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Image posted by Graham Coombs
Submitted on Thursday, 17th May 2018
With picture contributions to 5136 other pubs
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Detail Pages
The Pocket Watch, Shepherds Bush, W12
W12
W12 0NS
Served areas
Reviews of The Pocket Watch (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Pocket Watch
This is a late Victorian corner pub, known by its original name of the British Queen until 2015.
The interior is marked by black wainscoting, then bare brick walls and an otherwise industrial interior, with fairly conventional furniture (see website). There were no customers shortly after my arrival, two leaving as I entered and hopefully not because of. The website doesn’t give any details other than opening times, though I overheard one barmaid agreeing with another that they’d unilaterally shut at 10.00 pm.
Despite being a Brakspear’s house, they don’t have enough faith in their customers to stock any real ale, with just one unused pump then one for Gravity, reversed. I opted for a half of London Fields Hackney Hopster, which was just another dull keg fizz at £3.10, served by an understandably bored barmaid.
This is a bit of a sad place, which if I lived locally, wouldn’t use.
On 25th March 2022
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Pocket Watch
This is a small street corner pub in a fairly unfashionable area between Acton and Shepherd’s Bush. The pub has been given a bit of a makeover in recent years by its new owners from the Brakspear Brewery and has a notional two room layout, although things have been opened out quite a bit, making such a distinction a little less obvious than it might otherwise have been. The front room is the main bar area and has smart dark wood floorboards, some half-panelled walls painted in a dark shade of purple with bare brick uppers and some modern branded windows along two sides of the room. The bar follows the rear half of the left-hand wall and has a modern wood panelled counter front, some basic shelving along the bar back and a metal framed gantry. There’s a reasonable mix of seating options including high tables and stools, some basic tables and chairs and a few leather sofas and upholstered armchairs. Tv screens at either end of the room were both switched off in favour of a pretty cool90’s indie soundtrack, although I got the impression this is the sort of pub that would be showing live football given the chance. Moving through to the rear room, you find a somewhat more formal area with standard tables and chairs, full wood panelled walls and a few decorative items here and there, plus another unused TV screen. A fee metal table and chairs were chucked out on the pavement, but on such a busy road, they seemed viable only for the smokers and most hardened of people-watchers.
Despite the Brakspear’s takeover, they could only manage two of their turned pump clips on the bar leaving me to scan the craft keg options for an alternative. I eventually settled on a pint of London Fields Hackney Hopster, which cost a whopping £6.00 – not the sort of price I expect to pay in your average street corner boozer. Service was curt but efficient and there was a small group of rowdy punters in who created a bit of tension in what is clearly still a bit of a working man’s boozer, despite the makeover.
I was a bit disappointed not to find any cask ale available here although the pub’s clientele didn’t strike me as big ale drinkers, so it’ll be interesting to see whether it catches on here. The brewery has done a decent job of modernising the pub without completely wiping out its character and I found it was a pretty good place to relax with a pint – just a shame that pint wasn’t something better and more reasonably priced.
On 28th December 2021
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Pocket Watch
I return to this place with some trepidation since it was here some seven years ago - in its previous incarnation as the British Queen - that I got served one of the worst pints of my life. In those days, it wasn't the sort of place that a passing stranger would be wise to complain, but all is very different now. The previous dingy locals boozer has been replaced by a modern-style gastro-pub frequented by a much younger set, and couldn't be more different. The thumping music isn't necessarily an improvement, and there are still several sports TVs but it's international rugby rather than racing from some muddy field in Ireland now. Remarkably, they still serve the Brakspear Bitter of ill repute - although I'm sure it's fine now - but I opted for the Oxford Gold (£4.30) which was in decent nick, with the third handpump temporarily out of use.
On 13th November 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
View more reviews of The Pocket Watch (4)
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- Official site of The Pocket Watch - www.pocket434.co.uk
- Official site of The Pocket Watch - brakspear.co.uk
- Facebook - The Pocket Watch
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Pocket Watch - whatpub.com
Acton Central, 1.15 miles, 22 min walk (show)
Kensington (Olympia), 1.49 miles, 28 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Beer Garden : No - Pavement seating - last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Car Park : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Function Room : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 10 November 2015 by hondo .
- Jukebox : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Karaoke : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Live Music : Yes last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Micropub : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Pool Table : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- Quiz Night : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 31 March 2024 by Rex Rattus
- Real Cider : No last updated 28 December 2021 by Pub SignMan
- WiFi : No last updated 25 March 2022 by Tris C
