The Dartmouth Arms, Dartmouth Park, NW5

Looks tidy enough from the street, and there elements of gastro-pub furniture and decor in the square bar and rear dining area. However, this was supplemented by plenty of St Patrick's Day tat and some loud support for a football match showing on the TV screen (which is perhaps not typical?). Beer-wise, two of three handpumps were in operation, featuring Adnams Ghost Ship and Westerham Finchcocks (£3.70).

Randomness Guide to London - Dartmouth Arms entry

Randomness Guide to London - Dartmouth Arms entry

There were three Westerham Brewery ales on – British Bulldog, Grasshopper, and Finchcock’s Original. I asked the barmaid if it was a Westerham Brewery house, or if they had some sort of tie to Westerham, but she just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head enigmatically, presumably to indicate she didn’t understand the concepts that I was speaking about. My attempt at opening a conversation having failed miserably, I just took my pint of Finchcock’s off to one of the vacant tables. This is a funny sort of pub – it has clearly had a makeover at some stage. There are two rooms, the large room at the back entirely devoted to tables set for diners – the fully monty: tablecloths, cutlery, wine glasses. The front room is what one might regard as the restaurant’s bar. It’s now bare-boarded of course, with nicely varnished tables, normal chairs and the odd banquette, and with the tables sporting the rather unusual combination of a single-stemmed flower in a small vase coupled with the small condiment holder containing salt & pepper, tomato ketchup and vinegar. The lower, wood panelled, half of the walls, as well as the ceiling, is painted that light grey/brown nondescript colour you see with increasing regularity, and the upper part of the walls has a grey and pink floral patterned wallpaper. There was a large TV monitor on the wall, but I didn’t spot any one-armed bandits or games machines, which is a definite plus. Free wi-fi was advertised, and there was a nice gilt framed mirror on the right above the fireplace, with deer’s antlers mounted above it. The clues to its real pub heritage are there for those who choose to see them. The varnished boards in front of the fireplace were charred in places, undoubtedly caused by coals escaping from the fire in days past, and the wood panels in one of the corners had hundreds of those tell-tale little holes that can only have been produced by the presence of a dartboard, of which there is now no sign. The bar counter top was covered by the now rarely seen beaten copper, but the counter did have the more commonly seen jars of various nuts. It is evidently a child-friendly pub – there was a family group in when I visited with a young pre-school age sprog in tow, plus a younger tic in a buggy who gave out squawks at regular intervals. Maybe it’s different in the evenings (presumably with diners using the restaurant) but I doubt whether I’ll be rushing back. On the plus side, the presence of three Westerham’s ales is a definite bonus, and the pint of Finchcock’s Original I had was excellent, albeit at £3.20 a pint.