Angel in the Fields, Marylebone, W1

Sam smiths pub that is maybe a bit rough round the edges compared to some of the other pubs they have in London. Quite a dark interior lightened a little by the stained glass windows. Didn’t visit upstairs.

One room Sam Smiths pub with the bar to the left. Nothing unusual on the bar itself. I found it bit gloomy because of all the dark wood, unlike Tris C below.

Another first here the other night to what was originally and presumably quite satisfactorily called the Angel and I hadn’t made the mental preparation necessary when entering a Sam Smith’s pub, safe in the knowledge that their beer isn’t great, even if you can get it on cask. True to form, and proof positive that a Tadcasterman is never wrong, it was OB Business as usual for just £1.60 a half. However, what a lovely pub. As mentioned, there’s plenty of traditional dark wood, wonderful stained glass, an interesting mottled red lino floor, simple furniture and most impressive of all, a centrally located stone fireplace burning real logs – I love the smell of wood smoke in the morning! There’s also a dartboard though given its location, I suspect that our guardian Angel, AKA Health & Safety [in the Field?], may well prevent its use. A rare example of a traditional pub in Marylebone, this is a very nice hostelry indeed and I’d happily spend a winter’s evening here, providing I can get pints of Oakham’s from the Prince Regent Deliveroo’d here. Note the early closing on Sundays.

Handily located on a main thoroughfare in the heart of Marylebone, this is a marvellous old Sam Smith’s pub with the sort of well kept traditional interior you come to expect from this company. You enter into a corridor with a door to the bar on the left and a staircase up to the restaurant in front of you. The bar has a linoleum floor with a large U-shaped servery on the front wall stood under some pretty huge barrels which are perched up on the bar back, high above the attractive dark wood counter. The room is furnished with hard bench and low stool seating, which runs around the perimeter, leaving a decent space in the centre of the room for vertical drinking. The highlight of this room, for me at least, has to be the beautiful stained glass windows depicting various plants and flowers, which run around two sides of the room. When backlit by the sun, as they were on our visit, they look magnificent and turn a pleasant room into an exceptional one. A large stone fireplace dominates the back wall and the room is finished off with dark wood wall panelling and rustic ceiling beams. Upstairs, the restaurant comes as a relative disappointment, with its small, plain servery tucked away in one corner, modern carpeting and standard tables and chairs set up for dining. However, there is still plenty of attractive dark wood throughout and the windows bear a quaint leaf motif. The fireplace here was lit, which was welcome on a cold autumn day and the lone barmaid/waitress dealt admirably with an ever-busier room all on her own. As with a lot of Sam Smith’s London pubs, this place doesn’t bother with the keg version of Old Brewery Bitter, so I gave their Stout a try instead, which was a pleasant enough change. We stopped by for food and found our choices to be pretty tasty but probably a bit overpriced for what they were. This is a really attractive pub with an interior that is well worth taking a little time out to explore. The place obviously won’t suit all due to its reluctance to serve cask ale, but unlike most Sam Smith’s pubs, it did seem able to attract a wide range of customers and had a comparatively lively, vibrant feel to it. I wouldn’t race back having now enjoyed the interior, but wouldn’t rule out a return entirely.

A traditional Sam Smith’s pub on the Marylebone High Street, it consists of a single downstairs room with dark wood panelling on much of the walls and another room upstairs although we did not investigate this. Food is offered here apparently, but we did not check the menu. The pub sits on a corner plot, but the side road is not quite a right angle, and consequently the bar has a slight wedge shape to it. Stained glass windows are on two sides which is an attractive feature, and this together with the wood panelling and dark brown paint on the ceiling lends it a traditional Victorian ambience, although the red lino like floor covering could perhaps be improved. A small bay window is an unusual feature between the stairs and the bar. A fire-place was at the rear, although whether this is still in use I am unsure and there was a darts board in one corner. Beers on tap were the usual somewhat uninspiring keg range from Sam Smith’s and consisted of their Old Brewery Bitter and Sovereign. The solitary cider was also their own Reserve.

Square-ish corner bar, most notable for the decorative stained and etched windows. Dark wood panelling and furniture. Darts in one corner. Lounge bar upstairs (not visited). Adopts the annoying Sam Smiths policy found in many of its London pubs of not having the cask version of OBB, so resorted to the Extra Stout (nice enough, but hardly the cheap pint it once was at £3.40). (NB - Review dates from July 2012.)