Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Barmy Arms, Twickenham
Twickenham
TW1 3DU
Pub Type
Taylor Walker (Spirit Pubs)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Barmy Arms
I recall having visited this pub many years ago, but I can't be certain when. It's a riverside Greene King pub with a sizeable outdoor patio to the front. Inside is much smaller. We sat in a window table looking down towards the quite high and fast-flowing Thames. It wouldn't take many people to fill the pub up inside.
3 cask ales are served. Greene King IPA is the regular. Their Abbot was also on, alongside a guest beer - Twickenham Spring Ale, which was quite a nice drop. However even with a CAMRA discount, I only got a few pennies change from £10 for just 3 halves. Keg beers included Greene King Hazy Day, Barmy Arms Smooth Stout & Level Head, along with Beavertown Neck Oil & Kona Big Wave. I dread to think what they were priced.
It's a nice pub that I'd imagine gets much more custom in the summer or on big rugby days. As it was, I preferred the peacefulness of a Wednesday afternoon visit.
On 27th February 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Barmy Arms
Large riverside pub, extremely popular with rugby fans and on sunny weekends, largely due to the extensive outdoor area which has its own bar and spills over onto the riverbank beyond. Inside, the main bar is up a few steps, with a comfortable feel and rugby-themed decorations. To the side at ground level is a tabled room for diners. Usual Greene King beers available and seemed in fair condition. Quite adequate but wouldn't want to be there at a busy time.
On 12th November 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3641 recommendations about 3576 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Barmy Arms
Nice enough pub which will get rammed on a sunny weekend and a match day but I'm afraid there wasn't much in the way of ale in my opinion.
On 7th December 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Barmy Arms
Taylor Walker pub with a nice riverside setting. Outside drinking area and a 2 floor interior. 4 real ales and food served. Plastic glasses post my visit to NFL at twickenham.
On 23rd October 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Barmy Arms
A riverside pub ,overlooking Eel Pie Island in the Thames, raised to avoid flooding you enter by way of steps. The pub itself is geared up for tourists but in a reasonably classy way,its one longish room with a few recesses with seating, Rugby themed pictures on the wall along with some old black and white snaps of recording artists who made use of the studios over on the Island in the 60's, The Stones ,Clapton etc. Beers on were Greene King Englands Glory, Old Golden Hen and thankfully Twickenham Naked Ladies. For what it is its not a bad place but I don't think I would want to dwell for more than one pint.
On 26th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2151 recommendations about 2118 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Barmy Arms
The Barmy Arms has an enviable riverside location and certainly makes the most of it with a large front terrace with its own bar and BBQ facing the Thames and Eel Pie Island opposite. The terrace is actually bigger than the interior which is quite small, a narrow area on entering with the bar directly opposite, a recess with bench seating relieves the crush in this area, then along to the left and down a few steps another "room" which looked to me geared up for eating. To the right is a brick fireplace which had some ashes in so must get some use, no need on Saturday though, a glorious sunny afternoon and the place was rammed. There was a lengthy wait at the bar despite there being four serving and none of them had any clue who was next and who had just arrived, although some people need to learn a few manners about pub etiquette I think. Marching up to a busy bar and barking out an order without considering others are waiting is seriously poor form.
The pub is home to a long established angling club, trophies are on display in a case and also on top of the bar shared with the usual Twickers rugby theme, a few rugger balls were up there too. A few rugby photos on the walls as well as you would expect.
Beers were Pride, Tribute (3.95), Old Golden Hen and Adnams Ghost Ship. Once I finally got served my pint of Tribute (in a plastic glass) I sat down to realise it was way past its best and quite murky. In any other pub I would have taken it back but having waited at least 6 or 7 minutes to get served I really couldn't be bothered. I drank some of it and left.
On a quiet day, perhaps in the week or when the sun isn't out this is probably a decent pub. On a sunny weekend, Bank Holiday or a rugby day I'd steer well clear.
On 30th June 2013
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Barmy Arms
They had London Pride, Harvey’s Best, and Spitfire on. Food seemed to be available all day, with the usual Punch menu available. For a Punch Pubco pub it’s really rather good. I don’t usually go much for Punch pubs, but this is one of the nicer ones that I’ve encountered. Perhaps I’m influenced by the setting, right on the river looking over to Eel Pie Island. There’s a large patio area on the river side, with lots of picnic benches, and even an outside bar which presumably gets brought into play when crowds are expected. I saw mainly lager fonts on this bar counter, but I did spot a London Pride pump doing its best not be swamped by the plethora of bog standard lager fonts. An interesting feature on the riverfront by the pub is a board dedicated to the greats of jazz, blues and R&B (but not the pop/soul version that they call R’n’B nowadays) that played on the island in the Eel Pie Island Club.
You go up a few steps to enter the pub, and the bar counter is right in front of you. There’s a bit of seating in this area, both to the right and left of the bar counter, including a couple of high tables/stools, but mainly normal tables and chairs. As a previous contributor has said, there’s another room around to the left, down a few steps from the main bar area. There were some TVs on the walls, but switched off during my midweek, late afternoon visit. There was, of course, some rugby memorabilia on the walls. I imagine that I will be back, as this is the sort of riverside pub that Mrs R takes to.
On 12th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Barmy Arms
The main positive of The Barmy Arms is its river side location on the Thames opposite Eel Pie Island, with the footbridge to the island a short walk further along the tow path.
Inside the pub has a thin main bar area with a low ceiling. But then off to the left is a larger room with seating which is usually used for dining at lunchtimes.
But the big positive of The Barmy Arms is the large outside drinking area covered with Jumbrellas which is a good spot for a pint with a river view on a sunny day.
The pub is owned by Punch Taverns and the beers were London Pride and Youngs Ordinary on my last visit. They have always been alright but never exceptional in my experience.
This is an OK pub, but nothing special and it tends to score because of its riverside location and there are better pubs with better beer (IMHO) in the shape of The Eel Pie and The Fox on the cobbled Church Street a very short walk away.
However, I tend to visit mostly on match days, when the Barmy Arms takes on a different persona, and is the place to visit for Rugby fans and a place to be avoided by everyone else. Then the bar in the garden area is operational and the garden and outside tow path down to the river is full of pre and post match fans from either (or all four persuasions if it’s a Zurich premiership double header) mingling and drinking happily, usually without any bother. And after the game the disco starts up and there’s nothing quite like several hundred worse for wear Rugby mans murdering ‘Delilah’ to make you forget about the result.
On 31st May 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Barmy Arms
As you can see this pub is near the beautiful York House Gardens situated next to the river and opposite Eel Pie island. Great river walks can be enjoyed any time of the year as there is plenty of seating areas
On 19th December 2008
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Barmy Arms
The Barmy Arms is in a nice location facing the Thames.
There are a few picnic tables at the front of the pub with large ugly green umbrellas, this spoils the look of the pub from the outside.
I went in a smallish room inside and this had an olde worlde feel to it there may have been other rooms but i did'nt look.
There were three real ales on here i had a drink of Youngs Winter Warmer and this was very nice the other beers were Directors and GK IPA.
Pub visited 13/12/2003
On 13th December 2003
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]