Inn 1888, Marylebone, W1

One room with bar to the right. Four hand pumps - two reversed. Rest keg. Nothing spectacular.

A first in here the other night to what until 2003 was the far more sensibly named The Devonshire Arms, renamed as Inn 1888 as a reference to the year in which Jack The Ripper conducted his acts of charity - I wonder what Peter Sutcliffe's erstwhile local will be called 70-odd years from now? The interior is on CAMRA's inventory of historic interiors, displaying fantastic majolica tiles, stained glass windows and cut and etched mirrors. Furniture is conventional and there are two open fires, all of which contribute to this being one of the most 'pubby' of pubs in the area. Gone is the Thai food, replaced with dogs not because food is now Korean but because this is the faddish term for what used to be called hotdogs; there are burgers too and pulled pork. Service was fine, but the choice of ales was a bit lacklustre: Greene King's Abott and IPA, 1888's house ale and Belhaven's Golden Bay which was OK but mundane; I didn't clock the prices as we were in rounds. This is a very pretty pub and I'd gladly come again if in the area, but despite the finery it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi, perhaps due to it being largely an office workers' pub, devoid of locals.

Randomness Guide to London - Inn 1888 entry

Randomness Guide to London - Inn 1888 entry

They only had GKIPA and Abott Ale on. The GKIPA at £3.05 a pint was expensive for a very ordinary beer that was not in particularly good nick – but this may have been because it was the first pint of day that had not been drawn through. There is some rather nice Victorian tiling as well as some gilded, etched and cut glass. Bit it did not seem very welcoming, as the service was a little offhand. And it was very cold in there as well – I’m glad I had a sweater on. Thai food only, but I didn’t bother to stop to eat as it was too cold. One chap came in looking for a sandwich to eat, and left when he was told the food was only Thai. It is probably worth dropping in to have a peek at the décor, but I can’t see any other reason.

I’ve walked past this place numerous times over the years yet I’ve never felt the need to walk in as the impression I got from the people sitting at the picnic tables on the path outside and the view through the window was that this was more of an eating establishment than pub. After popping in a couple of weeks ago I discovered that it is actually a pub with Victorian features including some tiled walls and numerous mirrors, but it seems to have lost some of its character through the years. Greene King IPA and Abbot were the ale offerings along with the usual standard draught and Peroni found in most GK establishments. My Guinness was reasonable although the barman could have cheered up a little, but then again I used to hate working the graveyard Monday night shift. The bar is in the front corner of the pub and there are lots of spirit bottles lining the top shelf and these can be seen from the outside which does give a messy look. As I visited on a Monday there were only another couple of customers, but thankfully there was some relaxed background music playing so it didn’t feel like I was drinking in a waiting room. This place was better than I expected it to be, but although it may be worth a look as it is a bit different there are far better pubs in the area for a pint.