Crown & Anchor, WC2

Not sure how I have managed to avoid going into this pub before, but I have previously noted some of the interesting architectural features (e.g. the corner windows above the main door and some traditional signage) when walking past. Inside, the wood panelling in the main bar was rather lighter than I expected, but the upstairs 'Crown Bar' is decorated in a more traditional darker style. The layout makes the bar a bit tricky to reach when the place is crowded, and I think there is a modern-style Greene King IPA dispenser at the right-hand end in addition to the three handpumps offering Harveys, Deuchars IPA and Spitfire (reasonably priced for the area at £3.10).

A decent enough, but nothing special corner pub on the cobbled back streets just of Shelton Street in Covent Garden. Built in 1904 it has a bit of a late Victorian feel going on with the interior and there is some nice external plaster work with Watneys Pimlico Ales and Reids Stout in plaster on the external walls. Internally though, the street level bar is a fairly plain wooden floored drinking area, although there is a more comfortable upstairs room which is used as a restaurant during the day and as a bar in the evening. The pub has no official outside drinking area, but in summer the cobbled pavements are utilised and it’s a fairly decent place for an outside pint. Three handpumps and the usual beers are Harveys Sussex Best, Deuchars IPA, and Spitfire, as they were on my visit last week.

They had Pedigree, Spitfire and Harvey's Bitter on. The Harveys was £3 a pint, and tasted OK. This is a small corner pub on bustling Neal St, and which I found to be clean and comfortable. It's bare-boarded throughout, and has one large flatscreen TV, but which was not on when I visited early lunchtime on Wednesday. It's quite nicely decorated, with some shelving between the main room and stairs cluttered with miscellaneous nick-knacks. I didn't eat there, but the menu looked reasonably priced and unpretentious. This is a decent enough pub without being anything special.