The Ganton Arms, Soho, W1

This is a fancy modern bar catering to just about every type of customer other than the ale drinker. The pub occupies a large parquet floored room with the bar down the right-hand side and loads of seating in the open space opposite. High button backed banquettes extend down the bare brick left-hand wall with high tables and stools in the space between. The bar has a traditional dark wood counter and a very impressive modern, backlit and mirrored bar back that looks like it belongs in a swanky cocktail bar. Further back, the walls have dark wood panelling and the seating is a lot more comfortable, with banquette booths and standard chairs more readily available. The place feels like it's targeting a high end clientele, but then it became apparent that they were showing live football and had some reserved tables for punters to watch the match from. Loud 80s style pop music was playing and plenty of people were eating in the slightly more formal rear part of the room. Some pavement seating is available on the pedestrianised street outside, which was very popular on my midweek visit. There's no cask ale on the bar, but a reasonable keg range compensated to a degree, with beers from the likes of Beavertown, Signature Brew, Jubel and Camden available at premium prices. I tried the Signature Brew Backstage IPA at a weighty £7.30 a pint. The bar staff did the bare minimum to conduct the transaction, but the bar manager was much friendlier when he had to turf me off a reserved table and relocate me to a distant corner of the room. This is an expensive bar that seems to be trying to attract a different clientele to your average Soho pub, despite not really offering much beyond superficial, surface level benefits. I thought it was one of the better examples of this type of bar but still can't think of a good reason to give it a second look. Date of visit - 19th June 2024

Official site of The Ganton Arms - www.thegantonarms.com

Official site of The Ganton Arms - www.thegantonarms.com