The White Horse, Soho, W1

This is a solid Central London Nicholson’s pub, just round the corner from Carnaby Street. The pub has a two bar layout which has been opened up to create a single U-shaped room with dark wooden flooring and wall panels throughout. The left hand side of the room has high banquettes and tables with pictures of Carnaby Street on the walls above. At the rear, there are some steps down to a seating area which was lit with low level lighting, creating a cosy feel in an area decorated with floral wallpaper. The right hand side of the pub has a T-shaped banquette under the front window and high tables and stools through the rest of the room, including along a drinking ledge at the rear which was cordoned off on my visit due to a leaking air conditioning unit above. Some impressive posters for the London Palladium and Fortnum and Masons add a bit of colour and visual distraction to the room, as does the decent pump clip collection snaking around the servery. I noticed TV screens in both halves of the pub, but they were turned off in favour of loud dance music on my Friday night visit. As with most Nicholson’s pubs in Central London, there is a separate dining room upstairs, but I didn’t get round to visiting. A wide range of ales were available including Nicholson’s Pale Ale, Hilden Scullion, Growler Gladness, Wharfebank Fair Dinkum, Coach House Gunpowder Mild and Copper Dragon Black Gold, the last of which was in good shape. The staff were friendly, although I was shepherded from the left hand side of the pub to allow the cleaning staff to make a head start before closing time. Things were a bit manic here on a late Friday night, so I’m not sure I saw the place in the best light, but even so, I thought it was another good Nicholson’s house worth checking out for the interesting ale range alone.

Randomness Guide to London - White Horse entry

Randomness Guide to London - White Horse entry

Official pages of The White Horse, contains menus and cask ale details - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

Official pages of The White Horse, contains menus and cask ale details - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

The White Horse is tucked away on the cobbled streets adjacent to Carnaby Street and is far enough away to not attract the tourists. It is owned by Nicholson’s and supports a decent range of beers. It’s a two room pub although the rooms are connected at the back area and there are two sets of six hand pumps on either bar area. The pub is mainly set up for vertical drinking and can get very busy during the week with nearby office workers, especially media types from the surrounding film and publishing companies. There is limited comfy seating, but some quiet seating can be found in the smaller areas at the back of the pub. The surrounding streets are usually void of traffic which means they are utilised for outside drinking on decent after work evenings. The Ales included St Austells Tribute, Sharps Doombar, Fullers Chiswick and RCH Pitchfork on my last visit, and the Tribute was a nice pint. It’s not a brilliant pub, and the service can get a bit strained at busy periods, but has always been OK for me for a decent pint when in the Carnaby Street area.

This pub is tucked away in a side street off the tourist trap that is Carnaby Street. They had a reasonably good ale selection on – Sharp's Doom Bar; St Austell IPA; London Pride; GKIPA; and TT Landlord. All at under £3 a pint, with the Pride at only £2.50, which is good going for central London. All the pumps sported a second clip with a few tasting notes, as well as the price and ABV. A M&B pub possibly? Seating consists almost entirely of high stools/tables combined with ledges round the side. The ledge at which I sat was one of the stickiest I had ever encountered - I suspect that it needs a good wash, rather than a spray and quick wipe. The prices are good, and the ale selection's not bad, but otherwise it's not got much going for it.