Southampton Arms, NW5

Back in for a late lunchtime visit, so the place was not so busy and managed to perch myself up the bar on one of the stools. Tried a couple from the former London but now based in Warwickshire Clouded Minds Brewery in the shape of Hazel Nutter and Clout Stout and they were both in good condition and very enjoyable. This is a very pleasant drinking den when it is not rammed and I’ve always found the beer to be OK, as it was again for this visit.

We visited here on a Saturday afternoon and the pub was busy, but did manage to a get a small table down the back. The clientele was mixed and the atmosphere was good and jolly. The pubs features were the mosaic tiled entrance and the small lit open fire. There were a lot of dark beers on handpump on this visit, too many I thought. Still I did manage to get a very good pint of Great Heck Blonde.

Somehow managed to never get here previously, and the squat part-single storey frontage certainly doesn't look much as you approach. However, once you get near to the door you begin to see a compact (and distinctly crowded) rectangular bar with sparse decor. Everybody was there for good reason, of course, with 12 beer handpumps on the bar plus six cider pumps at the back. Beer priced in bands by strengths, with a decent pint of Redemption Urban Dusk coming in at £3.30. Other features include a small patio beer garden out the back, plus the cooked meats advertised on some of the exterior signage. Overall, well worth quite an effort to make a visit.

Its great what you can do to a rubbish pub with a bit of thought.I remember this pub of old and adding lots of cask beer and cider has changed it to a must visit.Being long and narrow it can easily become overcrowded but has nice beer garden when the weather is fine.They often have Howling Hops beer from their sister pub.Traditional pub but not traditional if you know what i mean.