Cask, SW1

I remember coming here when it was the Pimlico Tram. I returned shortly after it opened as the Cask, possibly in 2009 and found this to be a groundbreaking venture at the time. As time passed, my tastes veered more towards real ale, for which there were many better pubs around London. Prices for the craft beer here far exceeded what I was willing to pay. I'm sure I've been back since 2009, but possibly only once. Fast forward to a Friday evening in March 2022 and my tastes have ventured slightly more into the craft beer market and being in town for a show nearby, the Cask seemed like the best place locally for a few drinks. However, my taste in beer and cider is not the only thing that has changed since 2009. This time, I had my 9-year-old son with me and I noticed that the CAMRA website stated that children are only allowed until 5pm. Arriving just before 5pm, I did enquire about children and was met with a quizzical look from the barman. There didn't seem to be any limit in reality. As such, with a burger and a few lemonades, I doubt very much that anybody noticed his presence in the corner! We arrived to find a fairly quiet bar. It's much more modern looking than in its Pimlico Tram days. The single barman was very knowledgeable and helpful with my beer selection. He was also pro-actively warning customers of any high prices for each of the beers, which was much appreciated, as whilst I don't mind trying some of the latest craft beers, prices can still be quite a shock. 6 cask ales were available. It appeared that they must have had some kind of Fyne Ales takeover at some point. 3 of their ales were on - Highlander, I Am A Mountain & I Am The Sea were all on, with a 4th clip (possibly Avalanche) turned round. Other cask ales were Acorn Barnsley Bitter & Old Moor Porter & Salopian Mellon Dream. The craft beer range still dominates here. If you can't find something unusual you haven't tried on draft, you're sure to find something in bottles in the fridges. On the pumps were Westbrook Mexican Cake (which went off before I could try it), Barrier Money, Mure Rullquin, Overtone Emerald Shore, Brick Redcurrant & Blackberry Sour, Burning Sky West Coast Blues, Orbit Dead Wax, Yonder Upside Down, Mondo Dennis Hopp'r, Old Street Infinite Bliss & Rothaus Wheat Beer. The fizzy cider was Lilley's Star Gazer. With 3 rounds and 3 burgers, I'd soon spent £100. But I quite enjoyed the different beers I had, some of which were in double percentages, and the burger was actually reasonable value by London standards. Whilst we were there, the pub began to fill up dramatically. By the time we were ready to leave, all tables were taken and it was standing room only. Extra staff had appeared to help the original barman, keeping up their efficiency of service. At the same time, the atmosphere grew, making the evening a very pleasurable experience. All in all, it proved to be a good way of preparing me for the prospect of a musical at the nearby Apollo Theatre. I doubt I'll leave it so long before paying a return visit next time.

Somehow, I’ve missed to review this one in all the times I’ve been coming here so time to put that right. The main salient points have all been covered by a multitude of reviewers below but outside of its always impressive real ale offerings the reasons I will continue to frequent it are 1) Its always a good atmosphere and is a reliable lively bolt hole this close to Pimlico tube. On an evening when the whether forecaster was predicting Snow Armageddon hitting London the pub was extremely lively when we arrived at 6.00PM and was still going strong when the last of us left some 3 and ½ hours later. 2) The service levels are extremely high. They were coping admirably with the after-work rush when we arrived and although our first round included the final pint of Marble Pint, the beer was put back on in time for our third round and the other four beers that went whilst we were there were also duly put back on during the evening despite the constant demand at the bar. 3) The quality is always good. On this particular evening eight of us had five rounds taking in most of the beers below 6.5% and we didn’t have a single duff pint between us. Cask is certainly not dead in this place. 4) As for Mr Fastard below the beer range does seem to get better with each visit. Alongside three offerings from Marble (Earl Grey IPA, Pint and the Porter) were EightArch Brewing easy life and Bobolink Coffee Oat Stout, Fyne Ales Vital Spark, Magic Rock Ringmaster and Park Brewery porter to name a few. Some might argue that’s a heavy presence of dark ales, but with temperature level plummeting and Snow Armageddon on its way , I was OK with that.

At last, a pub that gets a revisit stamp! I had Abduction which was excellent and the choice was extensive - 15 keg, 14 real ales and bottles in fridges. There was a price list to the left of the bar that showed increases in price subject to the ABV level - saves any messing around.

Housed in a dismal looking building,the interior isnt exactly cutting edge although functional. Its all about the beer here and was one of the first pubs to push craft beer and still does a very impressive range of keg and bottled beers. Cask beer wise there are 10 hand pumps with an equally impressive lineup on my latest visit here, Harbour Light Ale and Amber Ale, Stancil Barnsley Bitter,Glastonbury Pilton Pop,Smoked Rye and Velo Dog from Gun Brewery,and four from Hopcraft,Excange of Fluids 2,Every Hop I Love Is Dead,Graveyard Eyes and Digging Up The King.If your into good interesting beer this is the place for you.

Situated on the corner of a unappealing block of 1970s flats, this modern take on a pub goes from strength to strength. the interior is very contemporary with mushroom paint schemes and scrub top tables. Staff are pleasant and happy to discuss beer. I have visited several times in the last couple of years for both drinks and food. The beer is constantly changing and is always on top form. Sometimes the choice is restricted by nothing more than ABV, with perhaps 6 of the 10 pumps over 5.5 and far too strong for a session, but if you go back in a couple of days, the choice has changed. Quite often, there is a mild and a porter on the bar amongst the amber, red and brown beers, I have never failed to find something to my taste. Food is burger orientated and aside from the sweet brioche bun they are mighty tasty. The pub sells a decent glass of wine too, much to the delight of the wife. Fridges behind the bar and in the main room contain a bewildering assortment of bottled beers from around the world. Not my thing, but I am sure that some punters will indulge. In short, the Cask is a beer oasis in this part of London and well worth a visit.

Ten ales on handpump on our visit, we went for Siren Dinner for Six and Salopian Lemon Dream. I ordered a half of Salopian and then decided to upgrade to a pint. In spite of the pub being busy, this wasn't a problem to the patient barman. Beware a lot of tables reserved around the pub for the office crowd at 5pm.

19 July 2009 Hophead, Olde Trip, Morland Original (greedyk now, as is Olde Trip), Tom Wood's Bomber County, Everards Tiger, all £3.20. Under pressure, Peroni (£4.20), Leffe, Budvar, Amstel, Aspall Suffolk Cyder, guinness cold. A board montage of Darkstar clips (x15) to left of bar suggests that fine brewery will be well represented. Décor feels quite spartan on entry, open access to bar which runs the length of far wall, tiles here, otherwise light wood floor throughout. Reasonably spaced seating in the form of 14 dark wood tables (2s,3s,4s) & chairs, and wooden banquette winding around walls & below windows, solid base tho, & scatter cushions may prove more decorative than functional? Central pillar in bar area has drinking shelf & a few barstools &, behind this, two chesterfields face each other across a low table. The wall here has a large plasma but this will be for only occasional use (ie no Sky), along a bit to a wooden sideboard and boxed mirror. A little extra light is provided by the vertical ‘skylight' panelling nr ceiling, easy listening soundtrack was unintrusive. Printed food menu looks good, & good value for the area, eg fish, chips & mushy peas (that's right folks!) £8.75; cottage pie £7.75; Cask steak & cheese burger wi fries £8.50; seabass, spinach, spuds dauphinoise £9.75. A large blackboard at rear carried no info, but one could imagine may advertise daily specials at some point? or maybe a wine list, which I failed to note despite all this talk of food, sorry. Although the friendly guv, Martin, commendably aims to promote real ales (& there may be a ‘fest after a bedding-in period), I do think that the Cask is not very ‘pubby' and, as such, may need the food to be a significant contributor to retain a required customer base. No reason that shouldn't happen; it is served lunch & evening, opening includes weekends, the wet side has a good selection (& belgian styles in fridge), at least 3 good malts, it's clean and could appeal to female customers rather more than some scabby pubs around the station (despite its odd positioning under council flats). I wish them well.