For we Swifties, these have been a truly enthralling few days/weeks. We already knew that London would be the backdrop to the heart-wrenching album The Tortured Poets Department, but we had no idea that the iconic singer-songwriter would be name-dropping local scenes of love-drenched crimes while she was at it.
Taylor is the gift that keeps on giving for we Londoners, and now, we have another place we can actually visit while pretending we’re in some melancholic music video (we still love you, too, Kentish Delight).
Marking the beginning of the second half of the double album, The Black Dog is one of many tearjerkers on the album. While she doesn’t explicitly sing about visiting herself, it does provide the backdrop to an emotional situation that she describes with an ex-lover – watching them from afar in the pub, pining for the love they once had.
In the song she sings:
“I am someone who, until recent events
You shared your secrets with
And your location
You forgot to turn it off
And so I watch as you walk
Into some bar called The Black Dog
And pierce new holes in my heart
You forgot to turn it off
And it hits me”
Naturally, the track has sent fans into a desperate frenzy to find where this pub could be – and as suspected, it’s right here in London.
The real-life Taylor Swift pub
Located in Vauxhall, the London hotspot is a renowned pub and restaurant – with classic upmarket interiors, a Spanish-influenced menu and a quintessentially London pub exterior. It’s the kind of spot where locals gather outside to smoke and chat after a hard day at work. AKA, the kind of place you’d envision both Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy would frequent when off-duty.
While it’s unclear which of Taylor’s British exes the song is about, The Black Dog in Vauxhall is pretty confident that they’re the venue in question. They’ve even gone so far as checking CCTV to see if they can decode the song. Oh, how we love our fellow Swifties. At least we know where the tortured poets hang out now, eh?
The pub is dog-friendly and well-known for its Sunday roasts (which we reviewed here – maybe TS has been reading Secret London). Other menu highlights include the Black Dog cheeseburger, miso spatchcock chicken, and an array of Spanish-influenced tapas dishes. Whether you visit for the Taylor Swift link or not, this is definitely a London pub worth visiting.
Oh, and The Black Dog is our top pick from the Tortured Poets album, too, so get listening if you haven’t already. XOXO, Secret London’s in-house Swiftie.
📍 The Black Dog can be found at 112 Vauxhall Walk, London, SE11 5ER, and is open daily from 12 noon. The nearest station is Vauxhall.