The Black Lion, Hammersmith, W6

This pub has been amply described before so, suffice to say that we visited early afternoon mid-week as part of a crawl around Hammersmith, consequently it was not busy and we were served quickly and efficiently. I didn't feel that the pub was anything special and most of the seating is not designed for comfort (being a range of mis-matched wooden chairs) although we did manage to find a couple of leather armchairs next to the fire. The beer was, well, adequate. Overall impression = distinctly average.

We weren’t going to bother with this one as we were trying to keep to pubs with outside seating that had views of the river. But I spotted some Thwaites umbrellas being used on the bench seating outside promising a different pint to what you usually find in this part of town, and as it just about qualifies as having a river view, we decided to venture in. And I am glad we did from the point of view of chalking this one down as a decent pub to come back to. Pretty historic building, as well described by Roger below, it has a nice character with a lived in wooden floor, a wooden beamed ceiling and crème plaster. The service was good, especially considering that they had been run ragged by a particularily busy Sunday Lunchtime service and were visibly wilting when we arrived in the late afternoon. , And we didn’t encounter any French staff as in the review below, they seemed to be more young English students . But the let down was the beer. Four hand pumps on the bar, but unfortunately the Thwaites Wainright had gone and the other two were CW Bombardier and Courage Best, so not a very inspiring choice. And again the 4th pump was again not on, but annoyingly already reversed clipped with the Theakstones Bitter clip which was being advertised on the chalk board as next week’s ‘Guest beer’. In saying that the Bombadier was a well kept pint and the large outside seating area is still a good spot..

Great old pub and I would have to disagree with the comments about the beer as I've never had a bad pint there yet. However, I can't praise the French staff from the l'Auberge side of the business. They are inefficient, arrogant and openly rude to/about the customers. They even think they can get away with it by speaking in French behind people's backs but haven't the wit to realise that there may be fluent French-speakers present! The sooner the Black Lion dumps the restaurant chain the better.

I really wanted to like this pub, as it’s close to where I usually stay, when I visit London. (The real ale desert that is W12, unfortunately). The Black Lion has an undeniably fine location, a handsome, inviting exterior and a comfortable, traditional interior around the bar. But, the beer, oh, the beer! On our visit it really was pretty poor. The four ales on offer were Doombar, Bombardier, Broadside and a guest in Marston’s ‘Merrie Monk’. Trying the ‘Monk’ and the Doombar, they both lacked freshness and the Doombar was very tired indeed. To rub salt into the wound, we had to pay £3.70 a pint for the privilege of drinking them. That’s going some, even for beer in tip-top condition and allowing for London prices. For a glass of dreary suds, it was scandalous, frankly. The sad thing is, I checked out the pub’s website before writing this review and there seems to some genuine passion about what the Anglo-French ownership are trying to do. It’s a pity that the ethos of striving for excellence in food and wine hasn’t transferred over to the beer choices, which are based on a rotating pool of safe national brands. Surely they could risk featuring one microbrewery? Atmosphere wise, it was pretty relaxed when we called on Saturday evening. There appeared to be a healthy mixture of regulars and diners enjoying a post-prandial digestif. Both the French bar staff were friendly and welcoming. To her credit, one young lady tried hard to describe the various beers, which struck me as faintly ironic. Having read Roger’s account, it may well have been we were particularly unlucky with the beer quality, but the recurring theme of pricing seems to be a definite issue. I may well give the pub a second chance, at some stage, but will be in no rush to return.

The Black Lion history on the wall outside reveals that this haunted 200 year old pub started off life as a pig farm – it seems to have diversified a bit since then. Situated just an anglers cast from the riverbank, the pub has quite a homely and rustic feel and despite much of the interior being knocked through, it does still have a fairly intimate feel. The front bar has subdued lighting, plenty of old paneling, beamed ceilings and an abundance of chunky candles giving it a warm, cosy ambience whilst there is a more contemporary sofa area to the rear. A separate restaurant is tacked onto the back and a large beer patio with BBQ stretches down (but not quite all the way) to the river. A rowing theme is obvious throughout with several rowing themed pictures supplemented by assorted paddles, seats and bits of rowing equipment. Events being advertised included a film club, acoustic nights and quiz evenings and I noted just a basic TV in one corner of the main bar. The mixed bag of background music didn’t interfere too much with the ambience although it was fairly quiet for my most recent early evening visit. There are 4 hand pumps with Adnams Broadside, Bombardier, Doom Bar plus a 4th hand pump containing a guest beer clip which was agonizingly blank. The quality of my Doom Bar was very good but the £3.70 price tag is totally unwarranted and is sufficient to ensure I think twice about returning, no matter how enticing the pub may be. The food is very much in restaurant territory as opposed to pub grub with most main courses starting at around a tenner. A children’s playground can be found on the riverbank a few yards from the pub (but not part of it) and the area has good river views with wildlife spotting opportunities. If only the prices were not so unrealistic, I could happily while away a sunny evening here but sadly the place is a bit beyond most people's normal beer budget.

Official site of the Black Lion, contains menu, real ale details and event list - www.theblacklion-hammersmith.co.uk