Allsop Arms, Marylebone, NW1

Large impressive looking building. Greene king pub with 5 real ales on and food served.

Very handy for Marylebone station, this internally modernised pub has one large L shaped open area but the way it is laid out itdoes give the feel of separate drinking areas so its not too noisy inside early evening mid week. A good selection of Greene Kinge ales with the Fireside being well kept. Staff are a bit indifferent but then again expected in this area of London.

This is a Greene King house, but had pretty much the full range on - OSH, GKIPA, Abbot, Royal London, and something called “Fireside” which I went for, and turned out to be a 4.5% Autumn style ale. It was OK, but still had that very distinctive GK taste. The pub itself is quite unusual for Central London, being a stand-alone building. Inside it’s very much food-led, as so many pubs in Central London are. The food prices were fairly typical for the area – steak and Ruddles ale pie with chive mash and veg at £8.45, and a large burger with chips, salad, etc, at £7.45. The pub itself is largely bare-boarded but with a carpeted area on the left and also in the room on the right. There is present the usual array of tall tables and tall stools, some sofas, and normal tables and chairs, and a couple of booths by the window on the left had banquette style benches. Overall it had the look of a pub that had been given what some might regard as an upmarket makeover, and to be honest some of the seating areas were quite comfortable, although in some places it did have the look of a hotel lounge. It’s not the sort of place that I would want to rush back to, but I can see that it gives office and other workers in the area somewhere reasonably decent to escape to for their lunch hours.

This Greene King pub has recently been refurbished and modernised and although it is pleasant enough I not a fan of pubs that have 360 degree cameras dotted about the pub on a spying mission. It feels like GK have tried to go upmarket, but don’t trust their clientele enough to let them have a night in peace – this is a pub not a nightclub! Five ales from the GK range were available on my visit along with their usual standard draught range and Peroni. I spotted a projector screen which was rolled up, but I didn’t see any signs for Sky Sports and to be honest I would be surprised if the football crowd are now welcome. I’d walk by if I was passing this pub again.