The Newman Arms, Fitzrovia, W1

Randomness Guide to London - Newman Arms entry

Randomness Guide to London - Newman Arms entry

It’s a good few years since I’ve visited this pub, and judging by what I had heard about this place I was expecting something much worse to have been done to it. It’s still reasonable inside, although it doesn’t have the “old pub” feel of the previous décor. False flagstones don’t look right, and nor does the distressed grey/green/yuk colours which the bar has been painted. This must be one of the smallest pubs around, with only one room (ignoring the pie restaurant upstairs which is not really part of the pub proper) and only a handful of seats and stools. They had Black Sheep Bitter and London Pride on – the BSB was fine, which you would expect it to be at £3.20 a pint. One plus to be mentioned is the fact that they still sell toasties and pasties from behind the bar at reasonable prices (£1.50 and £2 respectively). Not as good as it was, but still a decent pub. It does look better now that they have spruced up the front, especially now that the tiling is revealed from under the green paint. This was apparently one of George Orwell’s favourite pubs, and he used it in a couple of his novels.

Drinking here was like drinking in a living room that has been recently burgled. The upstairs was roped off and the downstairs was heaving with about 30 people. I had a pint of Standard lager (can't remember what it was) and it came in at £3.40. In my opinion the surroundings do not warrant the prices.