Sawyers Arms, Paddington, W2

This is a Greene King house with the usual suspects on, plus Rockin’ Rudolph and “Trial Brew”, a GK stout. Being this close to Paddington Station food is inevitably available – sandwiches £5 - £6 and main courses featuring plenty of pub grub options are between £7 - £10, with the classic steak and ale pie weighing in at £9.95. The pub itself is OK. There are quite a few tall tables/tall stools in the main bar as you enter, with more traditional furnishings up a few stairs at the back. There’s also an upstairs room signed as a “bar restaurant”, and seems to be a more relaxing area than downstairs. The downstairs room is dominated by a massive mirror on the back wall, but I didn’t spot anything else worth mentioning. There were Christmas decorations everywhere of course, including a real Christmas tree by the door. There were a few gastro-type things around, such as the large jars of nuts, and covered dish of assorted pastries behind the bar, but this is by no means a gastropub. This is a decent enough little pub. I’m not a great fan of Greene King ales – nor tall tables/stools, but the back of the room and upstairs bar seemed quite comfortable. This one’s OK as long as you’re happy with GK beers.

Was in London this April from visiting UoWarwick to decide whether to take the offer for the BSc Econ. (The Uni was boring by the way). Wasted my day in the hunt of another pipe (and purchased a charming Charatan). Being hungry, I ordered a full meal and olives and an Abbot. There were complete but irregular sets of furuniture and I chose those that fitted my mood the most. The place was 3/4 full. After 5 minutes' worth of waiting I realized I miscalculated the the depart time for my flight. Voiced my sad predicament.Food arrived in 5 minutes. Wasn't even half done with my olives as an appetizer. Downed my pint, but the waitress was sweet even before. The meal was great, so I finished the second half. Barely made it in time to the flight and returned to felicitous Austria where beer was distributed in measures. She was a solid 8/10.

Not too bad a choice for the station - unexpectedly good pints of Adnams Broadside and Spitfire (think GK IPA was the other one) although not cheap by any means. An interesting layout inside, plenty of different areas to sit in, if a bit cramped overall. A decent crowd too, good pervading atmosphere despite Paddington’s iffy reputation. My food came out at fair speed and tasted fairly good for what it was (microwave fayre). No world-beater but worth a call if you have 30-odd minutes to kill before the train.