Windsor Castle, Westminster, SW1

Very neat and tidy pub with good lighting. Various rooms and a first floor lounge and lots of wood panelling. Would be a great pub if not a Sams.

I can't add much to the excellent descriptions below, but I can confirm that this pub continues to offer great value for money and a thoroughly enjoyable pint of Sam Smith's. The atmosphere was welcoming, the company was convivial and the staff were professional and friendly. Well worth the walk from Victoria, and should be included in a Pimlico or Petty France crawl.

Situated in the back streets of Westminster, and in the shadow of Westminster Cathedral, is The Windsor Castle, a Sam Smith’s pub that reopened in June 2011 following a predictably sympathetic refurbishment. Previously called The Cardinal – named after one Cardinal Manning, a former Archbishop of Westminster, who devoted his life to helping London’s working classes – a vigorous campaign against changing the pub’s name finally proved unsuccessful. Etched glass screens divide the interior up into a number of adjoining compartmentalised drinking areas, including, rather curiously, one small snug barely large enough to accommodate half a dozen drinkers. Seating is mainly standard wooden tables, chairs and stools with a more comfortable banquette lining the side wall in the main bar area. At the rear, what was once a rather dark and gloomy restaurant area, is now a large well appointed lounge with a mixture of sofas and armchairs resembling to some extent a hotel lobby. There’s the obligatory framed prints and photographs of Windsor Castle on the walls. There’s also an upstairs lounge, which was booked out for a pre-Xmas private party on my visit. The splendid burgundy coloured moulded ceiling has been retained, but, disappointingly, the large drape curtains which instilled a degree of cosiness and warmth have gone. The large plain windows down the right hand side of the pub now give a rather cold and stark view of the brick wall across the road. The Sam Smiths OBB is now £ 2.72p per pint – almost a 30% increase from the reported price of £ 2.11p in July 2011. Someone has to pay for the refurbishment, I suppose, but, in fairness, it’s still excellent value for Central London. A rather liberal interpretation of the policy of serving the beer with a Northern head resulted in me being served well over an inch short – which was only topped up rather grudgingly. If you like the traditional style and atmosphere of Sam’s pubs, you’ll probably want to look this one out.