The Hope Fitzrovia, Fitzrovia, W1

Randomness Guide to London - Hope entry

Randomness Guide to London - Hope entry

They had Doom Bar (at £3.10 a pint), Courage Directors, GKIPA and London Pride on. According to a sign outside this is an Enterprise Inns pub. I didn’t eat here, but the menu was reassuringly basic, with mains at around the £7 mark, and sarnies at £4.25. The furnishings were simple and fairly Spartan, consisting of banquettes round the sides, accompanied by small stools and small round metal pedestal tables. The middle of the room was empty. It seemed a bit Celtic to me, with both the banquettes and small stools upholstered in green, a green painted ceiling, and Irish folk music being played a bit too loudly for my taste. There was no decor on the walls except for chalkboards (wine lists and the like) and a small advertising poster for the World Cup. The decor on the walls in the stairway leading down to the gents was more impressive than anything in the pub itself, consisting of painted wooden boards of a steam train, and “The Cricketers”. This seemed to be a very basic pub, although I didn’t visit the upstairs bar, so it might have been better than the main bar. There was only one other punter in during my visit, drinking a pint of lager and reading his newspaper. I found this pub to be somewhat impersonal and characterless. On the plus side however, the Doom Bar I had was OK, and it might represent a less crowded refuge at times, but I doubt whether I’ll bother to visit again.

A former favourite of mine from some years ago, but I hadn't been in for a while. Six pumps but only two on yesterday, Pride and Wooden Hand Brewery's Cornish Buccaneer. A decent brew but served slighly hazy. This is a smallish street corner bar with a wooden floor, panelled wainscotting with seating around the perimeter of the L shaped bar area. A further room upstairs remains unvisited by myself. A better beer choice would up this a mark as would a good clean and tidy as things are a bit shabby it must be said. I'm not sure what the Jolly Roger flags are for. Stand Up is advertised on Tuesdays at four quid.

I visited here one evening last week and there were two barmaids on; one was talking to a guy at the bar, and the other was cheerfully but very slowly serving the two blokes in front of me. Whilst at the bar I had plenty of time to note that Pride, Adnams, Landlord and Doombar were all available along with a very limited lager selection. The Landlord was on good form and the barmaid let me try it before I ordered a pint. I'm not sure why, but I'm never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The pub also has the ability to show Sky Sports and Setanta on its small plasma screen. There isn't much wrong with this place and I'd pop in again if passing.