The Steam Packet, Kew Bridge, W4

A square elegant room with, I thought, nicely tiled walls and pillars, stylish ceiling roses and neat deco lighting. There’s a second room beyond the main bar. The main room is furnished in a mix of high tables with stools, banquette seating and lower level tables and chairs. Very much a dining pub although I wasn’t the only non-diner. Behind the bar is a large array of wines and spirits on a very impressive shelving system. Three pulls with London Pride, Fullers offices are next door, a beer marked as a Best Bitter and something from a Sussex brewer called Hepworth & Co which was on the turn, and at £6.50 a pint that’s taking the p155.

Official site of The Steam Packet - www.brunningandprice.co.uk

Official site of The Steam Packet - www.brunningandprice.co.uk

This pub dates from the mid-19th century but spent many years from the 1980s until recently as part of the Dôme/Café Rouge chain, the original name reinstated in 2019, taken from mail ships (delivering packets), powered – unsurprisingly – by steam. It’s well described below, with a very blue colour scheme and an abundance of rather vulgar near lapis lazuli tilework, which would probably have given even Tutankhamun a headache. The floor is dark bare boarded, traditional furniture some tall, framed prints so beloved of Chiswick pubs and white opaque hanging lanterns. Customers were few in number, a more traditional local bunch being quite earthy and at variance with the locals in the other riverside pubs. A cask selection amounted to Pride, Brunning & Price Traditional Bitter, then Ghost Ship at an utterly jaw dropping £3.30 a half and fine. This is the least desirable of this riverside’s quartet, but the considerably higher-than-central-London pricing hits the score even further; I certainly wouldn’t have stayed to pay these prices and consider this: the legendary Express Tavern is about 150 yards to the north-west of here, where there are 10 pumps, a half of Titanic Plum Porter costing £2.50.

Just down the road from Kew Bridge station, this is a smart Brunning & Price pub with a prime riverside location, albeit, the pub is on the opposite side of the road to the river. You enter into a smart ground floor room with a good mix of seating throughout the roughly square space. The room is bare boarded and has a mix of painted and tiled walls with some etched glass panes in an attractive corner door. Most of the seating looked comfy, including plush banquettes along the back wall, with a few functional tables and chairs here and there as well. The servery is along the left-hand wall and has a traditional counter and bar back, with an unusual brass handrail along the counter, with naked ladies in the style of ship’s mastheads along its length. To the rear is a wood panelled room with booth-like seating, set up more for diners than drinkers, and stairs lead up to a first floor dining room, which has access to a colonial style balcony with great river views. The pub was packed when I visited ahead of a match at the nearby Brentford Community Stadium, so I took my pint across the road, where a number of customers were enjoying drinks leant against the riverbank wall. There’s also a small pavement-side decked area out the front of the pub, but the riverbank wall means the view of the river is obscured from here. Upon entering the pub, I was faced with a long queue, snaking almost to the far corner of the room, and with no space to push through to the bar, I reluctantly had to join it. However, as I neared the front of the queue, some bloke barged past and started having a go at me for queuing, pointing out that we’re supposed to queue along the length of the bar. I’m not sure if he worked here or not, but he got a mouthful from me, as I’m not taking the blame for this stupid queuing phenomenon that seems to be common in pubs post-lockdown. Anyway, I eventually reached the bar and found three cask ales on the go - Brunning & Price Bitter, Fullers London Pride and Adnams Mosaic (£5.40). I’m not a huge fan of the latter, but gave it a go anyway and was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. This is a lot smaller than other Brunning and Price pubs I’ve been to, which made it feel cramped and chaotic when visited at a peak time. It seems quite nicely madeover and had plenty of spots that looked like they’d be nice to settle down in, but I preferred the more drink-led Bell and Crown just down the road and would probably head there for pre-match pints next time.

I must have walked past here hundreds of times over the years on my way to the Bell and Crown for lunchtime beers. I never felt the urge to go in because it was a Café Rouge. A transformation into the Steam Packet put this pub on my radar, and I managed to have my first visit on a recent Saturday afternoon an hour or so before kick-off at the New Lionel Road Stadium. Out the front is a small veranda and a small hatch to the left was serving beer in plastic glasses to a small queue of Bees fans. Inside there is a bar on the left wall that faces a mix of high and standard tables on wooden flooring. I was surprised to find myself a free table, in fact I was surprised that it wasn’t a lot busier in here due to the stadium being less than 3 minutes away. Some stairs lead to upstairs seating and there is more seating tucked away at the back where the toilets are also located. The bar supports three handpumps that were drawing Fuller’s London Pride, Adnam’s Mosaic and St Austell Brunning & Price Traditional Bitter. A premium keg selection is also available, as is food but I didn’t spot any menus. I went for a pint of Camden Helles that cost £6.20 and was served in a proper glass. I was very comfortable in here and will probably return next time I’m in Brentford to watch the mighty Bees.

Quite a grand looking building on the banks of the Thames and run by Brunning & Price,formerly a small hotel and then a Cafe Rouge.There is a small verandah before the front door,the room has a very high ceiling,a substantial wooden staircase to the first floor restaurant and some modern green glazed tiling to give character.Tradition furniture,shining brass fitments and lots of light ,this tap room can host both drinkers and diners.There is also a windowless rear snug with music advertised at 7pm on my Friday visit,although there didn't seem much room for anything other than a soloist. There are 3 handpumps offering Brunning & Price Traditional Bitter (from St Austell) and very good Adnams Mosaic Pale (NBSS 4) with the third reversed.I didn't inspect the food menu,but B&P are normally reliable. An acceptable stop if you are walking (or drinking !) the Thames Path.

As I have drank around Kew for the last 40+years I must have drank in the original Steam Packet but but don't recollect it.Nice smart pub.Three handpumps but no cask beers on my visit.

Well, I never went in here when it was a Cafe Rouge, but I'm pretty confident that the Steam Packet (a reversion to its original name) is a massive improvement. Like other Food & Fuel branded pubs, it's full of good quality furnishings and decor. There's a clutch of tall tables/tall stools near the door, but otherwise furnishings are pub standards fixed bench seating and normal tables and chairs. The bar counter - and everything else as far as I can see - is brand new with an attractive brass rail at the front of the counter top decorated with brass mermaids. You don't see that every day. The back wall of the front room, as well as a pillar, has modern aquamarine tiling, which doesn't look out of place here. A sole rug breaks up the bare-boarded floor, and the upmarket/gastro look is enhanced by having a single rose in a small vase on all the tables. Through an arch at the back is another smaller room with more normal tables and chairs, and with wood panelled walls. There's some outside seating at the front of the pub, as well as on a first floor balcony. There were two ales on - Sambrook's Junction and Twickenham Grandstand (£4.40 a pint) - with a third pump unclipped. A glance at a menu shows a distinct lack of pub grub. This pub looks good from the outside with with its iron railings and pillars, and with its attractive setting almost on top of the river. It's a bit too "gastro" for me, but I still enjoyed my brief visit here with an excellent pint of Ggrandstand. I think it makes a fine addition to the Strand on the Green, and completes an excellent quartet with the other three pubs along the footpath.