‘I attempted the £4 pint of Guinness going viral – one factor left me disenchanted’

Paying less than a fiver for a pint of beer in central London is always going to be a massive win. So naturally, I was delighted when the Daily Star bosses sent me on a mission to a viral hatch selling Guinness for £4.

The tantalising offer is available at Simmons Bar on Soho’s iconic Greek Street. Workers in the area have been cheering the budget friendly price as they are used to paying double for a pint of the black stuff.

The first thing anyone who has been sweating their way through summer will notice is the pleasantly cool outdoor area the Guinness is served in. And, as expected, the usual social media-friendly Irish pub tat adorns the space around the service hatch.

There is no sitting area outside so it is best for a swift meeting post work. And it is probably better to get there sooner rather than later as it is said to get very busy after 6pm – especially on Thursdays and Fridays.

I arrived at 4pm and found there was already a few punters sipping stout and lager, which is also on offer for £4. The staff were friendly and knew how to pour a Guinness.

At this point I should say I’m Irish and started working in my family pub a few days after I could stand. I have also forced down some simply woeful pints of Guinness in London bars.

So I was relieved when I saw proper care was being taken in the first and second pour. I was also happy to see £4 pop up on the card machine.

However, after setting down the pint, I was disappointed to see bubbles on the inside of the glass. It isn’t the end of the world, but it does take away from the pleasing aesthetics.

As all landlords who have chased the perfect pint know, this means there is an issue with how the glasses are washed. In my experience, the usual culprit is grease from food or someone shoving a bag of crisps inside the glass.

A near constant debate among Irish pub bosses is how they wash their pint glasses – and everyone has their own method. Most never use detergent and instead rely on a less intense formula called rinse aid.

I know of one publican who only ever adds a single teaspoon of rinse aid to each tray of pints. And in my family pub, we have separate washing machines for pint glasses for beer and all other glasses.

Perfecting a pint of Guinness really is an art form. And in defence of Simmons, it is much harder to maintain perfect Guinness in a nightclub-style bar due to cocktails messing up the pint glasses.

That is why ‘old man pubs’ that mostly sell pints always have the best Guinness. And the really good ones pull a massive amount of it through their taps.

Anyway, I have digressed again. The taste of the Guinness in Simmons was good, not too bitter, cold and refreshing.

However, it fell short on creaminess and the aforementioned bubbles. Out of five, I rate it three.

That being said, I had to have another one – a bird never flew on one wing!