Bricklayers Arms, Fitzrovia, W1

Small keg only Smiths pub, not as grand as some but pleasant enough. Normal Smiths keg range that always interests me more than their cask offering anyway. The pub dog came and joined me on the padded bench seating but soon found more interest in exploring its nether regions.

It's got to be about 15 years since I last visited this pub, when it was one of our regular haunts when I worked nearby at St Giles Court. It doesn't seemed to have changed much. The main bar is at the front with the brick-built bar counter facing you, and with another small room at the back down a couple of steps and accessed round to the right of the servery. The back room was still being used by a bunch of blokes playing darts, possibly skiving off from work. The front room has terracotta tiled flooring, which is most unusual. The panelling on the walls looks to be the real deal, but you never know with Sam Smith's and their penchant for traditional restorations. On the subject of Sam Smith's, unfortunately this isn't one of their pubs that does the real ale version of Old Brewery Bitter. This is quite a nice and relaxing pub that is just far enough from the hell that is Oxford St to avoid the crowds. But I have seen it fairly busy on a nice day with a fair number of punters lounging about outside. But I don't think you would come here for the beer.

This pub dates back to at least the 18th century in some form but was rebuilt in 'brewers' tudor' probably in the 1920s/30s and was one of my main office haunts from 1988 to 1991 when our Gresse Street-based company would fill the place on a Friday night, in fact most weekday nights, spilling out onto the pavement on balmy summer evenings! The small front bar is a bit stark and is a symphony in ceramics with a brick or quarry tiled floor and brick faced bar; upholstered bench seats are to the walls. There's another slightly lower bar to the rear, but it's the upstairs room and bar that's altogether larger. We didn't explore, but if unchanged it was a rather grand room with dark wood, velour seats and window reveals. We didn't bother with the keg-only Smith's offerings but had a half of the low alcohol Alpine Lager and bade our farewells. Closed Sundays.

Sam Smith's pub with quite a plain interior by Smith's standards. 2 rooms on the ground floor didn't visit upstairs.