London Pub Tour 8 - Victoria: St. George's Tavern, Brass Monkey and Windsor castle

I decided to keep it local for my next pub tour in Dec 2016 and stuck to Victoria. My first stop was St. George's Tavern (SW1V 1QD) which is a Nicholson's pub opposite the passport office. How busy this pub is depends on time of day and how many people are applying for last minute passports before their holiday, so by that measure avoid at lunchtimes during school holiday. I fortunately went in the evening however it was still packed without a seat to call home.

The pub itself is a not so large corner pub. There is a fair bit of seating outside though it is a noisy and quite congested junction at present due to traffic works, plus its winter, so I wouldn't recommend. The pub has a well varnished dark wood floor and typically has low lighting on. There are a few large barrels acting as tables near the front of the pub. The windows opposite the bar are actually doors that fold away during the hot summer spells. Towards the rear are some larger seating areas for big groups, and a dinning area. There is also a downstairs bar that you can book (no charge) if your having a large group coming for a party/celebration/piss up. The bar upstairs is actually quite large though the service area is reduced due to some of the structural pillars which does make queuing, yes queuing, difficult.

As a Nicholson's pub there is a varying array of lagers including Meantime Brewery Fresh which comes from the three large tanks situated to the right of the bar (It's not hard to miss them). I opted to have a pint of the Brewery Fresh as I hadn't tasted it here since it was installed, as I'm normally tempted by their ale range. The Brewery Fresh was okay, but I think I would have preferred a standard meantime tap such as London Lager or Pale Ale instead. I next plumped for an ale, which was my friend the Wild Holly by Thornbridge which I'd had previously at the Trafalgar in pub tour 7.

After the two I opted to move on with hope of finding a seat at my next stop the Brass Monkey (SW1V 1AU). You could easily walk past this place and not notice it is a pub, as it doesn't generally stand out even with its green-ish paint. The pub is not very wide but has a long depth, and right near the rear is where you'll find the bar. There was a selection of three ales (Doom, Swift and Landlord) along with 6 'standard' lagers including the quite familar in these parts Meantime Pale Ale. I opted for a pint of Heineken because, why not. The pump has the now standard frozen ice around the outside to let you know it's cold, just as I would expect all the other beers to be.

The Brass Monkey is usually quite packed with suits who pile in here after work before catching the train home. Surprisingly today it was empty. The raised snug area at the rear just above and behind the bar was empty and that is normally the best seat in the house. I've spent a few too many lunch times chilling in the snug, enjoying a good pint of Landlord. The front area of the pub has hard wearing carpet which stops just before the small bar area where it becomes wood. The tables are the perfect height for dinning and the pub does offer a full menu and snacks. There were some reservations on the tables towards the front meaning there were people due soon, so after the one I moved onwards to my final stop, the Windsor Castle (SW1P 1DN).

This pub re-opened shortly after I moved to Victoria, after an extension refurb and rename from the Cardinal to the Windsor. This is a Samuel Smith's pub and as such the refurb has been done in a Victorian style with the dark wood, lots of glass and the screened/partitioned drinking areas. I've said it previously but I do think Sam Smith's do the best refurbishments. As a Sam Smith's pub in the London the beer selection is as expected, the only ale on tap is of course Old Brewery Bitter with the rest serving the Sam Smith's keg selection which includes Taddy, Double 4, Extra Stout and Wheat Beer. I turned my attention to the pricey but beautiful bottled beers that Sam Smith's offer and settled on one of my favourite, the Chocolate Stout. I pared this bottle of beer with a pack of crisps, what more did you expect. The price was a Sam Smith's eye watering £6.50, though the bottle is 550ml, so with a head fits perfectly into a pint glass. This beer to me is amazing, but it could be as it plays well to my sweet tooth. The chocolate smell and taste of this beer is (currently) to me unrivalled. The beer is so smooth and delicious, although I would never advise more than 2 in a session, as it could become a bit sickly sweet.

The pub was busy but most people seemed to be seated in the large open room at the rear, with all the 'comfy' sofa and arm chairs. Little do most people realise that they're probably sat on a small fortune with the amount of coins people lose in those seats. My mate once found enough for a whole pint of Old Brewery! After finishing off my bottle of the stout too easily I order a half of the Pure Organic Lager to wind down the night. This was a very crisps beer and not one I'd actually sampled before from their range. I had actually checked if they had any of their Christmas bottled beer for me to take home but sadly there was none.

So after my drink I called it a night and made the short walk back to Victoria station. On my route back I passed the Brass Monkey and expected it was heavying with suits. Glad I didn't hang around and tempt fate.