The Albion, West Kensington, W14

Dating from the mid-19th century, this was rebuilt in 1923, directly opposite Olympia. Well described below, the slightly rustic interior and more, can be seen on the pub’s website gallery; of note, is the helical cast iron staircase leading to the upper bar, which is partially galleried. Customers were fairly young, seemingly with more upstairs than down. The ale front delivered up four unused pumps, then just Pride and Tribute, sadly with the clip reversed, so it was a half of Neck Oil at an utterly unjustifiable £4.00 a half, served by a taciturn barman in one of Beavertown’s ugly stumpy glasses, which I could barely get my hand round. This is really quite a nice pub (despite the location), but the limited ale choice and insulting prices drops the score by a point, but it would make for a good double with the Cumberland Arms nearby.

A rather cosy pub with a very laid-back feel and a fair beer range. The fairly dark interior is decorated with numerous photos of 60's pop groups. Oh, and check out the urinals! A row of handpumps featured TT Landlord and Knowles Spring, Tribute, Proper Job, London Pride and a rather nice brass Morrell's pump clip, the latter sadly of course just for decoration. If only...

This smart single room pub, handy for nearby Olympia, was built in 1925 on the site of a previous pub dating back to the 1860's. You enter into a front seating area arranged under nice latticed windows, with high tables and stools on either side and lots of black and white photos in rows on the walls. The room is bare boarded and the servery appears midway down the right hand side with a tidy dark wood counter and interesting shelved bar back with unusual glass fronted compartments. Attractive 'Albion' lamps hang directly over the counter and there is a nice clock on the back wall, above the dumb waiter. Opposite the bar, pew and low stool seating runs under white tongue and groove wall panelling and a frosted window, with various jazz albums and black and white photos of musicians on show, as well as a saxophone and trumpet, which suggest live music may be on the agenda. Beyond the bar there is a small open area and at the rear a compact, carpeted lounge appears with enough space for two tables with a few standard chairs and low stools around a lit fireplace. There is a mirror above the fire and more musical instruments, photos and album sleeves on display plus a huge TV screen on the ceiling beam showing muted Sky News with music lost somewhere under the hubbub of a good Friday night crowd. A number of punters seemed to be eating from the reasonably pried menu which had most mains at around the £10 mark. There were five ales on the go when I arrived - Fullers London Pride, St Austell Tribute, Robinsons Trooper, Wychwood January Sale and Thwaites Wainwright. I tried the latter, a little steep at £4.10, but in decent enough condition. Service was prompt and relatively friendly and I found the atmosphere in here ideal with a good buzz, but enough space to get served and seated without too much fuss. I liked the feel of this place, which seemed to be pretty cosy and popular with the locals. Unfortunately I couldn't stay too long due to a prior commitment, but I can imagine quite easily settling down here over a few pints and would happily return the next time I'm in the area.

There were four ales on here - London Pride, Robinson's Trooper, St Austell Tribute, and Timothy Taylor Boltmaker (£2.10 a half) plus another couple of pumps unclipped. There weren't any menus on the tables, but they clearly do food as a group at one of the tables was just polishing off their lunch. This is rather a nice little single room pub, although nothing like the traditional boozer that the previous reviewer knew from years ago. The floor's bare-boarded with what looks like the original boards, the bar counter has an attractive wood panelled frontage, and at the back of the room is a rather enticing large alcove with a couple of small tables with small stools and a real log fire on the go. Furnishings are mainly settles with normal tables and chairs, but with the inevitable tall tables/tall stools at the front of the room. A spiral staircase leads upstairs, probably to some additional seating, but I didn't go exploring up there. A bit of effort has been put into the decor. As well as numerous prints on the walls, there's a definite musical theme with album covers on some walls, and posts decorated with brass section instruments (saxaphones and clarinets) and even an old His Master's Voice type gramaphone on one of the window shelves. There was a TV of course (off when I was in on Wednesday lunchtime), and some low volume background music playing. I liked this pub. Although it's no longer a locals' boozer having moved considerably upmarket, I felt warm and comfortable in here. The ale selection's not bad either.

Official site of The Albion - www.thealbionpub.com

Official site of The Albion - www.thealbionpub.com

The Albion is a small thin corner pub on the Hammersmith Road that I hadn’t visited for fifteen years before I popped in last Friday. This used to be a grubby little pub that I used to play darts in during my lunch break, but the dartboard at the end of the bar is long gone. This place is now much more upmarket and the old soaks that used to spend all day in here are ancient history. A premium/standard draught range is available from the bar and I counted six hand pumps. These were drawing Thwaites Wainwright and five offerings from Caledonian Brewery which were Fringe Benefit, Golden XPA, Flying Scotsman, Caledonian 80/- and All American Summer Pale Ale. The A-board out the front suggested that there was a beer festival in progress (To coincide with GBBF up the road), but I would hardly call the ale selection a beer festival. It did make me wonder if there are normally six ales to choose from or if they have put extra on for the “Caledonian festival”. I didn’t notice anyone eating, but I did glance at the menu to find out that the traditional pub food is priced around £9. The bar runs along the right hand wall and there is seating opposite. More seating can be found at the rear where there is a fireplace. This is where live bands set up at the weekends. At the front of the pub is a spiral staircase that climbs up to more seating and a balcony that overlooks the entrance. There was some low background music playing, but I didn’t notice any other distractions like televisions or gaming machines. Outside the entrance are some café tables with seating that are found under an awning. This place is perfectly acceptable for a quiet pint in the afternoon and I would pop back in if passing.