Black Horse, Hounslow

There's no real ale here, so I opted for a half of Cobra for £1.85. A sign outside said that Indian food was available, and although I didn't see a menu or signs of food, the distinctive odour of curry was lingering about the place. This is a very large and imposing corner site pub. Inside it's carpeted, and there's a central island servery with three large inter-connected rooms around it. All the rooms have dark brown batons on the ceilings, dissecting the rough plastering that's presumably there to try and give it a country pub look. The walls retain their fielded wood paneling to three-quarter height, surmounted by narrow shelving. Unfortunately said shelving is empty, where many pubs would fill it with knick-knacks. The room at the back has a pool table. It was fairly quiet in here during my weekday early afternoon visit, with only a handful of blokes in the pool table room. Although it's fairly comfortable in here, furnished almost entirely with normal tables and chairs, I found it a bit sterile and in the absence of a decent real ale I'm unlikely to visit again.

I was the only person at the bar and I had to wait a while for service, but an apology was given. I think that each of the barmaids thought that the other was serving me. The back room has 2 pool tables, a dart board and an old TV. The main bar area is narrow, but quite comfortable and has a plasma. There is also a function type room at the front of the pub that had a strong smell of curry wafting around it. The drinks selection is pretty unremarkable with Courage best and standard lagers on offer. I'd say that this pub is ok for the area.