London Pub Tour 31 - Belgravia: Horse and Groom, Plumbers Arms and Victoria

It was a quiet day at work so I once again decided to pay a visit to some of the local pubs, in particular ones I haven't visited for 6 months+. My first port of call was the Horse and Groom (SW1X 7BA) a Shep Neame pub which is down a mews just off from all the embassies. Normally on a nice sunny or just warm day people are outside drinking, but it was a rainy day so it seems most people didn't feel like heading out. The outside is typical shep neame colours and the door is on the right with a step up. The pub itself isn't large and only has about 7 tables in the bar area (3 high, 4 low). I understand there is a dinning room upstairs though I would assume its about a similar size. The floor is wood boards and the walls have wood panels on them.

The bar is in the far corner to the left and they had three hand pumps serving up Whitstable Bay Pale, Spitfire and Hog Island. On tap there was Thatchers, Samuel Adams, Guinness, San Miguel, Ashai, Oranjeboom and Whitstable Bay Blonde. I hadn't come across the Hog Island before so went for a pint of that but sadly it was at it's end and the barman asked me to select something else, so I went for a pint of Sam Adams at £5. There were only 4 other people in the bar but soon a group of three came in for food and went up into the dinning room. The pub was quiet and relaxing, though the outside area is a nice sun trap during the good weather and that is normally when this place is busiest. There are some large wooden barrels outside in the mews for leaning beers on.

This is not a bad Shep Neame pub though limited on beer selection the venue itself is nice. I finished off my pint and made my way back towards Victoria station and for my second stop the Plumbers Arms (SW1W 0LN). The Plumbers Arms is nearly 200yrs old, and is a Taylor Walker pub that is most famous for being the pub that Lord Lucan's Mrs ran to covered in blood. The pub has a small outside area for standing and the inside is not as large as you might expect. The bar is on the far left upon entering but the placing of a huge support pillar in the middle of the pub does eat into the space. there are tables placed around the outside, and down at the end of the bar is a little soft seating area. There are function rooms upstairs though these are very bare with some basic table and chairs. The floor is wood apart from the tile around the bar area. Most of the people in the pub were tourist eating and there was only a single bar lady on.

The pub has four hand pumps offering T.E.A, Sussex's Best, GK IPA and GK Fresh Golden Beer. On tap there was Heineken, Hells, Sambrooks Pale, Becks Vier, Peroni, Stella and Guinness. Although not a fan of Greene King ales I did go for the Fresh Golden Beer under their St Edmund's brand. There was no mention of Greene King on the badge, which I've noticed on a few of their beers now. The beer had the usual GK taste but slightly weaker than normal, and the fruitiness of the beer came through more, which was nice. There were stalls at the bar but I opted to sit on one of the free tables. Sadly they had a TV on showing Loose Woman, with special guest Jeremy Kyle.....shudder.

I drank the pint quite quickly, probably helped by what was on TV. As I had a bit more time on this long lunch break I decided to stop by the Victoria (SW1W 0NR) which was just down the round. This has now been rebranded from Taylor Walker to Greene King and has a new sign to go with it. This is always a busy pub and at this time on lunch it was still quite busy. There are two entrances, the main entrance facing towards the station and a small back door entrance on the opposite side mainly used by workers to get into the pub quicker. Along with the rebrand the pub had a fresh coat of paint inside. To get to the bar you need to walk into the centre of the pub. There are a lot of tables varying in size, but the middle area infront of the bar is open with some booths against the wall.

There were 4 ales on offer which were 1730, Tribute, Doombar and Glory. On tap we had Fosters, Aspall, Belhaven Pilsner, Stella, Peroni, Guinness, Becks, 1664, Hells, Hop House 13 and Punk IPA. I hadn't come across the Belhaven Pilsner before so decided to give it a try and immediately regretted it. The beer had a metalic taste and not much aroma to it. It was difficult to drink and I suddenly remembered the last Belhaven pint I had which was very much similar on New Yrs in the Boot. I can sense a trend there. And to top it off, I only realised at that stage that Greene King own Belhaven, so their ales aren't that great and the lager is metallic, not looking good. I think I left a bit near the end and made my way back to work with a bit more energy in me.

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.