George & Dragon, Acton, W3

Formerly the St. George & Dragon, this pub dates from 1759 and I wouldn’t be surprised if virtually all of it is original; the oriel window right side overlooks an alley (now beer garden) which was probably once used for stabling. This is now part of the – usually – very good Remarkable Pubs Group (RGP), which specialises in restoring/reinstating authentic interiors with features such as real fires and a reluctance to fall back on electronic entertainment, save for their much-welcomed jukeboxes; think the Boleyn, Salisbury or Lord Tredegar. The rear of the pub features an ornate marble fireplace, enormous brew tanks in what looks almost like a small rural chapel, with its high vaulted ceiling; pew seating completes the illusion. The central part is very atmospheric, with dark – probably natural and quite possibly original – wood panelling and ornate fireplace. The front part is still seemingly authentic, but with RPG touches, such as ornate bar back and bust of some luminary/dictator. To the right is a board listing all landlords from 1759 (Daniel Sinman) to 2022 (Ewelina Antoniewska); what wasn’t so attractive was the coffee machine and lack of pumps or taps, giving the initial impression that this is a café conversion. Lighting comes from candle-style sconces, then trademark white translucent spherical lamps and – in a staggeringly incongruous departure for the company – an Equinox Triclops Beam © generator (see YouTube), which is a little like hosting Laser Quest in the Tower of London. The place was reasonably well attended for a Friday night, most customers were younger people or a fair clutch of East Europeans. Sadly, the ale selection has gone to the dogs since RPG got into bed with Sheppard Neame (Fuller’s was hardly an improvement), with just a reversed Rosie’s clip, three unused then just Shep’s Dragonfire, part of their new – and I would say ill advised – ‘Cask Club’ experiment, no doubt aimed at trying to crowbar the brewery into the 21st century. It tasted of virtually nothing, (which is an improvement on their new Maverick which tasted of garlic) £2.45 a half, served by a hairy barman. There’s a great pub just wanting to get out here, but the pitiful selection of ales on a Friday night and Neame beer really lets the side down; with a good cask choice (what was wrong with Five Points?), I’d have given this place at least a ‘7’, though it’s probably your best bet for a traditional pub in the vicinity, but the cask selection at the Red Lion & Pineapple kicks the stuffing out of what’s on offer here.

Official site of George & Dragon - georgeanddragonacton.co.uk

Official site of George & Dragon - georgeanddragonacton.co.uk

Home to the Firefly Brewery; this one is quite an oddity... The alehouse-style façade does indeed give way to a series of dark and very traditional rooms, but these then lead to a large hall at the back with an island bar and a fair-sized brew-plant at the back. Five of six handpumps in operation, but these featured three guest ales and two ciders. The only 'house' beer available was the keg Early Doors, but this was a tasty brew. Several Clouded Minds beers also featured amongst the other craft offerings.

This High Street pub is Grade II listed and has a very unusual interior, with entry into a small front seating area which gives way to a snug-like mid section before you finally emerge into the main bar at the rear of the building. The front room is apparently the former main bar, but now acts purely as a seating area, with impressive dark wood panels and muted lighting creating an atmospheric spot. Traditional seating options line the perimeter of the room, broken only by the fireplace to the left with a large portrait hung above, whilst to the right, a board lists all of the pub's former landlords. If the front room is dark and atmospheric, the mid-section is positively gloomy, with some button backed furniture set into a simple recess, a few bits of taxidermy on a high shelf and yet virtually no light source, perhaps explaining why it was empty on a reasonably busy evening. The bare boarded main bar has a central island servery dominated by two huge art-nouveau statues stood on the rear part of the bar counter. To the rear, the room is taken over by a small brew plant - the home of the Dragonfly Brewery - with a couple of mightily impressive brewing coppers standing out. The room has limited seating aside from bar stools along the four sides of the counter, with just a few pews and low stools to the front and left. There is a marble framed fireplace on one wall and a nice mural on another, but the lack of soft furnishings makes the space a bit echo-prone and therefore not as relaxing as the front room. I noticed a jukebox in one corner and there was a very good selection of tunes playing throughout my stay, whilst a trip to the toilets entails a brief outdoor trip through the small side patio area. I'd expected to find a few Dragonfly beers on, but only their 2 O'Clock Ordinary was available alongside guests in the shape of Liberation EPA and Clouded Minds Elisir. With one pump unused, two ciders from Milwright occupied the remaining handles and the keg range included some other small batch stuff admittedly including more from the in-house brewery. The barmaid who served me was very friendly and chatty and poured me a pretty good pint of the EPA. I'd hoped that this place would be the highlight of may crawl around Acton and I think it just about edged it ahead of the Wetherspoons. I liked the quirky layout and distinctly different drinking areas this pub offered and thought the service and beer quality was as good as anything I'd encountered that day. I'd suggest this is the one pub to visit when in the area and would happily make a return visit.

This is another Acton microbrewery, this one being the home of the Dragonfly Brewery. This is a TARDIS of a pub. You can see from the photographs that it's in the middle of a high street terrace, and on entering you are in what might be regarded as the main room, which is nicely panelled and sports a board naming all of the landlords/ladies back to the 18th Century. It's obviously a very old pub then. But to get a drink you have to walk past some more tables and chairs on the left into another large room with a vaulted ceiling at the very back of the building. There's a central island bar here, with the brewing apparats at the back of the room. Off to the right of this room, on the way to the toilets, is a bit of outside seating. This pub also offers a CAMRA discount. We had a couple of pints of the 2 O'clock Ordinary, which seems to be their standard bitter, which, as you would expect, was in excellent shape. There were several other Dragonfly beers available, but for some reason I failed to note them. They clearly do food as we saw some people eating, but there weren't any menus on the tables when we dropped in at around (most appropriately considering what we were drinking) 2.0 PM. This place is full of character, with ancient wood panelled walls, uneven black beams and posts. The reproductions of a couple of old masters in the front room is a nice feature as well. This pub is a must for anyone contemplating a crawl including Acton.