London Pub Tour 11 - Pimlico: Marquis of Westminster, Grosvenor and King William IV

On this pub tour it was back to the Pimlico area to sweep up some of the pubs I'd yet to visit in my blog. My first stop was the Marquis of Westminster (SW1V 1RY) which is a corner pub on Belgrave Road and Warwick Way. The outside is painted a bright white and has benches available, which are directly facing the sun during the Summer Afternoon. As it was winter everyone was inside drinking.

Photo by Ewan Munro (Flickr)

The pub inside is actually much smaller than it looks. Part of the inside is taken up with a staircase heading upstairs, which was installed as part of a minor refurbishment in circa 2013. Due to the staircase placement the main wall narrows in on the main bar, and creates a small enclosure at the far end, which is a good place for small groups to drink in, otherwise it's wasted and you can become trapped/blocked off from the rest of the pub. The floor inside is all wood boards, and there are about 10 tables. The pub wasn't that busy and the majority of the customers were either tourists from the nearby hotels or suits from a job somewhere nearby. The Christmas music was on and there was plenty of tinsel decorated around the place.

There is a huge blackboard on the wall listing the food menu and wines. On the top of the bar they display pump clips of previous ales they've served. Alongside some of the more regular lagers there are Longhorn IPA, Lowenbrau and Adnams Dry Hop. On the ale front the Marquis always stocks a Taylor Walker, on this day it was Landlord. They also had Killcat Pale, Chelsea Blonde, Ghost Ship and Pure Ubu. I felt like taking it easy today so chose to go with a Kozel. I've had Kozel a few times but this one felt sweeter than normal.

The next pub I was visiting was just over half a mile away, situated on the busy Grosvenor Road which runs alongside the Thames. The pub used to be called the Spread Eagle (before my time), but evidently renamed to The Grosvenor after its location. The pub has a rear parking lot for those driving by in need of some sustenance, and their large blackboard situated outside showing their food offering must be to tempt them in. The outside of the pub is the beer garden with a few benches but is covered with an oasis of plants. The pub is larger than expected inside. When you first walk in there is a sofa seating area just to your right, with the bar ahead and to the left. The bar is a very large horseshoe bar that seems slightly wasted with all the beer taps on the front part only. Behind the sofa area there is a section with tables and chairs, whilst to the left and in the other half of the bar is a pool table area and some more seating.

There were four ales available (Doombar, Landlord, Cornish Coaster and Bombardier) with two pumps at the front with all the rest of the beers, and two pubs hidden down the far right end on their own, which I thought strange. Their lagers included Heineken, Fosters and 1664 but I settled on a pint of Warsteiner for £5.10. I sat in a small nook with a table facing into the pub but with a view also out the front window. The pub on the sofa seating side wasn't too busy, but by the pool table there was a work's Christmas drinks going on. The pub had good lighting throughout, mainly via a type of lantern, which provided a nice atmosphere. There were many large wooden ship models around the pub, along with pictures and old pub signs. I've drunk in the Grosvenor a few times but not regularly due to its location and proximity to transport. I certainly could see myself relaxing in the darker months in this pub but the main issue is that there are pubs that easily meet the same criteria which I would pass on my way here, meaning I have to actively seek out wanting to drink here, along with dragging others out the way as well.

I finished off my Warsteiner and made my way down the road to a hostel. This hostel is in and above a pub named King William IV (SW1V 3LG). I've honestly only been in this pub once before and it wasn't my scene then and 7 years later I still came away with the same conclusion. The pub inside is certainly more geared up to catering to the hostel stayers which I fully understand however, it lacks any true feel of a British pub and just feels more like a bar in a hostel in any country. It is totally possible to have a British pub feel and also be a hostel as this is something that Pub Love have managed at their venues.

The entrance to the pub is on the side and when walking through the bar is directly in front of you. To the right is the front of the pub facing the main road, but with such high windows you can't actually see out. There is some comfortable looking sofa seating running up the wall one side, whilst on the opposite side are some basic wooden tables for dinning. In-between these two areas, set against the wall, is a stage presumably for their open mic nights. The bar is large and wraps around from the front towards the back, where the pub becomes a bit more narrow but still has some seating.

The beer selection on tap was limited to Guinness, Heineken, Strongbow original or Dark Fruits and Fosters. The bottle selection was certainly better offering Affligem, Sharps' Pilsner and a selection of German beers. I bought a bottle of the Sharp's which was £3.50 for 330ml, a decent price. They also sold Tayto crisps which is another positive for me. I asked for a bag of salt and vinegar and the bar/hostel worker looked at me confused and came over with a salt shaker and bottle of vinegar. After both looking at each other weirdly I clarified saying a bag of Tayto's crisps, Salt and Vinegar flavour, which certainly cleared the thought from her mind that I wanted to add salt and vinegar to my beer. (Just had a quick look on Untappd to see if there was such a beer and there was only one result! - a homebrew beer, phew). I drank my pilsner which is nowhere near either my favourite pilsner of Sharp's drink.

After this I called it time, and made my way back to Victoria station. If only the Grosvenor Station hadn't closed over a 100 years ago, as this pub is conveniently located nearby. Thankfully for the lazy me there is bus route 24 that starts right outside and takes me to Victoria, so that'll do nicely.