London Pub Tour 32 - Chelsea: Pigs Ear and Cross Keys

In the back streets just off between King's Street and the Thames there are quite a number of upmarket pubs. I went to visit two more of those pubs today starting with the Pigs Ear (SW3 5BS). The pub sits on the corner of a residential street and has a bizarre modern art pub sign. The entrance doors on either side are plastered with stickers about food awards, Cask Marque and other items, which makes it looks quite messy. There are some nice lanterns hanging outside along with three smalls barrels in a stack (though I'm unaware of the symbolism of this). The pub itself wasn't busy and only had a few people in, so I was able to grab a table and sit down with my beers. There was cushion seating against all the walls, with tables and chairs opposite. Stools were available at the bar for those inclined to sit there. The bar was lit with lamp shades from above, and there was a red ceiling, cream walls and wooden floor which helped spread the light. The bar is on the back wall and is L shaped with front part of the bar being light wood whilst the back bar a dark wood.

On the bar they were offering up a choice of 4 ales Swift, Wandle, Junction and Common. On tap the selection included Heineken, Guinness, Orchard Pig, London Ale Pale and Amstel. I wasn't tempted by any of the offerings so look to the bottles instead. I immeditaley seen a beer from Goose Island that I hadn't come across before so selected that, that beer was Honkers Ale. The bottle cost £4.80 for 330ml with an ABV of 4.3%. It was a very enjoyable and easily drinkable bitter and I could certainly have a night on these. I did go back to order another bottle but got tempted away by another beer I seen  Ola Dubh 12 Year Special Reserve Matured In Highland Park Casks by Harviestoun. The beer is a massive 8% ABV but only got me £4.50 (I think there may have been a pricing error). I didn't know what to expect from this beer and certainly didn't think it was an imperial porter, so when this thick syrup liquid started pouring I was pleasantly surprised. There is massive smells of whisky and it carried through to the beer as you get a tiny after hit of

Whisky. This was certainly one to enjoy but slowly.

No more people came into the pub by the time I had finished my special bottle. I left and made my way the short distance to my second (and now last stop due to the high ABV bottle I just had) which was the Cross Keys (SW3 5NB). The pub is just off a busy road but is easily missed and doesn't seem too busy. The exterior is white with a black pub sign and the pub name written in gold on both. The pub much like the Pigs Ear is a gastro pub but the Cross Keys separates pub and dinning. The front of the pub is for drinking and snacks whilst the rear is setup for dinning only. To enter the pub the door on the right is used as the door on the left is blocked on the inside by a table. The bar is just ahead and to the left and has a nice spirits display behind. The bar is rounded at the end and heads slightly towards the rear. It has a wood panel cover and a solid wood top, which goes very nicely with the whole setup and design of the pub. The floor is wood floor boards with a slight rustic look on the walls and tables. The bar taps are metal with small descriptions saying what they're serving, meaning you have to look closely to see what is on offer.

On the keg beer department they offered up Guinness, Truman's Pale, Estrella, Becks and Truman Runner. On hand pump there was Otter Ale, Truman's Runner, Lucky Penny's Long Artm and Mad Goose. There were a few bottle beers including a Swiss beer which I've only seen on sale in this place. I went for a pint of Otter Ale at £4.30 which was in good nick, with it's creamy head and fruity taste and served in a dimple mug. The Cross Keys looked to offer a very good food menu, and seems like it would be one of those higher priced but well worth it Gastro pubs. The whole design of the pub was to my liking and certainly a place that I will visit again. Just to clarify I have been here before and had the Swiss beer, which was delicious. I'm not sure how busy the pub gets but the ti
mes I've been here it's never been busy in the bar area and I've always found a seat. But on each of those occasions the kitchen hasn't been open so perhaps the dinner crowd in Chelsea packs out the

pub.

I called it a night after finishing my Otter, and was starting to feel the effects of the imperial porter from earlier. These were two pubs both listed as Gastro but based on the interior you would judge one to be more fitting of that accolade. Most of the pubs I've visited in the back streets of Chelsea have been upmarket and gastro, whilst all the ones on King's Road itself seem to be more booze and down to earth, maybe because their aimed at the workers in all the businesses there whilst the back street are for the locals.

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.