The Rising Sun, Willesden, NW10

This is a backstreet pub, certainly interwar (1928) as mentioned by Rex, which may be a rebuild, as the surrounding houses look to range from the late 19th century/early 20th century to the 1930s. The interior is basic in a fairly modern way, the only nod to originality being a few etched panes and modest original bar back with clock. There are modern bare boards to the floor, shades of grey colour scheme then much bare brick (see website), conventional furniture, silent unwatched sport and games machine, enjoyed by local customers in good spirits, making for a decent atmosphere at the time of my Friday evening visit. With two unused pumps, it was more Neck Oil coming in at a cheap £3.10 a half, served by a very friendly barmaid. This is a decent community boozer, but it’s let down by lack of character (though certainly no lack of characters), lack of cask beer and presence of unwatched sport.

Official site of The Rising Sun - www.risingsunwillesden.co.uk

Official site of The Rising Sun - www.risingsunwillesden.co.uk

There was no real ale on in here, and nor did I see any sign of food. My half of Guinness was £1.85. Unlike the other pubs that I had been in today, this one clearly had a heating system in place that had managed to heat the place up to a habitable level. Or maybe because it was later in the day whereas the others I had visited soon after opening? Anyway, I was pleased to be able to get warm again in here. There were one or two bucket armchairs around the place, a single tall table with tall stools at which the three other customers were perched, but furnishings were mainly banquettes with normal tables and chairs. There was a pool table, TVs on showing Loose Women, and a couple of fruit machines, and that's about it. There's a photo of the pub on one of the walls, with a note saying that it was taken in 1910 and that the pub was built in 1896. but WhatPub says the current pub was built in 1928 and I have to say that it looks more inter-war than Victorian to me. There's some original (grey-painted) matchboard panelling on the dado; cream painted matchboard panelling on the ceiling; and what looks like the original bar counter (now grey-painted). This looked to be a decent little watering hole, which would obviously be greatly improved with the provision of a decent real ale.