The Prince, West Brompton, SW6

This is a large, split level Taylor Walker pub just a stones throw from West Brompton station. You enter up steps that take you onto a large front patio area with a range of garden furniture affording you views of the busy road below. The front door takes you into the upper main bar area with the servery located on the right hand wall. There is plenty of seating on this upper level, mostly standard chairs and padded benches, especially in the front left corner and to the rear of the room. A few attractive etched glass panes are on show in sections of wall and partitioning screens, with a mix of old pictures and modern wallpaper rounding out the décor which sounds like a mismatch but actually works pretty well. A few of the partitioning screens also have the Prince of Wales feathers motif inlaid, which looks pretty good. Several TV screens were dotted around, most of which were turned on and showing muted Sky Sports football highlights. The lower left side is ideal for those wanting food, with smart carpet throughout, half panelled walls, floral wallpaper and standard tables and chairs supplemented by one long L-shaped button backed banquette. Music played quietly throughout my late mid-week evening visit and there was a surprising number of customers which helped liven things up a bit. Five hand pumps were in operation when I arrived, with three ales, Westerham 1730, Thwaites Big Ben and Hogs Back TEA, and two ciders, Old Rosie and Thatcher's Cheddar Valley, to choose from. An extremely gruff barman served up a pint of the Big Ben which I was pleased to find was in fantastic shape, slipping down very nicely for the last pint of the day. There is a sense that this is a bit of a formulaic pub offering nothing that the rest of the chain doesn't already provide, but I thought the place had a bit of character and the fine pint of beer more than made up for the surly service. I found this a pleasant surprise and would give it another go the next time I'm passing through West Brompton.

A good sized Taylor Walker corner pub near the tube station, convenient for Earl's Court, It's unique selling point is the large subterranean garden at the back, well hidden and providing a quiet oasis where you can have a pint and a snack away from the bustle. Free wifi and decent food are on offer. Three ales on, I had a pint of 6X which was in good condition. Well worth dropping in.

It must be over 20 years since I last visited this pub, but I don’t reckon that it’s changed much. It’s now a Taylor Walker branded Punch pubco pub, thus the usual pubco pub grub menu is available. I was in just after 2.00 PM on Wednesday, so I guess the fact that some of the tables were sticky and unwiped was due to the fact that it was soon after the lunchtime rush. London Pride and Doom Bar were available, with the latter at a bit over £3.00 a pint as I recall, which is not bad for London. Outside at the front of the pub is a raised terrace area from which one can observe the comings and goings of Lillie Rd. Inside the main bar area has a mix of normal tables and chairs and solid looking tall tables and stools. There’s also another seating area down a few stairs on the left, containing more tables and chairs. For me the best feature of this pub is the bay windows/doorway past the bar counter on the right, which leads down a few steps to an enclosed courtyard garden. This will be a real suntrap earlier in the year, when the sun gets over the top of the building. The table tennis table mentioned by a previous reviewer was not present when I visited. Being next to one of the entrances to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre this pub can get busy at times. This is a very typical pubco pub – OK for a pint or two, but not really worth going out of your way to visit.

Doesn't look like a bad pub, but the service seemed a bit erratic (the sign promising that pints with too much head will be topped up is entirely needed). And then the Ringwood 49er was doing a fair impression of Brown Windsor. Might give it another try on the benefit of the doubt, but certainbly won't go specially.