The Stag, W4

Situated in an attractive north Chiswick enclave, this is a late 19th century pub built for Watney’s – one of their trademark roundels occupies the corner splay – which spent some time as O’Reilly’s, the name reinstated in 2003. Initially the place seemed inviting, with well-tended hanging flowers and faience tiling; appearances though can be deceptive, with a pale floor, brown wainscoting, a plum or mushy peas colour scheme, upholstered bar stools and no décor; the entire left-hand side is dominated by a pool table, a decent soundtrack being the only redeeming feature; customers are a rather sweary bunch, though none seemed to speak English as their first language. There’s no cask here and then only a meagre Eurofizz offering, a half of Stella costing a reasonable £2.50, served by a cheery barman. This is a glum pub; you don’t expect to find somewhere like this with a W4 postcode, but fortunately the Swan is just down the road.

I had a few in here earlier this week and found the barman and the locals to be very welcoming. There seems to be some renovation going on and I'm not sure if the locals were actually locals or if they were builders taking advantage of having a contract in a pub! The drinks available are Pride, Hydes Smooth, Guinness, Strongbow, Carlsberg, Stella, Fosters and there is also a space for a guest ale, but it was not being utilised. The pub itself has a large bar that makes the edges rather narrow, but there is enough space for ample seating and a pool table. I spotted three screens, but they were not on so I'm not sure that they show Sky, but I'd imagine that they do. There is some seating outside the front of the pub which is next to a fairly busy road, so not ideal. Taking everything into account this isn't that bad a pub and I would go back if in the area.