The Argyll Arms

Being a true gent I took my girlfriend out for a drink and dinner the other week up in central London.  I did manage to chose the location so of course there was no question that we would be going to a pub on my list.  We went over to the Argyll Arms as she had been shopping on Oxford St.  Located in one of the busiest parts of London just near Oxford Circus the Argyll Arms is certainly not going to suffer from a lack of passing trade.  Finding the pub easily it was obvious that it was popular with a wide range of after work drinkers.  Everyone from, city boys, scaffolders and tourists were outside having a pint after work.  Entering the pub it was clear it was a Nicholsons pub.  I’ve been to enough now this year to be able to spot the pub styles very quickly.  The dark wooden panels and bar with dark wooden floorboards and etched glass reminded me of several of the pubs I’d been to already.  The dark wooden interior with some dividers around the bar reminded me of the Windsor Castle and the etched glass reminded me of the Sailsbury.  Neither features were as striking at the two pubs mentioned but they are well set out and provide a good historic looking interior.  I’m not sure how much is original or not.  The back of the pub was carpeted and did suffer from the stale beer smell that gets trapped in the windowless rooms at the back of pubs.  The bar man was pretty useless, a bored South African who was clearly tired of working in a pub serving tourists who didn’t speak English.  

We managed to get ourselves a drink after some eager non English speaking tourists worked out what they wanted.  I had a pint of the Atlantic IPA by Sharps which also had quite a sharp taste.  The range of beers is not too bad, fairly decent for a central London pub.  Nothing overly special about the beer though.  

When I had mentioned to my mate woody that I was going to the Argyll he gave a shake of his head to indicate he didn’t think much of it.  I found it a fairly middle of the range pub compared with the pubs visited so far on my list.  This is not by any means a write off as I think I’m usually fairly critical so to get middle of the range from this list means it would be bloody good compared to most but not outstanding overall.  The best thing about the pub is that it has managed to maintain its character in such a busy area surrounded by other standard pubs and ubiquitous coffee chains.

I’d recommend this pub if you are up in that part of London but don’t go too far out of your way for a pint there.

West End Drinking

Hopped on the train from South East London was an uneventful journey with the usual mix of weekend shoppers and people speaking loudly about their personal lives on their phones.  I happened to be sitting next to a man dressed like a spy!  

Definitely a spy!

I wandered out of Charring Cross and into the Princess of Wales the usual meeting place.  As always they were supplying a good selection I had a very nice pint of Gunpowder Mild from the Coach House Brewing Company.  It was in my opinion one on the best milds I’d had for a while.  It was such a nice refreshing easy to drink pint with the right amount of flavour and hoppy notes.  I bought the Stoat a pint of White Horse Village Idiot just so I could say when he arrived that I got him a pint that reminded me of him.  

 

We headed up into the heart of Covent Garden, tourist central for London.  Making our way through the crowds we finally reached the Lamb and Flag.    

Lamb and Flag

We arrived at about 3pm and it was already filling up.  There is a decent selection on tap with Dark Star, Adnams and Youngs all being represented.  We both went for the Dark Star Best.  Being in the centre of Covent Garden I cannot imagine there is a quiet time at this pub so if you come be prepared to have to stand up.  We managed to get some bar stools near the entrance and chatted to lots of people who were coming in on some form of pub based history quiz competition.  We were sitting right by the notice which gives the history of the pub.  It’s certainly been around for a long time and it shows with some interesting pub design elements.  It’s always fascinating to visit pubs that have such an interesting history and famous visitors such as Dickens.   We did have a look upstairs where they have some food which looked to be a mini carvery.  It didn’t smell great, bit like that horrible sprouts smell you get in a Toby Carvery.  But we didn’t try it so won’t comment on it more than to say you can get some food there but remember you are in Covent Garden where there are numerous other restaurants.  Talking of other smells I broke a rule of mine and had a look at some other reviews before writing mine and I noticed they often mentioned a wiff about the place like toilets!  I did notice this and it’s not the first time I’ve noticed it in a pub in London, one of the worst I’d been in for that was the Market Porter in Borough Market.  However I did like the Lamb and Flag but I wasn’t blown away by any means.  I would see it as a decent place for a pint in Covent Garden but not somewhere I’d make a special effort to go to.  It does have the history but it’s not really backed up with any other outstanding features like a wide beer selection, interesting decor or good food.  They probably don’t need to make too much effort to keep going as they get enough foot traffic from passers by who drop in for a beer.  

Bar at the Lamb - it's not that small that lady is just really tall!!

Next pub on the list for today was The Salisbury.  This is a pub that I have been visiting for years.  I have always loved visiting this pub and I had my first pint of Doom Bar here.  From the first moment you enter you realise there is something special about the place by the amazing etched glass all around the pub.  It is the classic ‘gin palace’ style pub.  The Salisbury always has a busy bustling atmosphere due to its theatre district location.  The staff have always been top notch when I’ve been there and service is usually swift even if the bar is busy.  They have a similar range of beer to the Lamb with Sharps Doom Bar, Youngs and St Austell Tribute.  I hope the Doom Bar will always be as good as the first time I visited now that it has been bought out by the beer giant Molson Coors!  We met a few more mates in there and most of us went for the Doom Bar with the exception of Hoody who I’ve not managed to convince to drink ale yet and don’t hold out much hope of ever doing so.   I’m not sure what it is about The Salisbury but it always has that cozy relaxed pub feel to it.  It is a pub that is bursting with character and charm, with good beers and good service it has to be a top contender for best pub in the west end.  

The Salisbury

Some randoms and the etched glass

Overall a good day out at two good west end pubs.  After some consideration (about 6 pints worth) I’d always visit The Salisbury over the Lamb and Flag even though they have a similar beer range and beer snacks The Salisbury has that extra edge that makes a great pub.