The Marquis of Granby, Westminster, SW1

A little tucked away, but still only a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, this is a simple, single room Nicholson’s pub. The room has bare floorboards and lots of dark wood paneling, but is devoid of any of the outstanding period features that characterise many pubs in this particular chain. The servery runs down the left hand side of the room and there is banquette seating along the opposite wall underneath windows which bear the Nicholson’s logo. Elsewhere, there is a mix of standard and high stool seating, although on my post-work visit, getting a seat was out of the question and in such a small space, standing room was at a premium. The ceiling is nicely patterned and there are some intricate lamps suspended from above, but the only other thing of interest was the display in honour of Siegfried Sassoon, who apparently used to live on nearby Tufton Street and presumably would have frequented this pub. Some TV screens were on showing muted rolling news coverage whilst music played in the background but was drowned out by the noise generated by the crowd of civil servants. Like many Westminster pubs, there is a division bell on one wall. At the bar, a row of hand pumps offered Fullers London Pride, Thwaites Nutty Black, Nicholson’s Pale Ale, Skinners Betty Stogs and Sambrooks Junction, with two clips reversed. Rather surprisingly, there were four hop-lined casks racked up behind the bar, dispensing Navigation Pale, Robinsons Unicorn and Woodforde’s Norfolk Gold with one other still conditioning. I gave the Navigation Pale a try, but found it to be flat and uninteresting and immediately regretted not choosing something from the pumps. The keg range included Harviestoun Schiehallion, Meantime London Lager and Pale Ale and ciders from Symonds and Aspall’s. I thought this place lacked the charm of many of London’s higher profile Nicholson’s pubs and the dubious quality of my pint didn’t help to endear me to the place. It’s probably worth a look if you’re in the area because of the chance of finding an interesting beer, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit again.

2 floor Nicholson's pub. Real ale and food served. The Marquis of Granby will be closing for refurbishment from the 2nd November and due to reopen on the 23rd November 2012.

An historic pub with parliamentary connections, one of the ones with a division bell, and if you enter via the Dean Bradley Street entrance there is a sign above the door declaring it to be the 'Speaker's Bar and Dining Room'. Beyond that, it is one of the less sympathetically kept Nicholson's establishments, and has had its ups and downs over the last few years in terms of service, beer range and quality. At the moment it seems to be on an up ale-wise, with seven hand pumps, a bank of three serving staples Pride, Tribute and Doombar, and another bank of four with guests Fullers IPA, Liberation IPA, Brewdog Alice Porter, and the fourth vacant. I haven't had a problem with a pint here for some time: this evening I had a well kept Fullers IPA for £3.25. It is usually populated mainly by civil servants from the various departments nearby, in quite varying numbers. Perhaps therein lies a problem: on a busy night with customers spilling across the pub and street it can be quite difficult to get served by the usually two overworked and sometimes inadequately motivated staff, whereas early on a Monday evening like this one I was served promptly and courteously, but no-one seemed to have clocked that cleaning sticky tables might be a good thing to do whilst it was quiet. Food is quite good value here, usual Nicholson's mains starting at £6.45, and there is an apparently more comfortable dining room upstairs, though I haven't visited it. Difficult to sum up as I've found this pub such an inconsistent experience. I think it is worth dropping in for a pint if in the area, or in an after-work group, but I wouldn't be inclined to go out of my way to come here, or to settle in for a session.

As the only pub within 3 or 400 yards, the Marquis is understandably popular after work and therein lies the principal problem. Just two overwhelmed bar staff led to a 15 minute wait to get served recently. The pints were served fast and could have done with a top-up but given the crowds that seemed unfair on those behind. This is a shame because, in most other ways, it's fine pub. Just a single room downstairs (plus function room upstairs where I'm told there's another bar, handy for dodging the crowds). The lager range contains familiar faces (although includes Amstel, which doesn't seem to be on every bar). Ales are good quality and they make full use of the Nicholson guest beer policy. The other black mark I have is for the overly loud music - this doesn't cause so much of a problem on a warm evening when customers simply move on to the street. In all, one of the better offerings in the area, but not worth a special trip unless you prefer to observe bar staff in action to drinking.

Official pages of The Marquis of Granby, contains menus, wine and real ale lists - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

Official pages of The Marquis of Granby, contains menus, wine and real ale lists - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk