Elephant & Castle, Kensington, W8

This is a compact Nicholson’s pub on a street corner a short walk from High Street Kensington tube station. Arriving in the evening, the first thing I noticed was how dark the pub was, as you enter into a dimly lit room that combines with a great deal of dark wood panelling and floorboards, to create an atmospheric and rather cosy effect. A couple of long, padded, curved banquettes stand either side of the entrance with numerous low stools in support and two drinking ledge lined pillars opposite help to funnel people through the room, towards the bar area. The servery has a nice, U-shaped dark wood counter which arcs around the rear wall, beneath a smart canopy and pot shelf. Gleaming brass foot rails and an impressive back-lit Charringtons branded bar back add to the grand effect the servery produces, making it the main focal point of the room. Beyond the bar, there is a small space to the rear with limited seating and plenty more wood panels, but this seemed a bit cut-off from the rest ofg the pub and was proportionately quieter as a result. Decor throughout the pub includes various paintings, corporate-style blackboards and display cabinets full of random shiny things. There was also a framed front page of the Evening Standard from the day that John Lennon was shot, although this was partially lost beneath a load of tasteless Halloween decorations. There are a few pavement seats in a small front garden area and a door to the rear leads out to a rear patio, which I failed to explore. On the bar, the usual decent selection of ales you’d associate with Nicholson’s pubs were available, with the full range comprising Siren Liquid Mistress and Sweet Dream, Fullers London Pride, Nicholson’s Pale Ale, Sharps Doom bar and Wychwood Hobgoblin. The Sweet Dream set me back a hefty £5.05 for a pint but it was absolutely divine – one of the best beers I had all year and therefore almost worth the annoyingly large pile of shrapnel I got back in change. I thought this was a good Nicholson’s pub with a nice, atmospheric interior, friendly bar staff and some heavenly beer, albeit at hellish prices. A lot of the pubs in this part of town make me feel a bit out of place, but I was more than happy sat in here and will be making it my ‘go to’ pub whenever I find myself in the area.

Bit disappointed with the beers in here. Nothing over 4.5%. Pub is OK - must have caught it on a bad day.

A street corner pub situated in the pleasant back streets away from the busy high street,although technically a one room pub there are two distinct drinking areas. There were just four beers on whilst I was there,Doom Bar, Trumans Runner,Exmoor Gold and Nicholsons Pale, I tried the Trumans beer and found it to be served to warm with a slight musty taste about it. I was Impressed with the pub itself but question the beer Quality, I would give another go here.

Well described below, this backstreet boozer, currently owned by Nicholson’s, has a GBG entry which is well deserved. Six ales on this visit: Camerons Fridge Magnet, Robinson’s Wizard, Doombar, Kōma Off The Wall, Adnam’s Jester and Exmoor Beast, plus a menu of bottled beers including Brewdog, Williams, Siren and Hawkes. Staff were pleasant and the ambience was fine apart from the gaming machine. There was also a wine list, but this was uninspiring and dull, but then this is an ale pub, not a wine bar. Worth spending a few hours enjoying their beers.

This is a Nicholson’s house so you can expect a decent ale selection. This one had on Doom Bar, London Pride, Sharp’s Cornish Trawler, Red Squirrel Hopfest and Thornbridge Frank as Apollo. Some of the old Charrington signage remains on the bar back. A typical Nicholson’s pub grub menu is available, but in this upmarket area of Kensington it’s obviously not one of the cheapest that you’ll see – e.g. the fish and chips (sorry “premium line caught cod, chips, and mushy peas”) is £10.95. The pub itself is attractive and reasonably comfortable, although it’s been considerably opened up over the years of course. It’s bare boarded, has mainly banquette seating with some some wooden seats and standard tables, and there’s also some seating on a terrace outside. The walls are wood panelled to three quarter height, and there is a small room around to the left and rear of the bar counter which would no doubt have been a private bar or snug in the past. Set in a quiet street away from the hustle and bustle of the Kensington High St area, I found this pub to be a very pleasant retreat. It gets busy as these sort of places inevitably do, but it’s certainly worth a visit if you’re in the area looking for a decent pint or two in convivial surroundings.