This London pub does last orders at 8.30 am — here’s why

‘Last orders – 8.30 am’ isn’t a normal sign to see in a London pub, but this establishment is busy serving drinks before most people are out of bed.

The Market Porter in Borough Market is open early Monday to Friday and the pub’s early morning hours are popular among night shift workers, such as nurses, police officers, and TFL staff.

But its landlord says it also caters to those who fancy a drink before a long day in the City. It was one of a select group of ‘early houses’ given a special license so it could offer drinks to market traders and vendors in Borough Market.

The pub has been located in Stoney Street since the 1600s and became the Market Porter in 1890.

It has always had unconventional hours – with some deals being done at the bar for horses, sheep, or other market goods.

Manager Tony Sommerville believes due to other pub closures, he’ll soon be serving the first available pint in the capital.

Tony, manager for 19 years, said: ‘We get a real mix of people, to be honest. It’s usually night shift workers – police, nurses, TfL staff. So they get their pint after work, just at a different time.

‘We’re also near Guy’s Hospital, so sometimes people visiting at odd hours pop in. We’re here for the good news and the bad news.

‘Other than that, this area is popular with tourists, so we have people who come in after a flight while they’re waiting for their hotel room.’

Tony joked that some customers come in ‘suited and booted’, swinging by before heading to work in the City.

He added: ‘We actually used to have one regular customer who worked in the City, and he’d have two gin and tonics every day before work. He looked pretty fancy, too. So there are some characters.’

The pub – which appeared in a Harry Potter film – was made exempt from sober laws during World War 1 as it was seen as a vital place for business dealings.

Tony, 49, said the Market Porter could soon be London’s last early-morning pub, as similar venues in Smithfield and Billingsgate are closing down.

He said: ‘People are grateful we’re here as there aren’t many other places like it. We know of one in Smithfield and one in Billingsgate, but they’re both going.

‘It’s a community around here. And, we have to be open early for deliveries and the like anyway, so why not serve customers too?’

Mr Sommerville, who lives above the pub with his two sons, said some customers worry about being judged.

He said: ‘The initial thought is, ‘Why are people drinking at that time of day?’ But people have different reasons. The night shift workers, for example, they deserve their post-work pint too. Actually, we recently considered getting rid of our glazed windows, but our regulars stopped us.

‘They wanted that protection. They don’t want to be judged.’

The pub used to serve club-goers who didn’t want the night to end, but Mr Sommerville admitted they had stopped serving these people as ‘it just wasn’t worth it.’

The dad-of-two, who is originally from New Zealand, said: ‘If they can’t figure out how to open the door, it’s usually a sign to say ‘no’.’

Tony said the Market Porter has no plans to stop its early hours – especially while people continue to make use of them.

‘It’s a community. And it’s nice to be that place people can come whenever.”

The Market Porter opens from 6 am to 9 am every weekday, before closing for an hour to take deliveries. It then reopens from 10 am until 11 pm. On weekends, it opens from midday until 11 pm.

Another pub has become the ‘first in the UK’ to ban smoking in the garden – John Garrod, who owns the Hope Inn in Hythe, Kent, says his pub mostly attracts diners who don’t want to breathe in second-hand smoke while they eat.

The 72-year-old non-smoker has faced some criticism from locals, who have described the ban as ‘woke’, but he stands by his decision.

‘You only need one person to be smoking a cigarette and their smoke is wafting over several other people, which makes it slightly less pleasant than it would otherwise be,’ he said.

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