The night I was learning sign language at Gordon’s Wine Bar in London I spotted a nearby pub that was yearning to be my first British pint and mushy pea experience.

Luckily, I had just about mastered the London Underground and would fairly easily be able to find my way back to The Princess of Wales Pub the next evening.

The Princess of Wales Pub in Charing Cross is named after the secret first wife of George IV. He wed a Catholic woman which his father declared illegal because he would no longer be able to hold the reign of Prince Regent with a wife of that religion.

Perfect. I adore drinking and dining at places with dramatic history.

The previous night, the bar was crowded, overflowing onto the sidewalk. It was a sea of suits. Tonight, we had arrived well after the 5:30 rush and it was fairly vacant. Not a single person belly up to the bar…yet.

I ordered a pint of the UK Adnams Lighthouse, while Peter apparently forgot what country we were in and ordered an Italian Peroni. At least it came in a really cool glass.

My English amber beer was served at about 55 degrees, a little warmer than I am used to, but typical for the UK. In the States we keep our brews under 41. The mountains on the Coors Light bottles will not turn blue at anything higher.

And here it is.

My first sip of my first pint, in my first pub, on my first trip to London. That’s a lot of firsts. Just how I like it.

After we settled into our booth with our brewskis, it was time to order some traditional pub food (aka: fish & chips, beef pie and mushy peas).

Though I was eyeing the Shepherd’s Pie, the waiter recommended the Beef Rib Pie instead. But, neither came with any mushy peas, so the Fish and Chips was a must too.

I had imagined mushy peas to be similar to a pasty split pea soup. And this wasn’t too far off.

I love eating green peas, sometimes dinner is a huge bowl of sauted shallots, crimini mushrooms and peas. It makes for the perfect meal. But, I do not love these mushy peas.

How could that be? There was just a little something about the texture, and maybe alittle something about the taste, that does not translate into goodness for me.

Are you a mushy pea fan? Have you had pints at a London pub?