Drunch, St John's Wood, NW8

now an estate agents

The Star is a small looking pub,there is a small outside seating area which is now covered by two large jumberellos,no doubt to keep smokers dry. Once inside there is a small L shaped room,there was comfortable bench seating around the edge of the room and small stools,the room is carpeted. There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of London Pride which was a decent enough drink,the other beer was Theakston bitter. The pub had a nice laid back feel to it,it was also very comfortable,i quite liked this pub. Pub visited 1/5/2014

Deuchars IPA and London Pride (£1.65 a half) were on here. The Pride was very hazy, but drinkable. When I was in on Wednesday lunchtime food was available, with the menu being basic and limited (that's a plus!) and fairly cheap (another plus). Sandwiches are from £3.70 to £4.50 and the pub classic of burger and chips was £4.75. Walking up to a pub with a black painted exterior I don't expect much, but the inside of this pub I liked very much. Entering through the corner door brings you into an original (I think) vestibule before getting into the main room. There's another entrance along the front leading into another vestibule - this one would have had at least two, or possibly three, doors leading from it but now has only one. This is a one time Charrington's pub, with some of the exterior Toby Jug signage still in place. There's a bit of outside seating at the front. The pub is largely opened up now of course, but there are some residual bits of archway that give some indication of the original layout. The bar counter looks old enough to be original, and there are a couple of fireplaces, with the one on the left with marble surrounds being of particular note. There was a coal effect fire alight in it, which was very welcome on a cold January day. The place is carpeted throughout, and furnishings are banquettes and normal tables and chairs. The walls were covered with photos of film stars - including Elvis, the Duke, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Stewart and many more. There was a TV (muted when I was in) and the music was being played at a low volume. This pub was much better than I expected, and here I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt with the indifferent Pride, in the hope that my experience was a minor blip. This place has the indefinable pub character that I like.