The Earls Court Tavern, Earls Court, SW5

Official site of The Earls Court Tavern - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

This is a Victorian corner pub, along the slightly depressing drag that is Earls Court Road, known as Kangaroo Valley. The interior is wood panelled, otherwise this being a traditional by the numbers GK pub, though this one is more heavily geared towards sport, the excitable young crowd screaming at the TV as if England had reached the World Cup final. Staff looked bored, with one hugging a structural column like a three-toed sloth, then blowing cling film cracks before repeatedly hitting the bar with the roll. Ales on offer amounted to Abbot, GK IPA, with me plumping for a half of Neck Oil at £3.35 a half. This is a somewhat dispiriting pub, the least desirable in the SW5 area.

Official site of The Earls Court Tavern - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

With some nice hanging baskets outside, this looks and feels like a decent-enough pub, aided by a friendly greeting from the barmaid. A little bit tarted up with brass trimmings but pleasantly done and with a nice proportion of dark wood. The 3 sports screens are perhaps a bit large but with sound off are not too bad. A GK pub with just Abbot and IPA on offer but the condition seemed good; my only gripe was slightly higher prices than others nearby.

This is a Greene King with their Taylor Walker branding. There were predictable GK ales on, plus Wimbledon SW19, a summer ale that rocked in at a hefty £2.60 a half. I think it's much less of a gastro-pub than that encountered by a previous reviewer. They have returned to the usual corporate large illustrated menus featuring the usual pub grub. The cod & chips was £12.99, which was not cheap, but consistent with the expensive ale prices. It's comfortably furnished, as is the way with these Taylor Walker pubs being mainly carpeted, with only a few tall tables/tall stools by the windows and furnished mainly with normal tables and chairs. The bar back is a nice piece (and I am referring to pub fittings here); it looks old, possibly Victorian, but I didn't see anything else of note in the way of fittings and decor. This pub seemed a cut above the average as far as Taylor Walker pubs are concerned, with prices similarly a cut above the average.

Another unexceptional pub. Little ale and maybe I was put off by the hugely obese Americans who followed me in.