The Cock, Fitzrovia, W1

The Cock Tavern is another of the Sam Smiths chain of pubs with a traditional decor, this one being Edwardian. The inside is basically one fairly long ornate room, running the length of the pub. Plenty of dark wood, especially the bar to the left and then the seating to the right and the slightly separated sitting areas beyond the serving area. A good Edwardian plaster ceiling and plenty of touches to make it a comfortable place for a pint. One other interesting feature is the enormous outside lanterns as previously reported. It serves the usual range of Samuel Smith beers but does have Old Brewery Bitter on hand pump. Its position as the first pub going north up Great Portland Street from Oxford Street makes it an ideal place to escape the shopping throngs

Randomness Guide to London - Cock entry

Randomness Guide to London - Cock entry

This is a fairly good Sam Smith's pub just a stone's throw from Oxford Street. It retains some original Edwardian features, and has benefited from a tasteful refurbishment that is typical of the Sam Smith's chain. Obviously you'll only get the usual Sam Smith's range of beers, but they are of course excellent value for money. I was surprised that a pub in this area would be relatively empty (as it was) on the weekday lunchtime that I was in here. They do food at reasonable prices, but only in the upstairs bar. I was the only person up there and I have to say that I would have preferred to eat in the main bar where there were at least a few other punters. All in all a decent enough pub, and although you would not want to go there for the beer alone (unless of course you are a Sam Smith's fan) it is a welcome respite from the hell of Oxford Street. There are many much worse pubs in the area.

I'm still not a big fan of SS pubs, but I am warming to them as I have developed a taste for OBB (which is very good in here) and I also like getting change from £2 for a pint. Unfortunately I didn't stay long as the pub was heaving with 80 odd people in the upstairs bar that was being run by one barmaid. The downstairs bar had 2 barmen and around a 100 people packed in. If I had a friend that liked these pubs I'd go back, but as I don't I'll probably miss out.