The Queen Charlotte, Fitzrovia, W1

Used to be called the Northumberland Arms and wasn’t very good by all accounts. Re-opened as the Draft House Charlotte three years back and the continued adverts in London Drinker made me think it was worth a go. Timed my visit badly as it was absolutely rammed with the after-work crowd. A number of pumps at the bar all clipped with Camden. Turned out our luck was in as it was a Camden promo evening and the first X amounts of pints were free. By happy coincidence there were four left…a pint each for our party of four. Ended up outside as there was no seating to be had within. No complaints about the state our ales. Won’t leave a mark due to the unusual circumstances but saw enough to tempt me back. On a non-pub related note, I can highly recommend the family-run Italian restaurant over the road (Trattoria Mondello).

Was looking forward to trying this place but unfortunately was closed on my attempt between Christmas and New Year,will keep it in mind for the future.

They had on Brighton Blonde plus a couple of King Brewery ales when I dropped in here last week. They were advertising a “daily cask” at £2.75 a pint (it was the Brighton Blonde when I visited), which came down to £2.25 when the 50p off a pint CAMRA discount was applied. These are competitive prices by a long way – they probably undercut ‘spoons prices in this part of the world. I didn’t see a menu or food. Furnishings are mainly recycled church pews, normal tables, and ghastly emerald green hard wooden stools. The bar counter looks to be an old piece of kit, but I didn’t spot any other original pub features. There was a framed picture of a hamburger on one of the walls, which I guess is intended to be a decorative feature rather than an advert for food on offer. I didn’t see a TV, but while I was there they played a mixture of reggae, blues, and the Stones, which is an eclectic mix if ever I heard one. I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by other Draft House pubs, but for some reason I quite liked this one. Maybe it’s because this one is a single small room that had a nice pubby atmosphere when I was in – and a decent pint at £2.25 might have helped as well.

Small bar serving 3 real ales and 10 "craft keg".