The Victoria, SW1

Greene King pub with very weak real ales. Will not be returning to this one.

A pleasant surprise, The Victoria is an under-rated Taylor-Walker pub a few yards from the eponymous station. It serves basic, formulaic food, but that is served in agreeable, comfortable surroundings which makes it much better than some local outlets. The prices are high, but this can be reduced by taking advantage of the meal deals on offer. Staff are pleasant and helpful, free wi-fi is available and the clientele were civilised, including the Australian group who were overwhelmed when I gave them a PuG business card and promptly rearranged their pub crawl. Most of the floor is wooden, with some carpeted snugs, giving a cosy feel to the place. Four ales on - I had a pint of Black Sheep Bitter which was really rather good. Well worth leaving the Station for a decent pint and a quick snack.

Another Taylor walker pub in this part of town, but I warmed to this one more than the adjacent Plumbers Arms. A tidy enough traditional style interior with plenty of dark wood and muted lighting had attracted a huge crowd on my Friday evening visit, making it all but impossible to get to the bar, so I went elsewhere and called back on my way home when the crowd had thinned out a bit more. The bar runs along the right hand wall, with a number of seating booths and high stools and tables opposite. At the rear of the room there is a more formal feel with banquettes and standard tables and chairs, which was quite a nice spot to enjoy my pint without being blasted by the loudspeakers throughout the rest of the pub. There's not much in the way of interest to distract the eye and I'm fairly sure that the floral wallpaper is the same as that in the Plumbers Arms over the road. A decent, if somewhat mainstream, beer selection of Morland Old Golden Hen, Fuller's London Pride, Sharp's Doom Bar and Young's London Gold was available, with the Old Golden Hen turning out to be a rather nice, well kept pint of beer. The staff seemed friendly enough, but were clearly struggling to cope with the crowds when I first popped in. The pub is very handy for Victoria train and coach stations and is possibly the pick of the pubs on this side of the train station. A solid if unspectacular place and one that I imagine I'll frequent again if only for its handy location.

The Victoria is one of many rebranded Taylor Walker pubs found throughout London. There is some café seating under an awning out the front and this pub is located far enough away from Euston Railway Station to avoid the crowds. To be fair this place is probably big enough to cope with hoards, but I was the only customer just after 11:00 on Thursday morning last week. The interior is all dark wood and the designers have gone for a traditional look like in all the other pubs of this brand. Staropramen was available alongside a standard draught selection and one hand pump was off leaving Doom Bar, Old Speckled Hen and Pride as the ale options. Food is available from the ‘Great British Pub Menu’ where the mains start at £7.50. I didn’t spot any Sky Sports advertised, but I’d be surprised if the football is not shown as there are plasma screens throughout the entire pub. These were all off during my visit, but there was some background music playing. This isn’t the most exciting of places, but I had a comfortable enough pint whilst nursing a hangover from the night before.