Carpenters Arms, Fitzrovia, W1

A corner pub just off Tottenham Court Road dating from just before the war, and almost squeezed out of existence by modern buildings on all sides. Apparently not listed, but its interior features have earned it a place on Camra's inventory of heritage pubs. There are two rooms and I was the only customer at about 4pm on a winter Monday. My half of Timothy Taylor Landlord was ok as far as condition and taste are concerned, but at £6.50/pint it was "welcome to London, sucker". I was in the corner bar, which is mostly standing space and high tables, and I didn't explore the other room, which photos on the Camra website show has some nice wood panelling, or the roof garden upstairs - in fact I'm not sure that was open, what with it being midwinter. The background music was some unknown jazzy stuff, which was ok but not enough to tempt me back for another visit. Date of visit: 8th January 2024

Practically in the shadow of the BT Tower, this is a simple two bar pub that requires the navigation of various back streets to locate. A corner entrance takes you into the pub’s front bar – a light space with nice floorboards, high stools serving tables along the right-hand wall and ledges under the front windows, and a dark wood bar counter along the left-hand wall with a modern white tile bar back. A large TV screen opposite the bar remained off throughout my stay and there was remarkably little of interest around the rest of the room, beyond perhaps a smart dresser on the back wall. A corridor to the rear right leads you through to the rear bar, which has darker wood flooring and colour matched wall panelling, creating quite a nice traditional feel. A curved servery to the left has a nice counter and the same modern tiled bar back. This room has been decorated with a number of stuffed animal heads, including an enormous boar’s hear near the entrance, whilst another TV screen in this room was also turned off. To the rear left corner, a wallpapered nook contains one large table with several chairs, all under a recessed shelf full of random ornaments. There is a good pavement seating area to the side of the pub, which on my visit had been augmented by an astroturf ‘wall’, erected by the adjacent building site, which gave the space more of a ‘garden’ feel than it might otherwise have had. Just the one cask ale was available on this visit – Salopian Shropshire Gold (£4.70), with one other handpull left unused. Craft keg options came from local breweries such as Camden and Beavertown. My pint of the Shropshire Gold was in pretty good nick and the staff seemed like a friendly enough bunch. I quite liked the rear bar in this pub, but thought the front section was pretty bland and uninspiring. The single ale choice was also a bit of a concern, but at least it was drinkable rather than just a token gesture. Overall, I thought this place had a bit of promise but lacked the draw of a number of other pubs hereabouts and would therefore be unlikely to draw me back out this way again.

Wenlock ales branding outside and some fine original old grey tilework too, dating from the late 30s. Pub retains a two room layout. The Howland St entrance brings you into the old public bar with minimal seating, pea green walls and a large Bass mirror. Two ales on here, Doom Bar and Gt Yorks Top of the Hops, served by a disinterested barmaid. Fortunately the beer quality was better than her customer service skills and slipped down nicely. Classic 60s tracks on the stereo. The rear room is much more grand with three quarter length wood panelling and a wallpaperd spur ‘granny annexe’ area. The stuffed and mounted animal heads were inevitably hipsterised with cheap nylon wigs, tiaras and hard hats. A glance at the menu found that the food was expensive though the 2 for £12 offer during the week seemed more reasonable. Upstairs there are rather nice-looking hireable rooms. It's got enough character to warrant a visit, though whether I'd specifically return beyond convenience value is a different point. 6.5