Anglesea Arms, South Kensington, SW7

This is a nice compact traditional pub located in a fancy residential area between the Old Brompton and Fulham roads, just 5-10 minutes walking distance from South Kensington tube station. There is a two room layout, with the bar at the front and a restaurant down some stairs to the rear. The rooms have dark wooden floors and wall panelling and are decorated with lots of old oil paintings, including a large reclining nude to the right of the bar. The front room boasts some nice glass partitioning panels which break up the space effectively to create separate seating areas filled with padded benches and standard chairs. The restaurant area is very smart, with similar decor to the bar and on our visit the fireplace on the back wall had been lit. A daily menu offers around six starters, mains and desserts, but the food is pricey, with not many mains under £15. I tried a trout dish, which was very good although I'm not convinced it merited such a high price. The waiter who served our table was very friendly and helpful and dealt with a busy room pretty much on his own. There were six beers to choose from at the bar; Greene King IPA, Adnams Southwold Bitter and Broadside, Sambrooks Wandle, Skinner's Betty Stogs and Sharp's Doom Bar. My pint of Betty Stogs was a bit tired, but still drinkable. Although not the most adventurous selection of ales, I was pleasantly surprised to find so many hand pumps in action and would suggest that this is as good as it gets in terms of ale choice in this part of town. We visited this pub mainly for the food which we had heard good things about, but I was pleased to find that this wasn't a bland gastropub, but rather a characterful pub with much to recommend.

Quite small street pub in posh London, tastefully decorated in a classical style, floral wallpaper and fine art on the walls, with a central bar. Traditional and welcoming with 4 real ales that are locally sourced and away from the more traditional bigger brewers. I has the Sambrooks Wandle. Nice terrace to the road, its a very pleasant pub

Situated in a residential side street off the Fulham Road, is The Anglesea Arms, a pub with a rather upmarket ambience that will be fondly remembered by older drinkers such as myself as one of the forerunners of the real ale revolution in London in the mid to late 1970's. In those days, pubs selling 3-4 real ales such as Ruddles County - then very much a cult beer - Brakspears, Young's Special, Sam Smiths were few and far between and these pubs were quickly sought out and patronised by the real ale movement, then still very much in its infancy. Nowadays, it's a pleasant single room pub with bare floorboards and scrubbed tables, but wood panelling, old photos, prints and some impressive oil paintings, coupled with the absence of any music or fruit machines, create a pleasant and traditional environment. Partitions break up the interior and create a degree of privacy, often overlooked in pub refurbishments nowadays. Of particular note is a fine brewery mirror in one corner advertising Salt & Co Pale and Burton Ales. In another corner is a painting of a nude woman reclining on a bed. Behind the bar is a framed cricket bar signed by Graham Thorpe addressed to "the guys at The Anglesea Arms". Note also the large wooden clock over the bar. There's a separate dining room down a few steps at one side of the pub. Food can also be ordered in the main bar and I imagine that food trade dominates at busy periods. Additional room is provided by an outside patio terrace at the front of the pub. Several notices remind us that this is a residential area and implore us not to obstruct the pavement and tell us to leave quietly, but it's hard to imagine that this pub has anything approaching a noisy and rowdy element. Beers on the 6 pumps were Adnams Broadside and Bitter, Fullers ESB, Sharps Cornish Ale, Rudgate Brewers Choice Gold Elixir and Sambrooks Junction. The latter - at a price of £ 3.10p which might be considered cheapish - was in excellent form. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. Diners might find that food prices are less accommodating on their wallets however. Despite having to operate within the inevitable constraints of having to appeal to the Chelsea "set", this pub is still very much well worth seeking out.

Randomness Guide to London - Anglesea Arms entry

Randomness Guide to London - Anglesea Arms entry

Excellent choice of ales on – Adnam's Bitter; Broadside; Pride; Twickenham Sundancer; Hogsback TEA; and Brakspear's Oxford Gold. I went for the TEA which was excellent, and at £3 a pint not unreasonable for the area. I'm not sure whether they always have this sort of range of ales on, though I suspect from RogerB's posting that they do. There was an advert (which I only saw in the gents!) for a beer festival (from 9 to 22 March I think), but with different ales promised to those that were actually on. But never mind - can't complain about the ales that were on. This is more like a pub than many others in the area. It's a single room pub furnished mainly with normal tables and chairs; walls are mainly adorned with paintings and prints. A few magazines lying around for customers to read is also a nice touch. Service was a little offhand, although not unfriendly. All things considered this is a pretty decent pub, and the excellent ale selection certainly warrants a return trip.