The Salisbury, WC2

Always struggled to find decent boozers in the West End, but somehow, I have missed this absolute gem of a victorian drinking house. Ian Nairn, in his 1960s book on London Architecture, describes it as "West End Glamour, with all the Stops out". Beautiful etched glassworks, art deco lamps. Stunning place to have a pint. Timothy Taylor was on and in exceptional condition. A touch shocked to find out it was £4.80 a pop, but I suppose its the norm. Food and Service really good in a small backroom dining area. Will be my west end local.

A good sized traditional pub with plenty of original fixtures and fittings. The main bar is mostly one room arranged around an oval bar counter, although there are some divisions to make a small snug at one end. The flooring is old wooden boards that have been worn down to a smooth finish over the years and there is maroon paintwork on the ceiling. There is some quite ornate etched and frosted glass around, as well as a number of etched mirrors. A wooden porch protrudes in to the pub and this also had etched glass. There were a number of black and white photo’s on the wall that may have been stars of the local theatres. The wood panelled bar apparently has a marbled counter top according to the fairly detailed history of the pub displayed on the wall, although that was not in evidence on the part of the bar that I could see. This was to keep your pint cool in the olden days. There is red leather bench seating up the left hand side arranged in to small semi-circles, and behind these are some ornate brass lamp stands. The snug at the rear was quite cosy with an old brick fire-place, although this was not in use, green paintwork and more etched mirrors. An interesting collage of musical posters is on the walls as you go to the loo. A large vase of fresh flowers was at one end of the bar, and several jars of different nuts were on sale behind it. Good choice of beers on tap with Tribute, London Pride, Black Sheep, Deuchars IPA and Timothy Taylor Landlord. The solitary cider was Magners Golden Draught.

I adore the Salisbury, my favourite Theatreland pub, the iconic Victorian glass, the wood panelling and a good selection of ales. Youngs London Gold was excellent as was the Landlord. The other thing i have noticed about this pub is that the staff are all switched on, fast friendly and wanting to serve people, very unusual for the west end.

An important Victorian pub. The exterior with its etched and polished glass and carved woodwork to the window frames gives some idea of what to expect inside - an abundance of etched and polished glass which creates a glittering atmosphere. There is an original central island bar, partly with a white marble top, and some particularly elegant art nouveau lamp statues of nymphs. The building dates from 1898 and was named after the Prime Minister of the time. On my most recent visit I was unfortunate enough to be there at the same time as the east European barmaid who was intent on chatting to her mate. After several minutes waiting, and this being early afternoon with me the only other customer, I had to attract her attention by banging on the bar. It also turns out that she is completely unaware of the cute English custom of paying for a full measure of ale and expecting to get said full measure. Similarly, that other cute English custom of 'topping up' appeared to be completely alien to this alien. Despite the shoddy and cavalier service, I still rate the building 8/10 simply for its wonderful interior. Part of my "Victorian Splendour" crawl - see link below.