Marylebone Live, Marylebone, W1

Official site of Marylebone Live - www.marylebonelive.com

Official site of Marylebone Live - www.marylebonelive.com

It would seem this place is virtually a Cocktail bar rather than pub, no real ale just a keg offering of Brixton Reliance. The interior decor amounted to twinkling fairy lights on the walls covered by thin sheets of hessian. one to swerve I would suggest.

Dating from 1793 and rebuilt 1894, this is an interesting mid-terraced pub, which was damaged by fire in 2015. A first in here the other night and the first thing that struck us was the noise of the 20-something customers, in particular one shrieking woman; thankfully, I could barely hear the banal music, one tune seemingly playing throughout my stay. It’s a stripped-out pub, with opposed tatty avocado vinyl banquettes, then some normal seats and tables, with the exception of one barrel table with tall stools. The bar array is quite ornate and attractive with wood carving and plain mirrors; ivy cascaded over the top. The floor is modern boarded, with a tiled ‘path’ from entrance to bar. Walls are either match boarded or field panelled to around one third height, then magnolia Anaglypta to the remainder and ceiling; there’s an obligatory column with Corinthian capital. Décor comprises just a few framed prints, lighting is conventional. It would appear that real ale has disappeared from this gaff, so I had to go for yet another Neck Oil, at a painful £3.10 a half. This really isn’t a great pub. In its current state, with current customers and current absence of ale, I wouldn’t care to return. The Portman down the road is more sedate and has a choice of two quality ales at considerably lower prices. Rated 3.5.