Three Crowns, St James's, SW1

This fairly typical but little known West End pub is a bit tucked away in the back streets and easy to miss (I only found it by accident while looking another pub). The interior is quite formulaic but with some nice touches like the coloured glazing in the interior screens and bar frame. The latticed windows, gas lamp and bookcases give it a cosy, homely feel whilst the Thetare posters and old black and white photos of local landmarks remind you that you are still yards away from the bustling West End. The false Tongue & Groove ceiling makes the place a bit more intimate and there is a small snug beside the bar. 4 Ales on offer, all rather standard - Adnams, Green King IPA, Pride and Speckled Hen but reasonably priced for the area. The usual fruit & quiz machines, TV and cash machine are all present. The Three Crowns basically does everything to satisfy the generic punter without being exceptionally special but if you are looking for a place in the area but off the beaten track and not generally packed to the rafters with tourists, you could do a lot worse than here.

Even though other pubs in the area were quite busy this place was very quiet during my recent visit. This may be due to its location tucked down a side street or maybe because it is pretty unremarkable. Doom Bar, Adnams, Directors and Pride were the ale options alongside a standard draught range and Amstel. There was a strong smell of fish and chips, but I didn’t spot anyone eating so the smell must have been lingering since lunchtime that had passed a couple of hours before my visit. There was a bit of very slow background music playing and the plasma screen was showing muted BBC News 24 as I believe there is no Sky in here. I found the barman to be friendly and my Guinness was well served, but I think that there are better pubs in this area.

They had GKIPA, Pride, Young's Bitter and Spitfire on when I was in here. I had the Pride, which was OK. This is a small fronted, but medium sized pub tucked away off the beaten track down a side street off Jermyn Street. Service was friendly – the couple behind the bar both spoke with British accents. It was comfortable, and fairly quiet on the last Saturday before Christmas. Seems to be a good place to escape the crowds filling the nearby streets. I rather liked this pub. There was nothing outstanding about it, although I thought the leaded lights in the bar gantry, and in panels at the rear of the pub, were quite attractive. This is probably a good place to go if you fancy a quiet pint.