The Watermans Arms, Brentford

This is a very small pub tucked down a side street off Brentford High St leading down to the river. The narrow frontage still has some very attractive green tiling, and the upper portion of the building boasts some fine “brewer’s” Tudor decoration. The inside of the building has a bit of seating to the front of the room directly in front of the bar counter, as well as a narrow seating area stretching around to the back on the right. There’s nothing fancy in the way of furnishings here, just tables and chairs – which is a really good thing. The Japanese influence of the landlady stretches to the prints on the walls, all of which that I saw were Japanese themed. I also saw a specials menu on the wall, advertising, among other things, Japanese beef curry for £9.95 and steak and ale pie for £7.75. Being a Green King house there aren’t going to be many surprises on the ale front, although when I visited on Saturday afternoon they did have St Austell Proper Job as a guest ale for £3.30 a pint. I thought that was quite a nice little pub, and I wouldn’t mind dropping in for another pint sometime.

Just off the main road coming into Brentford, virtually next door to the newish Premier Inn, is The Watermans Arms, an attractive looking pub with a mock Tudor exterior and colourful hanging flower baskets. Coloured leaded windows and tiling add to the traditional looking style of the exterior. It’s a small horseshoe shaped bare boarded bar decorated with rugby, football and local area photographs. In an alcove at one side is a dartboard. A door at the other side leads out to a well maintained terrace garden. There’s several seats on the pavement at the front of the pub. Evidently the ‘Elf n Safety people have recently called in as, on the tables, rather laughably, we see prominent notices warning us not to tilt the chairs out over the pavement edge, as management will not be held responsible for any injuries we may incur if we fall into the road ( which is traffic free, incidentally due to bollards a few yards further down ). Inside the pub, behind the bar is a joint Wales / Japan rugby scarf which I presume reflects the allegiances of mine host and hostess, Gordon and Mariko Fry. Several framed newspaper cuttings record the fact that they have won awards for their inventive cooking, featuring Japanese specialities. They were previously at The Swan, a Sheps pub inHampton Wick, and before that a country pub in Berkshire. The Watermans Arms is a former Morlands house and, as such, was a rare find in the area. Now of course it’s badged as a Greene King pub and only ever seems to offer GK IPA and Abbott. Despite its location, on a pedestrianised side street leading down to some executive style riverside apartments, The Watermans Arms never seems particularly busy to me. There’s a more welcoming atmosphere here than in many Brentford pubs, but there’s not much to get excited about, in all honesty.

Popped in here for a swift one on a saturday lunchtime prior to a Bees game. Small GK boozer, struck me as more of a locals pub with a horseshoe bar and a small section for food. Rather disappointingly only Abbot and GK IPA on, but visiting was a pleasant enough experience. Dartboard and, for some reason, golf clubs available round one side of the bar.

This is a pretty small boozer serving up Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale, Stella, Fosters etc. Barman was friendly enough and no complaints with my pint. The Garden is fairly small and decked out with lots of potted plants and a few strategically placed watering cans. Pleasant enough, but I'm not sure about the empty champagne bottles in all of the ashtrays, is there a reason for it that I'm missing? Not a bad pub, like most in Brentford.