The Eel Pie, Twickenham

Back in the Eel Pie on Saturday night after the Aviva Premiership double header and the place has undergone a fairly major refurb since my last visit. The new internal space is well described by the previous reviewer, and the refurb has generated a lot more space internally, which is a big benefit when packed out with rugby supporters. Fortunately they have retained the character by not mucking about with the main bar area and its rugby memorabilia, but there is now a very comfortable lounge area with large leather chairs and an improved restaurant section at the back which leads out to a new courtyard garden area. Usually I fall into the pub curmudgeon category and don’t like change, but have to say the changes here are an improvement to what I already considered to be a good pub. Can’t say how many H&W beers were on because I only had eyes for the Tanglefoot and the pub staff should be praised by agreeing to serve it in my own Twickenham branded Polyvinyl chloride glass that I’d had to pay a quid for earlier in the day, rather than their own match day plastic.. Still rates as one of my favourite pubs in Twickers and remains a solid 8 for me.

Just a short distance from the river and easily reached from Twickenham station, the Eel Pie presents itself as a charming, traditional pub, although rather surprisingly, it only began life as a pub back in the early 1980’s, having previously been a wine bar. The right hand entrance takes you into the main bar area, dominated by an impressive servery with an aesthetically pleasing curved bar counter and some nice leaded glass panes in the canopy above. There is a compact seating area to the right with a mix of high tables and stools and standard tables and chairs. There were a couple of muted TV screens in this part of the pub showing the afternoon’s Premier League fixture, but the pub’s real allegiance is unsurprisingly to rugby, as evidenced by the remarkable collection of memorabilia on display, including various posters, pennants and programmes. Moving to the left, you pass through a bare boarded area with a drinking ledge under the front windows and plenty of room for vertical drinking. A step takes you down into the lounge which has quarry stone floor tiles, lots of chunky sofas and armchairs and a lit fireplace with an imposing, intricate mantle and surround. The walls here are half panelled and decorated with an eclectic mix of photographs as well as a large, well stocked bookcase. Moving to the rear, past a tiny, one table recesses labelled ‘The Sin Bin’, you emerge into a bright dining space with bare floorboards, canteen style benches and chairs, displays of kitchenware on high shelves and a few colourful pictures on the walls. A staircase in the lounge leads up to the toilets and has been decorated with an incredible collection of Hall and Woodhouse memorabilia, including all manner of photos, pictures and adverts, which is worth perusing. Music played quietly throughout my stay but it quickly got drowned out by the general chatter from the fairly large crowd within. Just the three Hall and Woodhouse beers were available on this visit – Tanglefoot, Sussex Best and First Gold – and the First Gold was in pretty good shape and served up by a cheerful barmaid. A pub grub style menu offered mains between £10-13, although I didn’t notice anyone eating. This is a nicely put together pub which delivers a venue with a traditional feel with lots of interesting features to admire. Given that I thought I’d seen the back of H&W when I left Dorset, the choice of beer doesn’t really inspire me, but it remains a bit of a novelty for London and can’t really detract from one of the better pubs in the area.

Nice little boozer the Eel Pie, if you can find it, down the cobbled street off the main Twickenham high street. Reasonable sized 'L'shaped bar, with table/restaurant area to one side. You can watch the rugby or the footy (live) on tv here, sample the ale/wine, or just partake in intelligent conversation...! Until the alcohol kicks in that is. Then all converse turns to mush, or fishy pies...! God bless the Eel Pie, and all who sail in her...! :o) TJ

Official site of the Eel Pie - theeelpie.co.uk

Official site of the Eel Pie - theeelpie.co.uk

Over the last 10+ years the EP has been my one of my favourite Twickenham pubs and one which I use most weeks. Always a very good atmosphere and beer is well looked after. However, lately there has been greater emphasis on food and whenever we visit there seems to be an all pervading smell of cooking oil which is rather unpleasant and certainly takes the edge of an otherwise decent tasting pint. Without the smell then 8, but currently just 6 until the smells disappear!

The Eel Pie is a nice looking pub on a nice street and also close to the market stalls. Once inside the pub was quite smart and very comfortable, it had a bit of an olde worlde feel to it. This pub is an Hall and Woodhouse tied house and there were five real ales on the bar i had a drink of H&W Badger bitter and this was a very nice drink there was also Tanglefoot and a seasonal beer from H&W and two beers from the closed Kings and Barnes brewery. The pub was very quiet on my visit but this was just after opening time and i was quite happy having a drink in here. Pub visited 13/12/2003

Feels like a real country pub, tucked away in the nice back streets of Twickenham. Plenty of ale to choose from last night, in a nice atmosphere with decent staff. The three ales, all from Hall and Woodhouse, are certainly are served well enough but prices are hiked significantly on match days. Food is available. An annoyance is the tendency for punters to congregate along the fairly narrow bar area, making getting a couple of beers difficult if the place is more than mildly busy. Otherwise it’s enjoyable and worth seeking out.