If you think London is just a buzzing metropolis full of hustle and bustle, you’re only seeing half the story. Nowhere captures the city’s uncanny ability to mesh the old with the new quite like Seven Stars in Holborn. It's a pub that has survived everything from the Great Fire of London to TikTok trends, preserving its character amidst the ever-changing cityscape. Located just a stone's throw away from the Royal Courts of Justice, this gem dates back to 1602, making it older than some liberal ideas currently circulating. While the world continues to change frantically, Seven Stars stands unyielding, set in its ways, much like the stalwart values that many of us hold dear.
At Seven Stars, you won’t find the pretentious superfoods or the abstract art that plague modern establishments. Instead, it offers rustic charm, good English ale, and the essence of history infused in its wooden beams and low ceilings. It’s so rich in character that stepping inside feels like entering a time machine. The pub boasts individuality in a way that only something untouched by 'progress' can. Here, you can sip your drink alongside judges, lawyers, and the odd historian who have frequented this location since Shakespeare's epoch.
While the woke masses are busy tearing down statues and erasing history, Seven Stars stands as a place where history is not just remembered, but valued and celebrated. It's a relic that’s unapologetically traditional, offering comfort and a reassuring air in an often confusing world. If the pub's walls could talk, they'd probably shush the liberals and tell tales filled with wit and wisdom. The interior sports genuine Victorian memorabilia, taxidermy animals, and even the occasional furry feline bartender named Thomas Paine. If you’re someone who looks for authenticity when dining, you’ll find it here.
Service at Seven Stars deviates from what you might find at the modern minimalist gastropub where you’re just another digit at exit till number four. Here, you’re family—for better or worse. The loyal patrons, ranging from the erudite to the eccentric, engage in hearty debates, share stories, and punctuate their discussions with heartwarming laughter. Who wouldn’t want to duck out of the relentless modernization of life for a brisk afternoon chat with people who can dish out more than just politically correct pleasantries?
Now, it's important to mention the unique anatomy of its menu, which stays true to pub classics. Refreshingly, it hasn’t fallen prey to those questionable trends seen in hipster establishments. This isn’t the kind of place where you’ll find avocado toast fancied up with gold flakes. Think bangers and mash, fish and chips, steak and ale pies—hearty meals resonating with authenticity. The drinks are similarly timeless. Iconic British ales and stouts replace any need for kale-infused kombucha or wines discovered with flair in backstreet bistros in the south of France.
The pub has also been a quiet observer of historic events. Surviving the Blitz during World War II, it served as an anchor for the community. As the bombs rained down, Seven Stars’ walls stood unyielding—a perfect metaphor for standing firm in one's convictions amid chaos. It quietly played a pivotal role in safeguarding the sense of togetherness among Londoners, never losing focus on what's important—stability and strength.
In a time where institutions lose their gnarly roots in exchange for popularity, Seven Stars proves that you don’t need to change your core to stay relevant. It thrives amongst the madness by simply being itself. Its existence doesn't shout to be noticed, doesn't protest for attention. And yet, those who stumble upon its wonders are forever changed, gaining a lesson in patience, endurance, and grace.
Seven Stars, with its penchant for tradition over fads, embodies an ideology that mocks the ephemeral nature of change for the sake of change. It exists as evidence that the new isn’t always ‘better,’ and that there’s much value in the tried-and-tested. Replete with the spirit of yesteryear and brimming with stories that defy modern myopia, it’s an antidote to the frenzied pace of current life.
So, if you’re in London and looking for a place that's more interested in offering real experiences over virtual ones, make your way to Seven Stars. Leave behind the apps, ditch the hashtags, and experience something rare today—pure, unapologetically quaint comfort. And don’t be surprised if this historic watering hole reinvigorates your love for a world where things don’t constantly need to change to be meaningful.