Spirit's Anchor gets £1.6m makeover

Spirit Group, the managed house division of Punch Taverns, has re-opened one of its one most famous pubs following a £1.6m transformation.

The Grade-II listed Anchor Bankside, on London's South Bank, is back trading following a nine-week refurbishment and will be regarded as the group's flagship site.

The updated site includes a specially-built fish and chip shop, traditional tea room and connecting coffee shop, as part of a bid to attract passing tourist trade.

Spirit has also revamped the pubs riverside patio and roof garden with BBQ area, meaning it now offers 640 covers.

Andrew Knight, managing director of Spirit Group said: "The Anchor, Bankside, is one of our most prestigious and historic pubs and we wanted to do something special with it.

"We have taken some of our most famous British offerings - fish and chips and afternoon tea - and given them a modern twist that will make the Anchor quite unique in the marketplace.

"We wanted to make the most of the Anchor's fantastic location and cater for the varied needs of its customers.

"It will now offer something for everyone throughout the day, from take-away coffee and bacon rolls in the morning, to a traditional fish and chip lunch, a cream tea or a Pimms on the roof garden in the evening.

"It's great to see such a fantastic London pub restored to its former glory."

Originally built in 1775, the Anchor sits on the site of a former brewery and is steeped in history having been used as a tavern, a chapel and a ship's chandlery. Dr Johnson is thought to have written his dictionary in the pub's rooms and the pub has also played host to Tom Cruise, who filmed a scene of Mission Impossible at the site.