Belgravia Pub CrawlPosted on 2008/10/04 09:45:45 (October 2008). [Tuesday 30th September]
Given that my office is on the edge of Belgravia, I had often had the suspicion there must probably be a few nice pubs dotted around in that area, but somehow had never really got around to going exploring for them.
So this evening I decided on a whim to do just that, and was pleased to discover a few people from my office were willing to join me in this venture.
So off we headed, on a carefully planned route that was effectively circuitous around Belgrave Square:
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Horse and Groom. Really attractive from the outside, a charming frontage tucked away down a cobbled mews (as in fact pretty much all of tonight's pubs were). Inside however I was surprised (and a tiny bit disappointed I must admit) to find quite modern decor, including a TV in the corner. They had Asahi on tap, which always provides me with mental turmoil in old pubs like this - on the one hand I love Japanese beer, on the other hand though I suppose it does somewhat detract from the traditional atmosphere. Oh well, not a bad start. They
The Grenadier. Another charming little pub tucked away down a mews. Reviews I'd read on the web had me anticipating this place was going to be a bit snobbish, full of retired old colonels - nothing wrong with that per se of course - but of the variety who didn't take kindly to the constant streams of tourists visiting their local. I didn't actually find any of that in practice though, and the woman behind the bar was really quite friendly. She even smiled a bit. It was obviously a popular little pub, and despite the entire interior being the size of a lounge you might find in a relatively modest house, they managed to pack in a lot of people. Somehow we actually got a table which was rather nice. Probably my second favourite pub of the evening.
The Nag's Head. Surprise hit of the evening. I'd actually heard of the previous two pubs previously and had wanted to visit them for some time, whereas this one was only really added to the tour to help complete the route. However, the general consensus seemed to be that this was everyone's favourite pub of the four we visited. Yet again, it was tucked away down a mews, perhaps the frontage was a little less decorative than the previous two, but inside it was delightfully eccentric. The sort of pub that has all sorts of random oddities stuck to the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and so on. The staff were very nice too - very welcoming indeed. I think we arrived at this pub at just the right time, probably around 9 or 9:30, by which point the bustle of the after work crowds had thinned down a bit, and there was still a gentle hum, but it wasn't too crowded and we were able to find a table with relative ease. I love pubs when they're like this.
The Star Tavern. The final pub of the evening and yes, you guessed it, tucked away down a mews. Again, an attractive frontage with hanging baskets and everything, although this was definitely the largest of the evening's pubs and so it achieved a somewhat different effect. Inside it was again quite distinct from the first three pubs, which could all be characterised to some extent with words like cosy, charming, characterful or perhaps quaint or - dare I say - twee - meant in the kindest possible sense of course. This however was more of your clean, relatively uncluttered Victorian brewery ran pub (it was a Fuller's). Perhaps almost verging on the grand side (it had quite a high ceiling I recall). That is not to say it was unattractive, but having been rather spoiled with the bucketloads of character to be found in the previous three establishments, I found this one harder to warm to. Still, a perfectly nice enough pub in it's own right, and not a bad end to the evening.
I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's little expedition, have discovered some cracking little pubs not too far from the office, and it was also great to have a decent attendance from people at the office without any real advance planning or anything.
Comment 1
last week our group held a similar discussion about this topic and you illustrate something we have not covered yet, appreciate that.
- Kris
Posted by kfz versicherung vergleich at 2010/10/20 04:09:17.
Comment 2
Errr, you're welcome.
Posted by John at 2011/06/26 15:58:30.
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