London Pub Tour 3 - Westminster: Constitution, Prince of Wales, Queens Arms & Jugged Hare

I opted to visit some pubs in Victoria that I've been to quite a few times before before but have neglected for a while. The first stop was at the Constitution (SW1V 2LP), which has only recently re-opened after a refurbishment. On the outside the picnic benches had been replace with wooden tables but all looked the same. When walking inside I could immediately see the changes that had taken place although the pub still felt very much the same. The carpet has been pulled up and wood flooring is now throughout, along with wood panelling on the walls. New tables and chairs though very much similar dark colours as before. There was a new tall central communal table, which wasn't plain and was actually very beautiful. I'm unable to recollect whether the ship models have been removed from the top of the walls. The major change was the beers on tap and food menu change. The pub is now under new owners and they have given it a slight bump up market but not too massively.

This pub used to be the only place I knew of in the area that served Worthington Smoothflow though this has been removed. The regulars are still here and I assume haven't been priced out, and they continue to sell some mainstream lagers such as Fosters and Carlsberg, though have added some craft or premium lagers into the mix which didn't exist before. They still had three ale pumps though these were dispensing Doom, Speckled and Greene King IPA. I opted for a bottle of the Orchard Pig, Truffler at £4.70 for the 500ml bottle. It was a run of the mill cider for me, nothing to turn me off but nothing stand out to make me choose this over other brands.

I next headed towards the station to the Prince of Wales (SW1V 1DW). This is a small corner pub with a few benches outside on a busy restaurant street. The pub was very busy and all seats were taken, though to be fair the pub can only probably seat 30 people. I managed to find a space, which so happened to be in the corner near the entrance door, right next to the bar. This pub always has a nice selection of ales to choose from (6 taps) and on this occasion they had Doombar, Pride, Landlord, ESB, Poppy and Over The Bar. Now I'm always tempted by an ESB or Landlord but the Over The Bar was from Otter, and I wasn't going to pass up this as I like their beers and hadn't had this one before. The pint came to £4.40 and it didn't disappoint, and went down a treat.

The pub became busier still, though not sure how, and although I would have liked to try another, I departed and made my way round the corner to the Queens Arms (SW1V 1QT). The Queens Arms is a grand corner pub, that is in perfect condition and good to look at. Now the Queens Arms is not a pub I would generally go to as it is definitely more geared up to being an eatery than a drinkery though on this visit it was actually quite quiet. Not all the tables were full and the bar had a few people standing and drinking at it. There were 5 hand pumps with only 4 in action serving Under Current, Stiff Upper Lip, Ubu and a Sambrooks. Though I had never had Under Current before I felt more in the mood for a lager and this place serves the premium and mainstream craft ones. Looking through I could see Camden Hells, Camden Pils, Amstel, London Stout and a Mondo Brewery beer. I opted for a pint of Pale Ale by Truman's Brewery at £5.10. I've had a few of the Truman's ales but haven't really considered them great so thought I'd give their lager a try. Sadly I felt this too was lacking in the 'wow' or 'I could have another of those' areas. The crowd in the Queens Arms was very young and upmarket and that isn't quite my style. Though the pub does look good inside and offered a few nice bottles, I wasn't going to hang around after my one.

My final stop was the Jugged Hare (SW1V 1DX) which is a Fuller's Ale & Pie pub, which just means a simpler menu choice. The building is an old bank though doesn't stand out too much. Walking into the pub and it feels a nice size. Then you notice there is further seating out the back and an upstairs balcony seating area. One feature I always love is the very large painting on the wall. It's such a busy painting with so much going on in the scene and you always spot something new. The bar had the usual selection of Fullers ales including Seafarers and their seasonal Fire Cracker. They had the Fullers IPA, Honey Dew and Birra Moretti on tap. I had a look at their bottle fridge and immediately seen what I was going to have. I knew that they sold it here, but I'm never quite sure whether today was going to be the day I opted to purchase it.

I decided to go all out and buy a bottle of the Fullers Imperial Stout Limited Edition for £7 something. The Italian barmaid was very friendly and chatty as she served the customers. I poured the silkly black stout into my brandy-esque glass and savoured the smell, before going in for a glup. It was a beautiful texture and good taste. I honestly can't think of a better beer type than an imperial stout, though the only downfall is always the percentage. I thought the bottle would be somewhere along the lines of the Golden Pride, at 8.4% however I was a bit taken back to see it was 10.7%, but hey whats 2% between friends. I sat back and supped the beer ensuring I didn't rush such a beautiful beer as this.