The Prince Of Wales, SW1

This is an attractive looking street corner pub with dutch gables, preserved brown tiling and nice floral displays. Inside it is one long and narrow room which opens out a bit beyond the front side bar. The bar is ornately carved and has a central clock feature but it didn't look original or Victorian to me but at least an attempt has been made to retain a bit of character. Patterned carpet, wainscoted walls and textured patterned ceiling, the pub manages to capture a feel of a traditional local despite not being far from Victoria Station; round beaten copper topped tables reminded me of how old I am now! Décor included a few caricatures, theatre flyers, some old Royal types and a series of chalked quotations on the bar gantry. Six handpumps, Doom Bar, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Pride, ESB, Marston's Single Hop Amarillo and unfortunately reverse clipped, Snaith Old Mill Blonde Bombshell. Food is served, I didn't check menus or prices but a couple of boards advertised burgers and baked potatoes. Not a bad little find for this area, renowned for touristy transient type pubs, one disappointment however when a pair of Americans entered and ordered food then asked for drinks recommendations; the barmaid thoughtfully guided them towards Fosters!

This is a smallish street corner locals pub a shortish stroll away from Victoria Station. Outside, the strapline along the side of the building proclaims “ A Victorian Ale House. Established here circa 1860”. A rather featureless bare boarded interior interior has a small narrow bar area just inside the main door which opens out to a slightly wider seating area. There’s a few pictures of old kings and queens, but no real attempt to develop the theme. A fake ornate bar gantry is an obvious attempt to create a bit of an old world look, but it looks rather contrived and cheap and doesn’t disguise the fact that there’s no original fittings or Victorian features left. Beers on were Doom Bar, London Pride and TT Landlord, which appears to be the regular range. The Landlord - £ 3.30p – was really good and my work colleagues were complementary about the Doom Bar. This pub appears to have a good local customer base and, pleasingly, doesn’t seem to have that typically transient Central London pub feel to it. Worth a look in if passing, but it’s not worth specifically seeking out.

This smallish, single room, corner pub appears to attract a legion of regulars rather than have any great appeal for the wider audience. The carpeted interior is neat and tidy without too much that stands out although the clock centerpiece on the bar canopy does catch the eye. A retro radio/cd player stands on a window sill and the 3 TV’s disperesed throughout the pub screen a regular dosage of Sky Sports.A few old regal pictures (presumably ex-Prince of Wales’) adorn the walls but generally it’s quite a plain unfussy interior. Perhaps its ordinariness (is that a real word?) is its best asset when compared to the numerous touristy, gastro and chain pubs that frequent the area. Of the 6 hand pumps, 3 were unused with Pride and Landlord being the regular choices and Acorn Tangerine Dream the surprisingly unusual guest beer. Prices seem about opar for the area and proababkly a tad less than many of its immediate neighbours. It all seemed friendly enough although there probably isn't enough here to spend an evening here but it is a half decent stop gap whilst on the way to somewhere else or as part of a crawl.

Do NOT go anywhere near this pub! It is rubbish! The landlord is extremely rude, the prices are a joke and the whole place should have been bulldozed years ago - Londoners would not touch this place with a bargepole - go round the corner and enjoy yourself way more! This so-called pub is a disgrace!

This is a pretty standard small and thin boozer. Landlord and Pride were available during my visit, but there were three hand pumps with their clips turned around and Amstel was also available along with a standard draught range. It was pretty busy during my visit as a match on Sky Sports was being aired on the plasma screens at either end of the bar. There was nowhere to sit so I sat outside on one of the picnic tables and enjoyed my well served pint whilst people watching. This place doesn't really stand out and I wouldn't purposely return.

Real ales on were London Pride, Timothy Taylor Landlord, and the more rarely seen O’Hanlon’s Yellowhammer during my recent visit. I went for the Yellowhammer as it as an ale that I’ve only had a couple of times before, and it was as good as I remembered from the previous occasions. Food menu consisted of Thai food – great if you like it, which I do and the chicken green curry was most enjoyable. However, a group of six American tourists wandered in (presumably having taken a wrong turn at Buckingham Palace) looking for some fish and chips, and were somewhat surprised to find that an English pub didn’t have this staple menu item on offer. This is a smallish one-room pub down Wilton Rd, which looks as if it ought to be a backstreet pub, but is prevented from being one by virtue of being on a busy thoroughfare. There were some stools at the bar; one high table and high stools, as well as some normal tables and chairs and a scattering of small stools. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual in the way of decor, though I did spot some prints at the back featuring the Crown Jewels and other regal paraphernalia. There were some picnic benches outside, presumably for smokers, with a canopy over them which unfortunately made the inside even gloomier than it would otherwise have been on a very dull and overcast day. There was TV monitor on showing the cricket, but muted, some pop music being played, and I saw a one-armed bandit flashing away. It’s carpeted throughout, which gave it a warm feel, and the windows had some Victorian style drapes next to them. But my abiding memory of this pub is the overpowering smell of disinfectant, or some other cleaning product, that lingered throughout my visit. Nonetheless, I quite liked this small and reasonably cosy pub. I am sure that without the all-pervading smell of disinfectant it would be much nicer.