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The Walmer Castle, Notting Hill, W11
W11
W11 2AJ
Pub Type
Castle (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Walmer Castle
Reopened following refurbishment in mid-March 2022. No longer owned by Guy Ritchie and David Beckham, this is now primarily a cocktail bar with Guinness and a couple of premium fizz options.
On 5th April 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1993 recommendations about 1959 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Walmer Castle
Attractive-looking pub from the outside, with a few pavement tables, but what have they done to the interior? Basic furniture and no attempt at decoration whatsoever, giving a very spartan feel; not helped by an absence of several beers and a sparsely populated bar-back. Neither of the two handpumps was operational (with a reversed London Pride clip visible on one) and the keg tap for Meantime Anytime IPA turned out to be dispensing Beavertown Neck Oil (£5.30, and served in a Camden Town glass).
On 20th November 2021
- rating: 4
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about The Walmer Castle
Oh dear. Very loud music and drinkers, crammed around a bar that had no beer. Landlord, Doombar and Wainwrights all off on a Saturday night. Simply because it was raining, we ordered pints of Meantime Pale and found the slightly quieter bar upstairs, probably because there were no staff there. All we wanted was a decent pint before a meal at the Leadbury down the road and the Walmer Castle failed miserably. BTW...How much is a bottle of Prosecco if they sell it for £10 off on Friday nights?
On 26th January 2016
- rating: 4
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Walmer Castle
This is an imposing pub situated at the junction of Ledbury Road and Westbourne Grove, meaning that it's not exactly off the beaten track. Back in the early 1990s this was the ultimate pub for the area's up-and-coming fashionable - trying to get a seat was an ordeal. Today, the place is far less popular, perhaps because other surrounding pubs have markedly upped their game.
The interior is gloomy, not helped by being painted battleship grey and the lights, which comprise halogen downlighters, shaded sconce lights and glass bell chandeliers, are turned right down. Indeed most of the illumination seemed to come from the TV which was showing Sky Sports news with the sound off. Why? This isn't a sports pub and the TV is an ugly distraction. The floor is bare boarded with a large rug to the rear; furniture is conventional and mixed and there are some knick-knacks to the walls. Out front there's a covered patio area whilst upstairs there is a separate bar. The main bar is very attractive - if you can see it - and has an integrated gantry. The pub is perhaps under new management as (probably microwaved) Thai food has been eschewed in favour of more contemporary pub grub such as artisanal burgers. The lavatories are very good.
The barmaid was very friendly and I was served a pint of Sharp's Doom Bar at £2.80 (Monday is £1-a-pint-off night), which was passable. Also on offer were Timothy Taylor's Landlord and St. Austell's Tribute and Blond, all of which were off.
The pub was almost empty on my visit, which would have been unheard of in the mid-'90s. Despite living just around the corner I never come here - there's nothing inherently wrong with the place, rather it's just a bit ho-hum.
On 5th August 2015
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1993 recommendations about 1959 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Walmer Castle
The pub was covered in scaffolding on this visit, but it was still possible to make out the glazed tiles along the front. The double pot shelf, over the front counter was another pleasing original feature and in use.
We arrived early Sunday lunchtime and when we were leaving the pub was getting busy for Thai food. They have a dining room upstairs, so plenty of choice for seating. The food here was excellent and reasonably priced and portion size more than adequate. Two handpumps serving Doombar and Otter.
On 4th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Walmer Castle
This pub is named after the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. There’s nothing inside to suggest a connection that I could see, but maybe there’s some reason why a pub in Notting Hill should be so named. Anyway, there were a couple of ales on – Hobgoblin and Sharp’s Doom Bar (£2.05 a half). This pub is run by Orchid Pub & Dining Ltd, which specialises in providing Thai food in traditional British pubs. So obviously the menus attached to clipboards on all the tables were mainly for Thai food, although the back page had a few “English” dishes. Thai stir fries were around £6 - £7, with fragrant steamed rice an additional £2.95, and a beefburger with cheese, bacon, and chips was £8.45.
There was a TV on showing Sky Sports (but muted), and some pop music that I didn’t recognise was playing. The main bar area as you enter faces the bar counter, has some tall tables/tall stools, but is mainly furnished with normal tables and chairs. There’s not much in the way of wall decor in this area other than advertisements for the various Thai dishes on offer, but a shelving unit had a big glass jar containing dog biscuits, with a sign on it saying “give a dog a bone”. I didn’t see any dogs in here, but I made the assumption that it must be dog friendly. The room extends to the back and left of the servery, to an area that seems more comfortably furnished with a few armchairs, and with loads of prints on the walls.
This pub is fine if you’re happy to spend £10 or so on a stir fry and rice, and although it gets plus points for doing real ale, the selection is hardly very interesting. But it’s quite an interesting pub and worth popping in for a swift one if you’re passing, but I wouldn’t put it much above the “OK” category.
On 7th November 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]