Pub sampler: The Lion & Rose, Mister Tramps and the Pourhouse

When we started XL (the magazine we call Austin360 now) in 1994, Wednesdays were heaven and hell.

That was the day we went to press. It was also the day at Waterloo Brewing Co. when burgers were half-price and beer was cheap. And not just any beer. Brewpub stuff, made right there in giant kettles. Place always smelled a little like bleach. Bleach and malt, like a beer lab.

Burgers and fries got the job done, but Waterloo had higher aspirations, with rolled and stuffed skirt steak and roasted Cornish game hen.

A friend of mine who cooked there said his boss wanted the delicate, pinkish-brown Cornish hen to be roasted snowy white, like fully cooked chicken breast. 'You could roast it all day long, and it might turn black, but it will never, ever turn white,' my friend said. He got the boss off his back by sneaking in a small chicken, cooked to a fine wedding-dress finish.

Waterloo Brewing is long gone, the building scraped clean to the slab. But beer bars are like mushrooms, deep-fried with a side of ranch. Here are three that have sprung up in the past year.

The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub

This building at the edge of West Lake Hills hasn't been kind to out-of-town concepts. Tia's Tex-Mex from Irving and Houston-born Ruggles Grill couldn't make a go of it. So now it's San Antonio's turn with the Lion & Rose, one of those English insta-pubs with darts, soccer on the telly and Guinness everywhere.

The wood in this place could build a British ship of the line, and the bar has a lived-in look already, pouring 15-plus beers on draft. For West Lake, that's quite a few. For an English pub in Austin, that's not many. They pour a decent 20-ounce glass of Guinness, but it'll run you $6.50. We paid $5.25 each for glasses of Boddington's and Stella Artois, and a sampler of Smithwick's, Old Speckled Hen, Bass, Franziskaner wheat and Guinness was $7.95. The live music is free, but somebody has to pay for all that wood.

That's right, good beer isn't cheap anymore, and the Lion & Rose isn't the most expensive place in town for a pint. But I bring up the beer prices because they contrast with a menu full of solid values. A big plate of spicy chicken curry with vegetables and rice was just $10.99, a nice touch on a pub menu. A long dish of shepherd's pie with rich ground beef smothered in mashed potatoes and gravy for $8.99 was nice, even better with the side dish factored in.

From side options including broiled tomatoes, bubble and squeak (cabbage and mashers) and Guinness mac and cheese, we picked gnarly fried nuggets of mushroom, bar food if ever I saw it but recommended by our waitress, a moonlighting Texas State University student. Score one for the Bobcat. (And score one for Fulham against HSV, because the soccer fan at the next table just exploded.)

Those broiled tomatoes were nice, too, drizzled with oil and Parmesan, and the Guinness mac was lush and resilient. I've now mentioned 'Guinness' half a dozen times. Like I said, everywhere.

Fair warning, too. The British names grafted onto most every dish will wear you down. King Richard's Ribeye ($19.99), named for its regal Black Angus-ness? Piccadilly Pasties ($8.99) for that Harry Potter touch. And my favorite, Abbey Road Ribs ($12.99), because we know how much the Beatles dig barbecue.

Fish and chips ($10.99) did just fine without a side of U.K. kitsch, the batter fluffy and crisp around clean-tasting fish, with well-fried waffle-cut potatoes. Another bar classic, Scotch eggs ($5.99), earned its passport with a crunchy fried shell wrapped around sausage wrapped around boiled eggs, an inspired combination on any mustard-bearing continent.

If you can say 'Chili's' with a Geico gecko accent, you'll be one step closer to understanding the Lion & Rose experience.

- M.S.

The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub

701 S. Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360). 335-5466, www.thelionandrose.com .

Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Prices: Starters $5.79-$9.99. Soups and salads $4.29-$9.29. Burgers and sandwiches $4.99-$10.99. Main courses $8.99-$19.99. Desserts $1.99-$5.99.