The Blue Posts, Soho, W1

Hard to tell the difference between this Greene King pub and a Nicolsons pub internally apart from the rubbish beer selection here.Tried the Gk -ipa from the new branded pumpclip.Nope still same dreadful tasteless beer.

The Blue Posts appears to be a pub name largely confined to Central London with 5 within a relatively local area (although there is one in Yorkshire). The source of the name seems to be open to conjecture with theories ranging from representing hunting boundaries or simply that they helped identify buildings in the days before door numbers. Whatever is correct, the wild deer have been replaced by tourists and postmen now look for No 18 than the blue posts that are no longer blue anyway. Dating from 1736, this particular “Post” does have an element of charm although it must be said that its somewhat compact interior doesn’t make it the most comfortable place to visit at peak times with little in the way of seating or anywhere to park your pint. The interior is traditional style with the best features is probably the glasswork with the etched windows (sadly some now replaced with plain glass) being topped off with a series of small patterned arches. Upstairs is a separate room with its own bar and centrepiece fireplace and whilst not particularly spacious, it is probably a little bigger than the main bar and certainly less hectic. The beers weren’t too adventurous, just the 2 Greene King ales on my visit - IPA and London Glory, the latter a bit pricey at £3.50 but was in excellent condition. The pub can apparently count the Beatles among its former customer base (Brian Epstein had an office next door to the Palladium round the corner) and whilst I didn’t spot any a-listers on my visit, the place was quite vibrant albeit most pubs are around Soho on a Friday evening. At the right time the place is worth a quick pint and could have potential with better beers but with so many pubs in close proximity, it is hard to mark it out as anything essential.

Was back in the Carnaby Street area on Sunday visiting other establishments and decided, purely on the grounds of research, to visit this Blue Posts again to see if my last experiences could be improved upon. Was the first time to actually visit in daylight and this pub grew on me a bit more, especially as I could see properly the Victorian glasswork on this 18th Century Grade II listed building. And also, on this hottest day of the year by far, the outside tables and chairs were an excellent spot to sit and have a pint whilst watching the world go by. But unfortunately that pint has to be GK ales, and of the two handpumps, one was reverse clipped just leaving the IPA which also wasn’t a brilliant pint. So nice building and a good place for an Al Fresco pint if you can get one of the outside seats, but there remains far superior places for a beer in the near vicinity.