The Clarence, Mayfair, W1

Usual Nicolson style pub but I quite liked it.long and narrow but busy.Nice feature at the rear is the beer library with books and old drinking vessels.Good selection of beers and Harviestoun -tasman bullet was good.West end prices though.

This is a Nicholson’s pub, with eight ales on offer and as is usually the case with this chain a mix of the usual suspects and less regularly seen ales is available. The Windsor & Eton Knight of the Garter was in good nick, and at a typical price for the area of £1.80 a half. The usual Nicholson’s pub grub menu was available of course. The pub itself is typical of the Mayfair area. A single, long room forms the pub, with a standard mix of tall tables/stools and normal tables and chairs and a few miscellaneous prints on the walls. The clientele looked to be a transient lot – it might have been someone’s local once, but it’s anything but a locals’ pub now. However, it does do a range of decent ales, and although it’s a bit characterless there are many worse places to stop off for a swift one.

A long and fairly narrow Nicholsons with the bar along one side. Wood panelled walls with inlaid mirrors which help to give an illusion of more space, decorative ceiling, carved bar back, but clearly not of any historical interest. Decor includes a few portraits, possibly of the Duke of Clarence (William IV) after whom the pub is named, and a display case of Champagne bottles...well it is Mayfair. Very busy on Saturday afternoon, I had to hover for a table but succeeded eventually. Seating is mixed with a few high tables as well as the standard stuff. There were eight handpumps on the bar with seven on, nearly all more unusual stuff. Cairngorm Black Gold, Brentwood Blonde, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Itchen Valley St Nich's Tipple, Mordue Newcastle Coffee Porter, Inveralmond Lia Fail and St Austell Tribute. A pretty good line up in anyone's book. Forthcoming beers are listed on a board behind the bar. As a pub it is pretty ordinary but the choice of beers on here lift the place to well above average. There is another area upstairs described as dining rooms but I didn't bother to check the area out.

Official pages of the Clarence, contains menu and real ale details - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

Official pages of the Clarence, contains menu and real ale details - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

Named after King William IV (Duke of Clarence) this is not one of the better Nicholsons establishments, in fact it is quite dull and uninteresting given its location. It is a bit of an odd mix of old and new styles and seems to want to be known for something historic or famous but just doesn't have anything to grasp hold of to fill the requirement. The blurb on the walls go on about all the famous people who lived in the area (Alexander Pope, John Nash, Chopin) but there is nothing that actually links them to the pub. The interior consists of a front section with paneled walls and mirrors whilst the main bar to the rear is a bit narrow and cramped. The ceiling in the front bar is particularly ornate but generally the place is a bit bland. 3 Ales included Pride, Landlord and Waggledance all decent enough and reasonably priced. The place gets fairly busy and unless you know where to go, pubs around this neck of the woods are not easily stumbled on. There is an upstairs Drawing Room Bar & Dining Room with a table service and a bit more decorum but overall I cannot find anything about this place to lift it above average at best.

This is a fairly unremarkable London pub with the expected restaurant upstairs. I found the staff to be nice enough, but the conversation from the hoards of office workers depressing. Landlord, Pride, Deuchars, Broadside and Wainwright were all available during my visit alongside a selection of standard and premium lagers. Like all of the other patrons I would probably drink in here sometimes if I worked in the area, but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way.

Found this pub very comfortable, food and service were excellent and this was midweek lunchtime.