The ex-Wetherspoon’s pub that’s now defiantly European

Petty business is often the most enthralling business, no less in the pub game where belligerence in trade is ingrained into the barstools as so much beer spillages and fag ash. One Europhile pub developer has taken aim at Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin, among Britain’s most famous Brexiteers, by purchasing one of his old boozers and renaming it ‘The European’.

Robert Thomas, chairman of Remarkable Pubs – 18 in the group, each run independently – and longtime Hackney resident, took on what was once called The Drum in Leyton and quickly oversaw a £350,000 refit, going so far as to hang a new sign outside. It displays the European Union’s circle of 12 gold stars in a blue frame and swings proudly in an area of London that mostly voted to remain.

The European launched late last month and immediately encouraged crowds. On offer are continental wines, local and European beers, and a regular selection of spirits of the back bar, from Scotch whisky to Italian liqueurs. There’s a food menu, which is largely French. Dishes such as salt cod croquettes, coq-au-vin pie, confit duck leg and steak frites have proved to be abundantly popular in the first couple of weeks, despite the fact, at around £20 for a main course, prices are significantly higher than at one of Martin’s budget operations.

The place was in dire need of reworking. Formerly a Spoons, most recently it was owned by Punch Taverns, a monolithic company with around 1,250 leased pubs across the UK. At The European today, the walls are adorned with “European-flavoured pictures”. The likes of Monet and Matisse have been called upon, while the snug is home to a portrait of Lorenzo de Medici, former ruler of the Florentine Republic and the birthplace of the Renaissance.

Thomas is a former history teacher who turned to pubs in the early Nineties, picking up a near-derelict pub in Stoke Newington, long before gentrification took hold. What he bought for the price of a modern car is now worth millions and similar moves at other down-and-out pubs around London and beyond led to a solid independent business. It hardly rivals the magnificence (nay, maleficence?) of Spoons but it is strong enough to take a punt on a boozer with such a fierce political message.

“I thought buying an old Spoons was the perfect opportunity to give two fingers back to Martin and Farage,” Thomas told the New European.

“They’re deluded people and I feel sorry for them. They’ve bent our history in the wrong direction. If we were all together and could speak with one voice, Putin wouldn’t have dared to do what he did. I think Farage is a right-wing ideologue. I don’t know much about Tim. I think the media gives them both far too much airtime.”

And Trump? “He’s a nutter. But in America, I see power in a collective. We should be united.”

Thomas, now 81, still swims 3,000 metres a day and while each of his pubs is run separately and by its own landlord, he takes pride in their successes, not least because hospitality is an increasingly challenging market in the UK.

Last year, Remarkable Pubs enjoyed a £15 million turnover on wet trade, while food is franchised to partner chefs in situ. The group counts more than 200 employees and Thomas sees the promise of potential in his latest endeavour.

“It’s a beautiful Victorian building,” he said, “it’s a proper pub, and there’s a great new general manager there in Adele. The pub made just over £22,000 in its first weekend. Lots of people came in to have a pint or two and the French chef there is doing lovely food.”

Thomas said though some pubs are struggling, many perform valiantly and are in no danger of closing down. He said his top managers can earn up to £100,000 a year (in the bigger, busier premises) and live rent free, while bartenders are paid above the minimum wage.

He said: “I think pubs can really work. To be nice in business pays off in the end. I want to see local, independent pubs thrive, and run by people who care, not by enormous companies that see the trade as a means to invest – they pick up properties, accrue enormous debts, then hike prices for customers. Hospitality run by accountants is never a good thing. So much in this country is a complete con.”

Cask ales at The European start at £4.80 a pint, while Guinness – there is no truer marker in pub prices today – is £5.80, which is reasonable in London in 2025. The Beavertown Neck Oil is £6.20 and a cider is about the same. As for the wine list, bottles of house start at £23 – impressively low – though it deviates and meanders to accommodate a younger, more orange-focused crowd. There’s a skin contact Gruner Veltliner, which is one of the trendiest varieties going right now, for £32 a pop, and a pet nat (sparking natural wine) from Portugal for £42.

Political missives aside, The European might suddenly be among the best places to eat and drink in London. These are excellent wines sold for prices well below small plates restaurants and natural wine bars in East London. If the food is good, watch this space. The European could cut through on two sides of the sword.