The Lyric, Soho, W1

Newly opened with new owners.Small downstairs bar with 6 handpumps and about 10 craft keg beers.I dont think they have changed the pub much other than a coat of paint.Upstairs dining room.Probably the best selection of beers in the area but its going to get crowded.Not cheap for the beer but its the Westend so one wouldn,t expect anything else.Not my sort of pub but my sort of beers.

3 real ales and an upstairs dining area.

This was my first visit to the Lyric since it closed for a couple of years and was seemingly lost for ever until reopening in 2008. The attractive curved frontage and tiled porchway remains but the interior has from memory had a bit of a knockabout in the intervening years. Despite recently refurbishments, it currently appears very shabby and worn in with well trodden bare floor boards and simple but sparse furnishings that consist of 3 small tables at the rear, a large barrel in the centre of the floor and a few drinking ledges. The décor is quite plain décor with cream tongue and groove walls and not much on display other than a photo of a local strip joint. A fireplace in one corner has a flat screen TV above (I recall that in the old days this was Soho’s prime destination if you wanted to watch Scottish football and Gaelic sports). The music was quite intrusive music and invites a few raised voices among the patrons. There were 3 ales, Landlord, Pride and the pub’s own Old Tart which was a pretty decent pint although I am assuming it is a rebadge of something. My pint was a bit short but at £2.20 as good a value as you will find in the West End. There is a small restaurant on the first floor but I didn’t take note of any food details. The place is certainly not as cosy as I remembered it but it does has its own intrinsic character and it’s worth a visit just to say you had an Old Tart in Soho for a couple of quid. I detect a t-shirt idea coming on.