The Corner House, Windsor

We just had time for a swift half in the Corner House before a trip to the panto in Windsor. The Corner House was very quiet on this visit. Luckily it still accepts any existing loyalty cards where you used to buy 9 pints and get the 10th free. I'm pretty much there with mine. Although the card is now a bit of an antique! Ales on this time were Southwark Harvard & Huell Melon, Siren Broken Dream & Lumina, Beatnikz Republic Tropic Fiesta DDH & Wild Weather Calleva. Ciders were Thistly Cross Whisky Cask, Lilley's Gladiator, SeaCider Blood Orange & Farmer Jim's Medium. In addition, there are a fair few cradt beers dispensed from taps at the rear of the bar. There was no problem with the quality of our ciders, but the reduced range of 6 cask ales suggests that they are indeed struggling for beer turnover in the currant climate. Nevertheless, I still think that this pub is worth supporting and I'm sure I will be back when next in Windsor.

This is an attractive Grade II listed street corner pub with a large U-shaped layout centred around a centrally positioned servery. The bar has a beautiful U-shaped counter with attractive curved ends, a dark panelled counter front and a part matching bar back with some modern white tiling playing host to the ubiquitous row of craft keg taps. All of this stands beneath a pleasant gantry which has been topped with a number of figurines of jazz musicians, plus a ceramic bottle collection. Seating in the front part of the pub was limited to a row of high stools along a drinking ledge that runs beneath the pub’s front sash windows, with a similar arrangement also available to the right before giving way to a small rear room where button backed banquettes run around the walls, creating a cosy snug-like space. Similar banquettes can also be found to in the front right corner of the pub, albeit in a more opened out space beneath a large TV screen which was turned off through the course of my time here. To the left, you pass through an arch where more seating can be found, although this is mainly in the form of tables and chairs, giving the space a bit of a dining room feel. Walls throughout the pub are painted in dark colours and various seemingly randomly selected paintings add nothing to the pub’s overall look and feel – that honour goes to the ceiling, which has been liberally covered in pump clips, making it very clear that the pub is pushing itself as an alehouse. Some classic indie tunes played in the background at quite a loud volume, but not so much so as to impede conversation. I believe there is also a function room upstairs, but I didn’t get around to exploring properly. I think I counted ten hand pumps on the bar, four of which were out of use, leaving a choice of Big Smoke Solaris, Marble Pint, Oakham Citra, Harveys Sussex Best and Stardust Optic, plus a Seacider cider. One of the efficient team of bar staff took my order and served up a competent if unspectacular pint of the Marble, which left me wondering whether they were slightly overstretching themselves by having five ales on whilst social distancing was still in place. I was hoping I would be really impressed by this place, which sounds on paper like a great place to try out some good cask ale, but left feeling it was good without really getting all that close to being essential. It all felt a bit dark, empty and characterless, but I appreciate I may feel different once proper crowds are allowed back in again. I’d definitely check this one out again, but it didn’t become my default ‘go-to’ place for Windsor, like I’d expected it to.