New pub opening, The Lion and The Unicorn

Wetherspoon is to open its new pub in London, on Tuesday, 3 September, 2024 with the creation of 70 new jobs. The new pub will be called The Lion & the Unicorn.

The company has spent £2.8 million developing the pub, in ‘The Sidings’, within the former Eurostar terminus, at London Waterloo Station.

London Waterloo Station, Britain’s third busiest railway station which originally opened in 1848, is located on the South Bank.

The Royal Festival Hall is the only building remaining from The Festival of Britain, held from May to September 1951, on the South Bank. The 27-acre Festival of Britain site extended along the riverfront from Westminster Bridge (past Hungerford Bridge) to Waterloo Bridge.

In 1951, more than eight million visitors paid to see to the ultra-modern Dome of Discovery (then the world’s largest dome), the 300 feet high Skylon tower and The Lion and The Unicorn Pavilion, from where the new pub takes its name.

The Lion & the Unicorn pub will be open from 7.30am until 12 midnight Monday to Thursday, from 7.30am until 1am on Friday and Saturday and from 7.30am until 12 midnight on Sunday.

Food will be served throughout the day, from opening until 11pm every day.

The new pub will specialise in real ales and traditional ciders, as well as craft and world beers, serving a wide range of different draught ales, as well as bottled beers, including those from local and regional brewers.

It will be open for family dining, with children, accompanied by an adult, welcome in the pub up until 9pm, throughout the week.

The pub will be wheelchair accessible and have a specially adapted toilet for people with disabilities.

The new pub interior design is inspired by the historic architecture that once made The Lion and The Unicorn Pavilion a fan favourite at the Festival of Britain, with the message of a new war-free epoch for Britain.

The attitude to light, colour and innovation at the festival (the complete opposite to pre-1951 Britain) have all been adopted in the design, which is considered to be a hybrid of traditionalism and modernity.

Family members of the 1951 pavilion architects and festival graphic designers have also shared original drawings and sketches, which have been incorporated into the new pub design.

Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes and characters of the area, are also displayed in the pub, some following collaborations with local artists, as well as the Southbank Centre, with other connections to the key figures which once brought the 1951 festival to life.

Regional manager Barry Brewster said: “Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into The Lion & the Unicorn and we are confident that the pub will be a great addition to Waterloo’s social scene.”