Bleeding Heart Tavern

Opened as part of the Bleeding Heart restaurant and bistro in Dec 1998, the tavern part dates from 1746 and allegedly invited patrons to get "drunk for a penny and dead drunk for tuppence". Apart from the connections with Dickens, this is now geared up for dining with a downstairs cellar restaurant specializing in French cuisine. Real ale is from Adnams. Bar area has wooden flooring with various wooden tables and chairs, along with smart decor to suggest something more upmarket and smartly dressed attentive staff with prices to match. Name derives from a once nearby 16th C. inn with sign showing the heart of the Virgin Mary pierced by 5 swords but superseded by the legend of the brutal murder of Lady Elizabeth Hatton in 1626.