The Andover Arms, Hammersmith, W6

Dating from 1853, this place is on CAMRA’s inventory of pubs with significant interiors, this being of Some Regional Importance, poorly illustrated on their website. Bare boarded, the walls are no longer grey but whitish with attractive little recesses, the whole being moderately characterful. Furniture is conventional, with lighting coming from Wellington lights and candle sconces. The minor treat here though is the bar array. The pot shelf features a carved parapet and snob screens, supported by Solomonic columns. The rear includes lovely sections of polychromatic glass and gilded mirrors. Customers were mainly young, few in number – the Anglesea was full – some rather potty mouthed, another seated with a loud whining dog. Being a Fuller’s house, there was Hophead (missed due to barholes), then a two of their dull beers in the form of Seafarer and Pride at £2.40 a half, served by a friendly barmaid which tasted…well…of Pride (the beer obviously, not the barmaid). What with the potty mouthed customers, whimpering dog and dull ale selection, I don’t envisage a return visit; the Thatched House is better, the neighbouring Anglesea more so.

Backstreet Fuller's outlet. The L shaped interior has had an ill-advised grey paint job which has buried some of the character, though some bits remain such as a small row of snob screens at the bar and an ornate structure which now houses the wine list but what I think may have been part of the bar. Two ales over three sticks, Seafarers and Pride, the latter of which tasted a little old to me (NBSS 2). If you're crawling the area is worth a stop but it isn't a standout. Maybe things have gone downhill since the last batch of reviewers were in a few years back, I couldn’t see why it’d score so highly now. 5.5

Official site of The Andover Arms - theandoverarms.com

Official site of The Andover Arms - theandoverarms.com