Adam & Eve, Fitzrovia, W1

This is a very busy and noisy Youngs pub, located just off Oxford Street and accordingly very popular with shoppers, tourists, and nearby office workers alike. The pub has a single, large rectangular room, mostly knocked through with a few signs of former partitions still evident. There are bare floorboards throughout, except around the bar, where star-patterned tiles make an eye-catching appearance, whilst the walls are plain painted and the servery hugs the right-hand side of the room. The bar has a fairly modern looking dark wood panelled counter, a glazed brick and mirrored bar back and a nice modern metal framed gantry. The seating opposite is mostly in the form of banquettes and mid height stools, with various pillars painted with floral and snake designs helping to break up the space, aided in no small part by shelving units across the back of some banquettes, lined with jars, vases, glasses, pots and the like. Above, cool lampshades that give the appearance of being made from leaves, are a stylish feature, whilst the walls have been decorated with large Garden of Eden themed paintings, to tie in with the pub’s name. A partly raised space to the rear of the room has been screened from the bar area and offers a little extra seating as well as access to an unexplored beer garden, obviously known as the Garden of Eden. An indie soundtrack was playing in the background, but the place was insanely loud thanks to a large post-work crowd, many of whom were dining. There are two pumps on the bar, but one was unclipped and the other sported a revered Youngs Ordinary badge, so I was left to choose something cold fizzy and over-priced from the less than inspiring keg range. The staff were efficient, if a bit sullen and the packed room meant I constantly felt like I was in people’s way, with no sign of a seat anywhere. I get the impression this could be quite a pleasant pub if visited at the right time, but post-work was definitely the wrong time, as I found everything too busy and noisy to properly enjoy. The lack of cask ale was also a downside, but I felt the pub was smart, clean and well presented, with plenty of comfy seating options and even that Central London rarity of a garden, which meant there was enough here to perhaps warrant a return visit some time.

This was the site of the Northumberland Arms in 1767, but was rebuilt in 1926 as the Holyrood. I can’t remember what it was called when I was last in here over 30 years ago, but it wasn’t called Ben Crouch’s Tavern until around 1998; the current, more traditional name dates from 2009. It’s now a Young’s (Geronimo) joint, which I’d find hard to describe as a pub: ‘style bar/restaurant’ is a better description (see photos and website), which sells one Young’s beer, London Original in this instance, at a pricey £2.60 a half and good. There’s sport on the TVs, many diners and lots of loud chatter. This isn’t my sort of format, so I’ll not be retuning, but there’s worse in W1.

Official site of Adam & Eve - www.theadamandevew1.co.uk

Official site of Adam & Eve - www.theadamandevew1.co.uk