The Kings Arms, W1

Official site of The Kings Arms - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Dating from 1742 as the Three Jolly Butchers, the current name dating from 1785, but apparently rebuilt in 1967. Hmmm… The downstairs interior is small, with a modern boarded floor and certainly the wooden bar array looks newish, with an interesting curved staircase to the left side. Dark grey paint makes it as far as the dado, thereon up it’s pale mushroom to the white Anaglypta ceiling. It’s the chunky, gnarled wooden beams that intrigue; do they really date from ’67 or were they incorporated into a remodelled pub? Furniture is tall and conventional, the whole lit by Victorian-style lighting. Four ales on: GK IPA, Abbot, London Glory and Portobello Westway Pale at a very pricey £2.75; dull but drinkable. This isn’t a bad pub, certainly better than the Chesterfield and Market Tavern, but it’s less of a boozer than the Grapes.

Official site of The Kings Arms - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

A Greene King tied house with a very old fashioned whiff on entering,but the low ceiling,exposed beams and traditional vibe mark this out as a decent boozer.Two Sky Sports screens were showing T20 on mute,while the pub clearly has a few regulars .To the front there are some high tables off the curved frontage ,while there are a few more traditional tables dotted about. There is a corporate GK food menu while the 4 handpumps were drawing GK IPA and Abbott with guests Exeter Avocet and Portobello WestWay Pale (ok). If you are looking for a boozer in Shepherds Market with some authenticity then this maybe worth a pint.

This is a small one-room pub downstairs, although there is another room upstairs, to which I didn’t venture. As previously reported, there is a mass of dark painted wood all over the place, including some bulbous wooden pillars on the bar counter stretching up to the ceiling. I can’t see what structural purpose they would serve, so I suppose they must be part of the decor. Seating in this room is exclusively tall tables and tall stools, although I recall that once upon a time they did have some normal tables and chairs. But the place was heaving, both inside and on the pavement outside, when I dropped in on Wednesday evening so the formula seems to be working. But there again all the pubs around the Market were heaving, so I suspect that any pub here would be busy straight after work. There was a TV on the wall, muted and showing a rolling news channel. I didn’t get to see a menu, but as this is a Taylor Walker branded pub I would be very surprised if it didn’t do the usual pub grub. Some large jars of nuts and the like were on display behind the bar, and a sign there exhorted drinkers to have a “dish of olives with your beer today”. Sorry, not today or any day as far as I’m concerned. There were four ales on – London Pride, Doom Bar (£3.40 a pint), Bombardier and Young’s London Gold. All a bit predictable and uninspiring, but at least it does offer some drinkable ales. But I don’t think it’s the sort of place to which I’d rush back.