warms up on its way to the glass.

Why go

This is the Manchester brewery's only London room, in Railway Arch 73 on Enid Street, and the interesting part is how it is built rather than what it sells. The taproom's own description is "19 draft taps, one cask handpull and an evolving selection from our Barrel Project", all pouring from that cold store (Cloudwater). CAMRA's South East London branch, surveying in January 2026, records up to twenty keg beers "mostly brewed by Cloudwater" plus a changing cask (CAMRA). Untappd's venue page logs 15,124 distinct beers against 105,074 check-ins with 764 in the last month, which for a single-brewery bar is a lot of different liquid. The range started out heavy on double IPAs, the style the brewery made its name on, and now runs a wide ABV band with measures from thirds to pints so the strong end stays drinkable.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the cask. One handpump among nineteen keg lines is the odd choice in the room and it changes. Then something off the Barrel Project, which only pours at the brewery's own bars. Take the strong ones in thirds.
• Avoid: planning a booked Saturday, the one day they take no reservations. Arriving with children after 8pm. Turning up expecting the brewery: the brewhouse, the lab and the tours are all in Manchester.

What locals & experts say

• Fred Waltman, London Beer Guide, on what the arch is: "London tap room for the excellent Manchester brewery." He counts one handpumped cask, 19 keg taps and about 60 bottles and cans. ref
• The Bermondsey Beer Mile, unbylined, having tracked the arch since Cloudwater arrived in 2018: "And it's still very much the case in 2026. They were worth the wait." The same record notes that for the first stretch there was no sign over the door, just the cloud logo on the back wall, and that loose paper tap sheets were finally replaced by a board on the wall in January 2022. ref
• CAMRA's South East London branch, surveyed 17 January 2026: "Cask ale from one handpump is usually available along with up to 20 keg beers, mostly brewed by Cloudwater." Their beer record lists one changing beer and no regulars. ref
• No critic has reviewed this address. The published praise for Cloudwater is praise for the brewery in Manchester. That distinction is kept here on purpose.

Good to know

• Sites: three, and only one of them is this. London: 73 Enid Street SE16 3RA. Manchester: Unit 9, Piccadilly Trading Estate (the brewery and its taproom) and Sadler's Cat, Sadler's Yard, NOMA. The brewery tours, the 24hL brewhouse and the 840hL cellar all belong to Manchester.
• Where: the Bermondsey Beer Mile, between Big Hug Social and Against The Grain Cidery, about ten metres from each. Bermondsey and London Bridge are both walkable.
• Hours: open seven days, from 3pm most afternoons, from midday Friday through the weekend, closing at 10pm and 8pm on Sunday. Check the venue's own page, since the third-party listings disagree.
• Booking: taken every day except Saturday, for standard and private tables.
• Also served: natural wine from Le Grappin, cider, small-batch spirits and snacks. There is no kitchen.
• Families and dogs: children admitted until 8pm, dogs on leads.
• Hygiene: rating 5, inspected 14 June 2022. That is the last recorded inspection and it is over four years old, so read it as a clean result from a while ago ref.

Jeff's take (his words)

Nothing from Jeff. The saved-places export carries this row with an empty Note column, so jeff_note stays empty.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Worth the detour if you want this brewery at its freshest, and the reason is plumbing. Every one of the nineteen keg lines and the single handpump runs from a 5 degree cold store sitting next to the bar, so the beer never warms between the cellar and the glass, which is money spent on how it tastes rather than on how the arch looks. Nineteen taps of one brewery plus an evolving Barrel Project pour is a configuration that exists nowhere else in London, and the check-in record backs the turnover: 15,124 distinct beers across 105,074 logged pints. Measures run thirds to pints, which is the right answer for a list that started out built on double IPAs. What holds it at the detour rung rather than higher is what the list is: one brewery's output, so the depth is narrower than a bar that buys from everyone, and the brewery's reputation was made 200 miles north and is not this address's achievement. The handpump is the interesting outlier, a single changing cask in a modern keg house. Book if you want a table, except on Saturday when they take none.