Noura, Kingston Upon Thames

The whole place is signed as a "Naturally Enriched Living Centre", with the alternative medicine centre still there (although I obviously I gave it a wide berth); the blackboard outside advertising their new healthy menu; and even the beer was gluten free. The internal layout seems to have changed a bit since Maldenman's visit. You now enter the bar/restaurant via a tiny courtyard on the right into the conservatory area, which no longer seems to be used as the restaurant, but looks to be the main drinking area. There's a large TV on the back wall, which appears to be an outdoor variety so I guess the ceiling blinds are retracted when the weather allows it. This room has an enormous tall bench (a 20-seater!) with tall stools running down the centre of the room, a few more much smaller tall tables/tall stools on the right, with some normal tables and chairs on the left. A door at the back on the left takes you into a larger room which now appears to be the main restaurant area. I didn't study a menu. The servery is in this room and the array of fonts seems much the same as those encountered by Maldenman, with several still simply labelled "The Willow". I guess they must be there as a rather pointless decorative feature. Obviously there was a large water container on the bar counter. There's still no real ale, and as far as I could see the keg offerings were all gluten free, with several from Vagabond, St Peter's, and Monty breweries. I had a half of Monty Dark Secret (£2.10 a half - and a new one on me), which was a reasonable stout, if a little too cold of course. Rather than being ignored as the previous reviewer was, after I had taken my half into the bar area and sat down, the barman brought me a little dish of nuts which I thought was a nice touch.