Chelsea Gate, Chelsea, SW10

I came here once when it was the Bull in early summer 1994 and didn't think much of it then. A return visit yesterday evening and despite the pub's website having recently been updated with a claim that it was open on Tuesdays, it was closed. A peep through the window reveals a shrine to the occupants of Stamford Bridge next door and not something I'd really make any effort to revisit in a hurry.

There are no handpumps and no real ale here, and none of the more interesting keg stuff (e.g. Lagunitas IPA) was on, leaving just Heineken and Foster's on. Luckily a fridge had some reasonable bottled beers in it, with a 500ml bottle of Ringwood Razorback setting me back £4.90. I didn't see any sign of food on a Wednesday afternoon. I didn't really take to this place. The ducting along the ceiling is painted grey; the ceiling, bar counter front, and dados are all painted indigo. Colours of the time I guess, but quite dreary in my opinion. There's a pool table in the area on the left, which still has the remnants of the original Victorian vestibule in situ, but there's nothing of heritage value that I saw in the rest of the pub. Furnishings are mainly tall tables/tall stools, with a few pedestal tables with small round stools and one or two normal chairs. A notable, and quite unusual, feature was the Russian dolls painted on the windows in the colours of World Cup participating nations, plus odd phrases such as "King Hazard". Not sure what that's all about. I doubt whether I'll visit with the far superior Fox & Pheasant just a few paces away. Obviously one should avoid all the pubs in the area when Chelsea are playing at home.