Four Pubs in Marylebone and Fitzrovia

An excursion to London, where I planned to take in a handful of central Good Beer Guide pubs before making my way out north to visit a micro short-listed for CAMRAs next national pub of the year award.
I made the familiar Oxford Tube journey...although it always seems to have gone up £1. And I always think we must be about there, only to look up from my book and discover we're stuck in a traffic jam at Hangar Lane.  And I always manage to bang my head when negotiating the stairs.
Alighting at Marble Arch, I wandered into the streets of Marylebone, where my first lunchtime destination awaited. 

The Golden Eagle (59 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2NY)
This is a marvelous 19th century corner pub, first licensed in 1842, then rebuilt in 1890.  It has been run by the same family for over 30 years.
And it's a proper classic central London boozer...  No food.  Cordoned-off area for be-suited outdoor vertical drinking.  Piano singalongs three evenings a week.

Cask ales on offer came from Fullers and St Austell, plus the Mauldons 'Pale Ale' from Essex, which was my light, easy-going pick.

I settled on the wall-hugging cushioned bench seating in the corner, next to a couple in Ajax shirts who'd already amassed a hefty collection of shopping bags by midday.
Shame that I wasn't here in the evening for the piano sing-a-longs.  I had to make do with Whitney Houston, Little Mix, and John Lennon's 'Imagine', which seemed a bit out of place amongst the pop.

Here's the carpet for BRAPA...

And the mild smut for me...

A great pub and a tasty first pint of the day.  The Golden Eagle was filling up as I departed, with a few hi-vis jackets and office folk taking pints to the pavement drinking area.
I had an 8-minute stroll to a pub in the mews...

The Jackolope (43 Weymouth Mews, London, W1G 7EQ)
This was built in 1777 and was called the Dover Castle in a previous incarnation, the name still visible in the etched glass of the windows.   For many years it was a Sam Smiths pub, but now it is run by the same company who look after the Euston Tap.

So, plenty of tempting options beer-wise, as you'd expect if you've been to the 'Tap.
Cask from Five Points, Moberley Brew House, Marble and Iron Pier.
The likes of Köstritzer Schwarzbier and Budvar on keg; Stone or 40ft Brewing Co, if you were feeling especially wealthy.

I ordered a superb pint of Iron Pier 'Joined at the Hop', brewed with First Gold and Ekuanot.
And settled on the stools and ledge by the front window, jazz sound-tracking my visit.

The Jackolope features a Thai restaurant in the basement - cue a few folk wandering in and looking lost, before being pointed down the stairs by the barman.

The aromas drifting up from the kitchen smelt delicious, but I was determined to make do with a Tesco meal deal and push-on with the pub excursions.
It wasn't far to the next destination and - wow! - what a building...

Stag's Head (102 New Cavandish Street, London, W1W 6XW)
The pub sits on the ground floor of a grand late-30's Deco building.  The Stag's Head was designed for William Younger & Co of Edinburgh, filling the single rectangular room with wooden panels and pillars.  The effect of which was slightly diminished by the dominant Pimms flags on this occasion.

Two cask ales were on offer, both from Tring:  'Side Pocket for a Toad' or 'Squadron Scramble'.  I took a Squadron Scramble to the perches opposite the bar.  Decent enough beer, but the only one of the the day that veered north of the £6 a pint price point (I'd been pleasantly surprised that the previous two pubs were no more expensive than Oxford).

There was a good retro soundtrack of Toto, Frankie goes to Hollywood, and Joe Jackson, in a pub that seemed to attract a crowd of proper punters, despite the hefty bar tariffs.

My departure coincided with an unexpected downpour of rain.
Being as I'm made of sugar and will melt in the rain, I veered into the Sam Smith's pub around the corner for some shelter.

Horse and Groom (128 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 6PS)
This is a pub that dates back to the late 18th century, with an impressive curved front window, recessed doorways either side, and murals of said horse and groom on the first floor frontage.
Located close to the BBC, it is said to have been a haunt of media types waiting to meet editors and producers, or rehearse before broadcasts.  There are also some scandalous tales of all-night 'board meetings' hosted here by a one-time owner of Sports Direct, featuring much boozy behavior and vomiting into the fireplace.

No such excitement on my visit.

Long gone are the days when Sam Smith's provided a bargain option in London.  £3 for a half of the keg Old Brewery Bitter here.  And I can't say I enjoyed it very much.

That's  not to say I didn't appreciate the impressive surroundings of the Horse and Groom, which was well worth making a short stop in.  

The rain had stopped, so it was time to move on. 
More from London in the next post where there will be Spoons, traditional boozers, a micro, and an iguana in the toilet.
But, sadly, no Bass...

I followed the pointing finger and peered into the saloon bar, but Bass there was none.

Christmas Beers in The Coronet

A second day in London, during which I wanted to tick off a Heritage pub, return to a Wetherspoon cinema conversion which is now under threat, and see whether it's possible to get on & off the Oxford tube bus without banging my head.

The switch from the grey skies and rain of the previous day to glorious winter sunshine had brought out the Christmas shoppers en-mass.  A full bus and hefty traffic meant it was already lunchtime by the time I alighted at Marble Arch.
For a change, I wasn't the first person in the pub...

Barley Mow (8 Dorset Street, Marylebone, W1U 6QW - web)
The early customers had settled themselves straight into the unusual wooden drinking compartments to the left side of the bar which make this Heritage Pub so unique.
The barman was busy with an order for six pints of Guinness - blimey, it takes a long time to pour Guinness, doesn't it?!
I waited my turn to order Tring's seasonal 'Tringle Bells' 4% ale, a dark fruity bitter on top form.

A wood panelled passageway runs alongside the boxed drinking areas to a small snug at the rear.  Heading back to the front room I grabbed a comfy spot on the bench seating, admiring this lovely traditional pub as it began to fill up with a varied lunchtime crowd.

  

Right, where to next?
How about ticking off the two Good Beer Guide pubs that I'd never visited by Euston Station?
I spent over eight years living a few minutes walk from Euston, so it's been nagging me that I've never set foot in either the Exmouth Arms or Royal George.  Back in the day I used to make my way straight to the Head of Steam (taken over by Fullers and renamed the Doric Arch) or the Bree Louise (flattened due to being inconveniently in the way of HS2).

The Exmouth Arms narrowly escaped that fate, with the building site fencing and hi-vis workmen now their next door neighbours.

Exmouth Arms (1 Starcross Street, Euston, NW1 2HR - web)
This turned out to be part of the Pub Love chain ('Beer, Burgers and Beds') which operate with backpacker hostels above the bar.  That'll explain why I had to wait to be served whilst folks stored their luggage and asked lots of touristic questions.
I ordered a very average pint of Twickenham 'Session IPA' which the staff presented to me with a head taking up about a third of the glass.
"Is that alright?", they asked, somewhat sceptically.
Normally I stupidly say 'yes' to everything and complain about it later, but even I had to raise an eyebrow at this 'pint', a promise being made to come back and top it up in a moment.

The Exmouth Arms wasn't my cup of tea, but it was doing a decent trade - the customers tucking into their burgers seemed happy, so fair play to 'em.
Next!

The Royal George pub is designed to resemble the rear of  Navy flagship the HMS Royal George, after which it's named.

Royal George (8-14 Eversholt Street,NW1 1DG - web)
Taking a short-cut through the station to Eversholt Street, I just stopped for a swift Portobello 'Chestnut Pale' ale in this imposing 1930's pub.
Replacing an earlier public house, it was built by A.E Sewell for Truman, Hanbury & Buxton brewery.
This is somewhere that predictably attracts a transient crowd, with plenty of suitcases being wheeled in through the door and punters puzzled by pubs trying to form a queue at the bar.

Next on the agenda was a trip on the underground to Holloway Road.
The Coronet, a wonderful Wetherspoon cinema conversion, is on the list of the 39 pubs that the chain has put up for sale at the end of 2022, tempting me to revisit whilst I still can.

The Coronet (338-346 Holloway Road, N7 6NJ - web)
Originally opened by Associated British Cinemas as the Savoy in 1940, this became the Coronet when it was leased to an independent company in 1979.  A double-bill of Harrison Ford in Blade Runner and William Hurt in Body Heat provided the final chance for movie-goers to munch popcorn in the auditorium in June 1983.  The front section became an amusement arcade, the rear a snooker hall, the old balcony hidden above a false ceiling a gathering place for Holloway's pigeons.
Sitting vacant from 1987 onward, it was eventually converted into a pub by JD Wetherpsoon, opening in March 1996.

Entering through the front doors there are staircases either side to the now inaccessible balcony, whilst several steps take you down to the bar and rows of tables.
The layout is more interesting to the rear, where an old cinema projector is on display.

Whilst I wouldn't call it busy, there was a good crowd spread throughout the Coronet on a Tuesday afternoon and it's hard to imagine this isn't a successful pub.  Especially considering the bonus crowds each time Arsenal are at home.  I guess it doesn't come cheap to run and maintain a building such as this, but it'll be such a shame to see it disappear as a Spoons.
Where will the Mexican-themed parties go for wallet-friendly burgers and Brooklyn lager?

Back along Holloway Road to Highbury and Islington station, I made my way to the Brewhouse and Kitchen - in another intriguing building which was originally a tram shed.

Brewhouse & Kitchen (2a Corsica Street, N5 1JJ - web)
I'd only ever previously been to the London Brewhouse & Kitchen at Angel, which is currently closed for a refurbishment.  The Highbury Corner branch was the chain's second in the capital, opening in June 2015.

Under the canopies housing outdoor seating is the entrance to the ground floor bar which stretches a fair way back to the brewing kit at the far end and a function room upstairs.
I enjoyed a decent half of whisky stout ("that's what everyone's picking at the moment", the barman told me, which you don't hear very often when ordering a cask ale). 

 

Leaving Highbury I traveled back on the underground towards the centre, making the admittedly foolhardy decision to get off at Oxford Circus late afternoon amidst Christmas shoppers.
But at least that meant I got to the see the impressive display of lights along Carnaby Street.

I'd decided to call into one last pub in Soho prior to catching the bus home.
I'm never entirely sure where I have and haven't visited over the years in central London, but I came to the conclusion that the Lyric - at the southern edge of Soho by Shaftsbury Avenue - was a new tick for me...

The Lyric (37 Great Windmill Street, Soho, W1D 7LT - web)
The pub in it's current incarnation was built at the start of the 20th century, the most striking feature being the lovely curved frontage with etched glass, leading to a recessed entrance.
The blackboard advertises a fearsome amount of beers, although the majority of handpumps were not in use on my visit - more like 3 than 13...

I picked the most unusual and least local of the cask ales on offer - a wonderful porter from Vale of Glamorgan Brewery - a fine choice to complete the day.
The Lyric was busy: standing room only. I just managed to get a place by the door with a ledge to place my pint and prop my elbow.  

Great to see a busy pub - more of this kind of thing please!

As this was the festive season, I'll end the post with a collection of Christmas ale pump clips of the beers I'd picked over these couple of days in London.
Crikey, maybe I'm not quite as grumpy about Christmas as I thought I was.