The General

London pubs

There he lies, as delightful as a prince. His name is The General, and he lives up to his name. The General is a cat who cares for nothing and no one. He lies in the middle of the floor in front of the bar. The rest of the world just has to take notice.

The General is unimpressed when we enter the Seven Stars, a magnificent pub in the heart of London. When we explain, as politely as possible, that we need the spot (where he’s recovering from his midday meal) for a chair for our newly ordered lunch, The General haughtily turns his back and darts upstairs, possibly to see if he can snag a mouse. Failing that, he returns a short time later and collapses a short distance from his original spot. He doesn’t even deign to look at us.

The pub’s current name is The Seven Stars Inn. When it first opened, sometime in the mid-seventeenth century, it was called “The League of the Seven Stars.” This was a reference to the Seven Provinces, as the Netherlands was then known. It was a clever way to offer a warm welcome to the countless Dutch sailors who came to London as a result of the flourishing maritime trade between the two countries.

The reference to the League was dropped during the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the second half of the seventeenth century. But the old ties were never fully severed. For example, “pickled herring” appears on the menu of what is now called a “gastronomic pub.” I’ve never seen this variation on Hollandse Nieuwe offered in London before.

Meanwhile, the General has started moving again. He’s spotted a pigeon just outside the pub and thinks he can outwit it. He positions himself near the pub entrance and watches the pigeon’s every move with the utmost interest. Then the pigeon flies away. The General returns with dignity to his position near the fire.

Everything about this pub is perfect. The food is delicious, the house wine is very acceptable, and the beers are from Southwold, the town where George Orwell’s parents settled after their adventures in the Commonwealth. But the most outstanding feature remains The General, who rejects all attempts to pet and charm him with a haughtiness that other cats could just hope to match.

The General has a reputation to uphold. He has been a resident of The Seven Stars since 2021. Evidently he was preceded by Tom Paine, Ray Brown, Peabody, and Clement Attlee. We’re told that each cat was as haughty as the next. The General clearly follows their good example.