For reasonably priced beer in that area, walk up Kingsway to the Shakespeare's Head, which is an 'acceptable' (rather than 'exceptional') J D Wetherspoon's pub.
Or come and join me in my usual haunt around there, the Lyceum Tavern (354 The Strand, opposite Maplin and Tesco, near Aldwych and Waterloo Bridge)
http://londoniscool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tavern-6.jpg
It's a Sam Smith's pub, where they only sell there own beers, wines and spirits. There's no Guinness, no Carlsberg, no Stella, no Jack Daniels, etc, etc. If Sam Smith's don't brew it or bottle it they don't sell it! (That doesn't mean that there's a lack of variety though; I particularly recommend their draught wheat beer). Their prices are thus MUCH lower than pubs which have to deal with 'middlemen'.
If you're at the other end of The Strand, try the Chandos (29 St Martin's Lane), just off Trafalgar Square, which is also a Sam Smith's pub:
http://londoniscool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/the-chandos-2.jpg
I could also recommend the superb Betjeman Arms at St Pancras Station but I suspect that you might object to paying £5.50 per pint for bitter there ;-)