Thornbury Castle, Marylebone, W1

A bit of an odd one was the Thornbury Castle when I visited on a recent Friday afternoon. There’s an L-shaped bar that faces banquette seating along the front and right walls. At the rear is some raised seating, and all of the tables have a candle, which were not lit. This, the décor and slow background music would have given the feel of a restaurant between kitchen hours, but for the two locals chatting with the bar staff. I actually enjoyed sitting in the dark listening to the bollox being chatted, proper pub vibe. The bar supports four hand pumps but one was unused. Harvey’s Best, Bedlam Phoenix and Rosies Pig Cider were the cask options. There are also five premium keg options. The Harvey’s was good, but being from Sussex I see it everywhere. An OK pub.

This Good Beer Guide regular never used to be open on Saturdays, meaning my chances of getting a tick were limited. However, it has recently changed hands and someone who saw my Untappd check in suggested that it will be out the Good Beer Guide in the next edition. The landlords have not been there a year. That said, the Harveys Sussex Best was in excellent condition and this will be my "local", as Marylebone station is a bit of a beer desert.

Official site of Thornbury Castle - thornbury-castle.business.site

Official site of Thornbury Castle - thornbury-castle.business.site

Official site of Thornbury Castle - thornbury-castle.business.site

Side street boozer that I visited last time I was drinking in Marylebone in 2017. It's arguably the best pub in Marylebone. Although the real ale selection was limited to a couple of Rebellion beers on my Monday lunchtime arrival. These were Surf's Up & Overthrow. The lack of choice was most likely due to the fact that a Monday is fairly quiet. Only 4 other customers arrived during my stay, in addition to a couple of drinking colleagues with myself. I was planning to try both of the beers, until the Overthrow was replaced by Tring Citra Session. Thai food is served here and my King Prawn Pad Thai went down rather nicely. Prices for both beer and food seemed a bit steep. But then again, this is central London. The pub has a clear focus on rugby, with plenty of pictures and items relating to the sport on display. The interior is a fairly cosy carpeted affair with a small seating area at the front, a wider area to the side of the bar and further seating at the rear. Toilets are also downstairs at the rear. Staff are friendly and whilst the ale range was not as good as on my last visit, the beers were interesting enough to tempt me back in the future.

Fine side-street pub located a short distance over the A501 from Marylebone station and definitely one of the best pubs in the area if waiting for a train. Very traditional interior with a 'U'-shaped bar set a right angles to the street, with a further small 'L'-shaped seating / dining area set up a couple of steps at the back. 3/4-height wood panelling and a selection of old prints complete the pleasing effect. It's GBG 2019 listed, and there was a decent selection of real ales from smaller breweries - such as Amelia from Park (£5.10) - available from five of the six handpumps.