The Castle Inn, W5

The Castle Inn is a good looking Fuller's pub, situated half way on the stretch of road between South Ealing and Ealing Broadway. Internally its one large space, mainly light Oak decor, with seating either side of the main bar section. I didn’t find the atmosphere that cosy, but that was probably due to the fact that we popped in on a Sunday afternoon when the live football was on. There are three Plazma screens and a big pull down screen in the slightly sparse middle section in front of the bar, which means there is not a single part of the pub where you can get away from a direct view of a screen if you are not interested. The food menu is Thai and the rear seating area has Thai pictures and wood carvings on the oak panelling, which was a bit strange to me. The toilets are actually housed in a separate building at the back of the pub and there is a very pleasant small secluded beer garden hidden out back as well. Although the bar supports five Fullers pumps there was only three beers available (Pride, Chiswick and HSB) as the Pride and Chiswick was doubled up, and when considering the Fullers range, this was a pretty weak choice IMHO. But the HSB was a well kept pint, and I probably would pop in again if in the area again and after a decent pint.

Randomness Guide to London - Castle Inn entry

Randomness Guide to London - Castle Inn entry

I thought that this was a good pub with a polite barman who served me a nice pint of ESB. Pride and Chiswick were also available along with a fairly typical selection of lagers. There is a sign up advertising the 3 plasma screens (although I only spotted one) and the ability to show Sky and Setanta. There is a covered alleyway to the side of the pub with some seating and a beer garden out the back that I did not see. Decent enough pub – much more traditional than the New Inn next door!