Anglesea Arms, South Kensington, SW7

For my money, the Anglesea Arms is probably the best pub in the South Kensington area. 6 Ales on for my visit – Hogs Back TEA, Doom Bar, Adnams, Broadside, Pride & Oxford Gold – enough to keep me going for an entire evening and service was friendly and efficient. Although it has a quite upmarket ambience, it doesn’t feel at all snobbish, pretentious or Sloany. The interior is quite old fashioned with bare floors, old style wallpaper, paneling, stripped down tables and a selection of seats that obviously never came from the same shop. The walls contain several assorted and haphazardly arranged pictures, paintings and some wonderful old brewery mirrors (Salt & Co – a new one on me). The only thing missing is a Grandfather Clock that would fit in quite nicely. Remnants of the old etched windows and doors all add to the character. Despite being just the one large knocked through room, areas have been partitioned off with screens to create a bit more of an intimate feel. To my recollection there were no TVs, music or games machines, just the babble of chatter and locals mulling over the evening papers. I was also expecting to be hit hard in the wallet given the location and was quite gobsmacked at the reasonable prices. There is an outside terrace with plenty of umbrella cover and I gather there is a dining room to the rear (obviously eluded me) but the place certainly did not come over as being particularly food orientated. Unfortuantely I do not find myself in the area often, otherwise you would find it hard to drag me out.