The pub has two bar areas with the front area being quite small and full of tables. The floor is carpet and the bar stretches into this area offering up some of the beers and ales that are on offer. A door connects through to the larger main bar where the seating is around the edges and are a mix of sofas, low tables and high tables. There are a few stalls at the bar, but otherwise there is ample space around the bar to allow people to flow around. The bar itself stretches all along the back wall which provides the opportunity for the establishment to display the bottle/can beers they offer. The beers are displayed on a shelf and are number 1 through to 30 and details of each beer are listed in their drink menu. On the bar there are 4 hand pumps which on this visit were serving Brains SA, Deuchars. Naked Ladies and the final hand pump was to advertise the Old Rosie cider sold from the bag in the box. On keg there was Guinness, London Lager, Yakima Red, Amstel, Sierra and Mortimers. As the pub has such a large bottle selection I decided to pick from there. My first bottle was the Chocolate Porter by Meantime (330ml). There were chocolate notes to the beer but nothing stand out compared to other chocolate stouts and porters.
I took up a table on the side which looks out into the outside covered bench seating area they have. There were games on the window seal. At the rear of the bar was a fire place (not on) and the hostel entrance. The pub is open till late and the menu is focused around burgers. There is a TV in the corner playing BBC News but without sound, as music is controlled by the bar staff from their large playlist. My second beer was a bottle of Red Rye from Barney's Beer for £5. This was a nice malty rye beer with a red-orange-brown hue. The pub remained quiet during my stay but must get a lot of trade from those staying in the hostel upon their return from the day out in London. I left the Ferry and made my way 5-10 minutes to the next pub The Warwick (SW1V 1QT).The Warwick is a Greene King owned Gastro establishment. This little area in Victoria has a surprisingly high number of pubs and this is one of the least frequented ones for me. There are two doors at the front on either end, though these doors don't quite give away they're the entrance to the pub. The floor is wood and is filled with sanded wood tables which are nicely spaced out. The bar also has a sanded wood look to it as well. Above the windows are some stained glass windows and on the ceiling fans are spinning slowly, though the pub is not warm. There are some steps down to a lower seated area with only a few tables. The bar offered up three ales which were Splendid Tackle, GK IPA and Abbott. On keg there was Beck Vier, Carlsberg, 1664, Guinness, San Miguel, East Coast IPA, Noble and Aspalls. The bottle selection was very small here.
Based on the options I selected a pint of Becks Vier for £4.90. It's not my favourite mainstream lager but it was my preferred choice out of the options. The pub only have about 7 people in so I slotted in on a small table near the rear wall. An older man at the bar was slightly drunk and joking about not paying for his drink to the bar staff. Then two elder ladies walked in and sat down at a table unaware what they were in for. The old man came and joined them and starting hitting on both of them at the same time. I didn't hand around to see if he pulled it off, but judging by the time I left, I would say no chance.
I made my way round the corner and past the big Sainsbury's to Brougham (SW1V 1HP). I have to admit here that I've always avoided this pub, even under its previous guide, the Elusive Camel. The bar is bizarre. During the daytime it's empty and offering up cheap meals to entice people in, whilst after work it's full of people in suits and and turns into a high priced gastro. The pub is on the corner and is quite narrow but long. The bar runs against the back wall facing out towards the road outside. Considering the depth of the pub it's larger than you would think. The bar was busy and it took a while before I could order due to the number of cocktails being made up. There were no cask ales and the tap selection was Guinness, Amstel, London Pale Ale, 1664, Aspalls Suffolk and Heineken. I went for a pint of London Pale Ale which cost £5.30.The pub though busy wasn't fully packed but all seats were taken. There was a low sofa seating running under the long window opposite the bar. There were two hide away areas (snugs) with seating that was reserved for groups. The staff were all dressed in white shirts and slim black ties. I stood towards the end of the bar and drank my pint though a smell did start to come through the pub of sewers. This is the same smell I normally pick up when walking past the pub, I just assumed it would be outside and not inside as well. I finished the pint quite quickly due to standing and the smell. I made my way back towards Victoria station and looking at the time, I realised I could squeeze another drink in, so popped into the Willow Walk (SW1V 1LW). The Willow Walk is the second Spoons pub in Victoria with the other one being plainly called Wetherspoons and being based directly above WH Smiths in the station.
The Willow Walk was covered up with boarding outside due to the offices above being renovated, so is easy to miss. Considering the outside of the pub, lots of people had managed to find their way there and it was rammed. This of course was the standard spoons layout with carpet floor, lots of low tables, and lots of ales and lagers. The pub was dim and quite long, with the rear door out to the other side closed due to the office renovation. I believe I caught the full list of beers available as there a large amount. The ales were Midland Red, Brouwejii'tii Flino, Mild the Gap, Pathmaker, Doombar, Twicknehma, Pride, GK IPA and Abbot. The lagers included Coors Light, Adnams Dry Hop, Sambrooks IPA, White Riot, Erdinger, Innis and Gunn Lager beer, Bud Light, Guinness, Shipyard and Stella. I went for a half of the Midland Red by Everards for £1.68. The beer was smooth and had nothing offensive about it but neither did it have anything that stood out. I did have a second half and this was for the pure taste purpose only and since it was newly launched. Yes, I had a half of Bud Light. The half cost £1.75 and I'm glad I only had a half. The beer was bland. Just no taste at all. The beer could be considered cold and refreshing but it was bizarre to drink something that tasteless. The only thing I could feel was the carbonation at the rear of my mouth as I swallowed. I finished off my drink and finally called it a night and made my way across the road to Victoria Station.
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