Utobeer Borough Market

Utobeer Borough MarketUtobeer Borough Market
Utobeer Borough MarketUtobeer Borough Market
Store

8 Southwark Street
London, England, SE1 1TL
United Kingdom

+44 20 7378 6617 | map
utobeer.co.uk

Located at Unit 24, Middle Row.
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.17
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
46
pDev:
8.63%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by paulish:
Photo of paulish
Rated by paulish from New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5

Oct 05, 2021
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.01 by REVZEB from Illinois

Sep 15, 2022
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Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

4.13/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
Very good selection of Belgian, German and English (and a few American) quality beers (at least very good for a Norwegian who was not used to a decent selection!). Westvleteren was not available when I was there. Wines and preserves are available too. Borough Market is surrounded by many fine pubs (not all of them family friendly) and lies within easy walking distance of many tourist attractions. The market also has many stalls with fresh food, and some with the usual bric-a-brac.
Feb 23, 2020
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.99/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.75
Borough Market is tourist Hell.
Although UtoBeer has been there for over a decade, so it must work for them.
Despite my Google and Maps inquiries, it took me 20 minutes to find Utobeer's stall. (My WAG theory is that Borough Market has no maps of their stalls because they expect tourists to wander so long that they buy more than they need.) At any rate, I told UtoBeer they should complain to management and they shrugged.

Despite my pissy mood, I still give UtoBeer good marks for Vibe. The chaos of old markets are cool, just not good for a disciplined hunter. They had an OK selection relative to craft shops in the States, but actually disappointing because I was expecting a bunch from the continent and saw mostly what I can get in the States. Staff were very helpful (and even tried to calm me down... to no avail.) I will go back there again; but not on a Friday afternoon.

I'm starting not to like the bottle and brewing laws in London. I think they discourage competition; but that is an impression after only two weeks of hunting. Why are they discouraging beer ? It's no sin !
Jun 01, 2019
Photo of TargaFlorio
Reviewed by TargaFlorio from Indiana

3.78/5  rDev -9.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75
Small beer stall at Borough Market, the great food market near The Shard and London Bridge. Borough Market is definitely worth a visit on a walk along the South Bank of the Thames and if you're there you might as well check out Utobeer. I honestly didn't see many beers that you couldn't find at a decent craft beer shop in the states. Perhaps I'm judging the selection unfairly, I just didn't visit many other shops in London for another point of reference. Visiting Borough Market on a Saturday morning and then walking down the Bermondsey Beer Mile with stops at places like Brew By Numbers is a great way to spend a few hours in London.
Apr 02, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by epyon396 from Pennsylvania

Feb 04, 2018
Photo of Funkwich
Rated by Funkwich from Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -21.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3
Small stall at the market. Nothing there of interest when I stopped by
Dec 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.88 by parpalapelix from Romania

May 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.57 by Raime from Korea (North)

Sep 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4.16 by SFCraft from California

Jul 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.92 by Georgiabeer from Georgia

Jun 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.9 by johnyb from Florida

Jun 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.93 by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey

May 11, 2015
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Reviewed by captaincoffee from Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75
About 15 feet by 8 feet, this is a stall in Boroughs market and not a full size store. For what it is, the selection is good and varied, although I didn't find any Cantillon or 3F that I was looking for. Worth peeking into if you are at the market, but not worth making a trip to visit on its own.
If it was a full size store and could scale up, it would be great.
Apr 16, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by rale from France

Dec 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by windypete from England

Oct 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Sam-VW from England

Oct 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by Stillyman11 from California

Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Highbury09 from North Carolina

Aug 22, 2014
Photo of drtth
Reviewed by drtth from Pennsylvania

4.19/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25
Reviewed from notes taken during a recent visit to London. Was staying nearby and after dinner my friends and I were wandering about the market space when we discovered this place, an excellent shop.

The vibe is basically food market modern but the selection and variety are outstanding.

Service was just fine and the prices seemed reasonable for London.
Jul 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by westlaunboy from Washington

Jul 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by joelambic from Illinois

Jun 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by BJSmit from Netherlands

Jan 28, 2014
Photo of flyingpig
Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland

4.09/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4.5
A greate wee stall with plenty of selection, particularly from the US and Belgian but I found that a lot of the beers were from larger breweries as opposed to harder to find offerings. For example there was about 6 different version of Leffe in the Belgian section and the US section had a lot form Anchor as well as a limited edition Blue Moon. Still some very good beers available from the likes of Meantime, Nogne and Brooklyn as well as a bottle of Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic that I hadn't seen in the UK before. I will go back the next time I'm in London though. Well worth a visit. 10p extra for a bag was a bit annoying though given the nature of the purchase.
Apr 24, 2013
Photo of adamant1912
Reviewed by adamant1912 from Michigan

4.58/5  rDev +9.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Stumbled upon UTO when bustling through Borough Market yesterday. Needless to say I was really impressed with the selection and couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere. Prices were pretty fair, as I picked up a couple Cantillon and a 3 Fonteinen for about 16 pound and was surprised they even had a few American rarities such as BCBS sitting around. The staff was also quite helpful and knowledgable. A must see if you're looking to grab some bottles while in London.
Mar 24, 2013
Photo of jgasparine
Reviewed by jgasparine from Maryland

4.56/5  rDev +9.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Atmosphere-
Located in the center of Borough Market, you can't go wrong with the atmosphere-- you're surrounded by amazing purveyors of produce, meats, cheeses, seafood and more. The Utobeer bottle shop is a gem stuck in the mix of it all, with the best world beer selection I have come across in London.

Quality- For what it is, this store packs a ton of quality into a very small space. Their shelves are stocked with great beers from around the world, and no shelf space is sacrificed for macro brews.

Service- The employees were very helpful there, willing to dispense loads of information on their products. They were prompt and friendly.

Selection- The selection of beer was fantastic-- loads of beer from England, Germany, Belgium, USA, and a few singles from other countries as well (I picked up a dopplebock from ICELAND no less). Fantastic selection in a small space- similar to the Spuyten Duyvil Market in Brooklyn.
Jan 10, 2012
Photo of thepeter
Reviewed by thepeter from England

3.85/5  rDev -7.7%
This is one of the best places to buy craft beer here in London. the selection is not what it used to be a couple of years ago but it still is very good and one of the few places that gets in most of the newer releases that are available. Service is pretty good, staff are friendly and most of them are knowledgable. They have a nice varied selection of British, Belgian, German and US beers. THe fact that it is only open when the Market is open makes it a bit unfortunate but if you go on a Thursday they will have new stock in and it will not be very crowded. Prices are not great but when in central London, you can't expect any less.
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of belias
Reviewed by belias from Trinidad & Tobago

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
By far the best beer retailer in London. Runs every week in Borough Market (which itself is fantastic and worth a visit for anyone who enjoys consuming anything) UTOBEER has a very wide selection of US, Canadian, Belgian, German...pretty much everything. Most of which I never saw in other retailers, or even specialty beer bars.

Most were reasonably priced. There were a few ("rare" US ales like Double Bastard/120min IPA) which were upwards of £6 a bottle, but I'm not sure how much these will cost in the states so I couldn't say whether they were particularly expensive.

Also worth checking out is "The Rake" which is a pub run by the same people, and just a short walk away from the market. It's very small (key word being very) but is surely the best pub in the area when it comes to what's on offer.
Oct 05, 2010
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
Open stall opposite Roast-To-Go in Borough Market. (Or straight down the aisle on the right coming out of the Market Porter!)

The best selection of American beer I've heard of in London, including Stone, Rogue, Victory, Caldera, Steamworks, Schmaltz, and Dogfish Head.
I got Coronado Idiot IPA and Odell's Cutthroat Porter, neither of which are available in NY.
Also has Mikkeller, Nøgne Ø, Ellezelloise, a bunch of German and a good range of English, though not definitive on that last one.

Attractive wooden shelves, staff are amiable without being overbearing, not cheap but that's because they know what they have.

Definitely worth a visit, especially for an American craft fix.
Oct 27, 2009
Photo of corby112
Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%
Stopped by here with my wife on a recent trip to London. This is a stand located in the Southwark Market. They have a very large selection of bottles from different parts of the world but nothing too rare. A lot of these beers aren't available in the States which is a big plus but a I had a list if rare beers from the UK that I wanted to try and they didn't have any of them. Very nice selection of Belgians and Germans but lacking in beers from the States. Not that I was looking for them but it kind of hurts the selection score. The gentleman working the shop was knowledgeable and helpful and overall provided good service. This was the only bottle shop I went to in the county so I don't have a basis to compare but I was pretty impressed with this place.
Oct 13, 2009
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Reviewed by DerBayer from Germany

3.7/5  rDev -11.3%
Well this place is not cheap but if you want to buy good beer in London it is literally your only good bet.

They are in the heart of buzzing borough market which is only open thursday to saturday and kinda cool but beware you will have to push your way through.

Selection is brilliant and amazing with anything from Aventinus Eisbock to Zeitgeist Schwazbier from all great beer brewing nations.

I come here once per week on a saturfday as a treat and fill my little rucksack with all those quality beers
Sep 30, 2009
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Reviewed by PartyBear from England

4.15/5  rDev -0.5%
A nice little beer shop, hidden in the heart of Borough Market. The selection of beers is fantastic, and is constantly changing. I get most of my American beer from this shop. It also has a superb selection of Belgium, and British beers.

Only negative is that it can get incredibly busy, especially if you go on a Saturday afternoon, which is when Borough Market is at its peak.

Go to The Rake bar near the market while you are there. This is a small bar ran by Utobeer, which offers a big range of the beers that can be bought at the shop, and many more on tap.
Jul 19, 2009
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

4.05/5  rDev -2.9%
Utobeer has its faults, but in spite of them it is still the best beer store in London. The shelves here are packed with American extreme beers, a very wide variety of UK microbrews ranging from 3% ABV milds to big, thick barleywines, a sizeable and somewhat unusual selection of German and Belgian beers (with perhaps too much emphasis on fruit lambics and not enough on saisons), and a smattering of odd novelties from around the world. They have some weird Mexican beer that comes in a suspicious blue bottle I've been meaning to try. For sheer selection, most beer geeks will not go wanting; where else in London can you find Mikkeler Beer Geek Breakfast, Stone Vertical Epic, Rothaus Hefeweizen, Brigand IPA, and Asahi Black in one place? Nowhere, that's where. This is the only game in town for anything hard to get.

Beers seem to be well-kept here; the beers are a bit exposed, and I have found some very dusty bottles, but even so I've never had a lightstruck or past-its-prime bottle from Utobeer. The two main drawbacks to this place are service and prices; service is knowledgeable but also very surly, and the prices are sky-high, even for London. If you're just shopping for standard English or Belgian ales, it's best to go elsewhere. For example, a standard bottle of Duvel will cost you almost £2 more here than at a well-stocked Sainsbury's.

Of course, the prices don't stop me when it comes to the more obscure ales, because, like I said before, I can't get them anywhere else - and believe me, I've looked. Definitely worth stopping by regularly.
May 13, 2009
Photo of jstassi
Reviewed by jstassi from Louisiana

4/5  rDev -4.1%
Great little booth in the Market, loaded up on crafts from the United Kingdom.

Offered a lot of American Craft beers, witch I can pickup anywhere. My eyes went right for the Deuchars IPA that I was scouring for! Service isn't much, but my theory is that you know what you want when you go there.

From the few places I visited (from advice from this site) This was hands down the best place in London to get a good beer!

Note, The hours are a little strange. Also if you get off the Tube at London Bridge its a very short walk to the market. Once in the Market walk straight down and its on the left. The market also has some really nice restaurants, I went to Black and Blue, very good meal..

If you're in town, definitely take the tube over!
Apr 01, 2009
Photo of tendermorsel
Reviewed by tendermorsel from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
This is a great bottle shop.

Although I didn't get any the American beers selection was shocking. Goose Island, Stone, Terrapin, Firestone Walker, Rouge Hebrew and Flying Dog. Hell there were some American beers I can't get in Mass.

Great German Belgian and British Micro brew selection. I focused my purchases on Belgians. I got a Cantillion 750 for 8.50 £. I also scored a bottle of Oeral (Du Dolle) for a reasonable price.

Very busy because of it's location in Burrow Market.

Highly recommended if you are looking for American beers in London.

Note: Only open 3 days a week. Thursday - Saturday 12:00-5:00. My local friend says that limits his shopping.
Mar 22, 2009
Photo of tm82
Reviewed by tm82 from England

4.85/5  rDev +16.3%
Awesome selection for a store of it's size. The Trappist beers range include: Westmalle, Achel (my first Achel was acquired here), Rochefort,sometimes Chimay.

If you are into German beers then they stock all Erdinger including Noel (variates depending on stock and brewing time), German microbeer and such like. They lack Augustiner however they have rare dunkel which is hard to find here (not as good as Quinns' Pub for the German beer).

The imported American craft beer is pricey (£3+) however they stock a great range of elusive beers. The sixers are displayed proudly however you can buy singles from those.

I also note this is one of the rare places to buy a beer magazine. Beers of the World.

My only real complaint is they are a little slow with requests (Delirium Noel they thought they had but didn't) and have a price guide which would be nice to view on their internet website.

For German beers go in November. There is a much broader selection including very rare Oktoberfest beers which are not seen in more commercial establishments. The American craft beer is the best selection in London I've seen. There are plenty of Belgian microbewery beer which is great. Although some of these are hard to find expect a premium which represents the difficulties in procuring the beer. Plus high London rent.
Jan 18, 2009
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Reviewed by sunshinethewolf from California

4.29/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
I just moved into the Borough/London Bridge neighborhood from San Diego, spotted this place is Borough Market from across the street (they had an Arrogant Bastard sticker on one of the pillars supporting the roof) and went running toward it, having nearly run out of the selection of Stone that I flew over with me.

Although they don't actually carry Stone, they do always have a few things from Anchor, Rogue, and Sierra Nevada, as well as Brew Dog. I've often seen Left Hand as well. Lots of English and Scottish beers, and good number of Belgians and Germans. They almost always have Trappist Rochefort 8, but get there in the morning, it's usually all gone by one or two.

I don't know too much about English beers yet, but the guy usually working makes very solid recommendations. Told him which American Stouts I like and he said to go for a St. Peter's Cream Stout, which is worth checking out. He does sort of ignore most customers though, and there are usually too many people in the stall for the one or two staff working to handle.

Expect to pay 3 pounds for a 12 oz bottle at the very cheapest. It's the only beer store in this end of London though (I think the only other one is the Whole Foods that just opened on High Street Kensington) and Borough Market is an incredible place to check out. Come on Saturday morning for the biggest selection of open stalls, but it's open Thursday through Saturday during the day. Also check out The Rake, right around the corner.
Oct 19, 2008
Photo of Antilochus
Reviewed by Antilochus from Canada (ON)

4.35/5  rDev +4.3%
Utobeer is a stall in the Borough Market - a short walk from London Bridge tube station.

The selection is fantastic for London, and has a wide variety of beers. Large Belgian section, with small but respectable representation from the US and Germany. UK section tends to contain more extreme beers... e.g. SS RIS, JW Lees, etc.

Service is essentially nonexistent. There is a cashier and a guy at the door. Except for some of the larger 750ml rares, there are no prices on the bottles. The store itself gets rather busy during market hours. My main concern is the amount of light on the beers, but I haven't had a problem yet.

Prices are in line with what you would expect with a specialty store in London.

Still, a great store and really one of the last specialty beer stores in the London area.
Jun 29, 2008
Photo of swizzlenuts
Reviewed by swizzlenuts from Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
The stall in the Borough Market called UTObeer is fucking great. It has one of the best selections of US beers in the UK, loads of German and Belgian beers, random selection of lagers and pilsners from across the world. There is so much stuff here that I always take about 20-30 minutes browsing before I make my selections. They even sell the larger bottles of beer, mead (sometimes), and a wide variety of specialty brews.

The service can range from Exceptional to good. If you get an experienced person they can really help you, but a new person is always a little overwhelmed with the amount of beers. They might not be very talkative but they always give you good advice.

It's open when the Borough Market is open, which is a great place on its own. Definitely a great place to grab a few beers!
Mar 21, 2008
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Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

4.65/5  rDev +11.5%
I arrived here armed with a list of beers from Colorado, sent to me by ColoradoBobs. We had been beermailing each other since I joined this site, I blame 'Smoking Bishop'.

I came away with 3 different 'Left Hand' beers, 2 Flying Dogs and 4 Great Divine beers. I would have had a whole lot more if I could have afforded them, but I shouldn't grumble really, they have come a long way.

The whole beer selection is very impressive and they were very helpful, they were also thankful for the list ColoradoBobs sent me. A host of German, Belgian and UK beers, plus the US. You can drink round the world from here if that's your bag.

Well worth visiting if in London.
Dec 09, 2007
Utobeer Borough Market in London, GB2, United Kingdom
Place rating: 4.17 out of 5 with 46 ratings