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The Westminster Arms, SW1

9-10 Storey's Gate
SW1
SW1P 3AT
Phone: 02072228520

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Westminster Arms

Small, usually busy and thus difficult to find somewhere to sit. However, there are few small tables out front plus Storey's Wine Bar in the cellar (never visited) and 'Queen Anne's English Dining Room' upstairs (ditto). I was disappointed to find just three of the seven handpumps in use on this revisit, offering Master Brew, Whitstable Bay Pale (£5.40) and Spitfire and no guest beers as a Shepherd Neame pub. Customer service can be a bit variable, but the beer is always in excellent condition in my experience. Handy for the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the QEII Conference Centre.

On 29th January 2023 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Tris C left this review about The Westminster Arms

This was once the Red Lion, but was rebuilt in 1913. Being close to the Palace of Westminster, it’s one of at least three pubs in the area to feature a Division Bell.
There’s much wood panelling in here for vertical drinking to ledges. One of the more interesting aspects of the pub are the bevelled mirrors inset into the extensive wood panelling, likewise the ornate ceiling cornice. The bar back is intriguing, visible on the pub’s website and featuring the phone number of Westminster 365; is this real? Lighting is Victorian style, there are knickknacks above the main window, which features bullseye glass and TVs broadcasting banality with the sound off. Customers were painfully few in number, especially when compared with the crowds at the Two Chairman round the corner and seemingly either local office workers, with a couple of lost foreign tourists.
Not that I’m a great fan of SN beers, but there were five reversed clips, then Master Brew and Spitfire at £2.70 a half and surprisingly decent.
This is quite a nice pub, but the beer range is poor and the ambience isn’t great. It’s worth a stop for a look, but I’d prefer not to spend an evening in here, though it’s better than the offerings in the Petty France area round the corner.

On 24th November 2021 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1955 recommendations about 1922 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about The Westminster Arms

A Shepherd Neame tied house,so be prepared to suffer their dull ales if you venture inside.The ground floor will have a lot of vertical drinking,there is a shelf to the rear.Downstairs is a wine bar ,while upstairs there is a dining room.Despite lots of wood panelling ,the interior felt functional rather than interesting.
There are 7 handpumps,some unused,some doubled up meaning a choice on my visit of Masterbrew,Bishops Finger,Crossfire and Whitstable Pale (A dull brew and NBSS 1.5 )There was inefficiency amongst the bar staff who seemed unable to serve folk in order.A till problem then brought serving to a virtual halt.
It's a bit of a scum when busy.Unless you really like Shepherd Neame beer,one to avoid in future.

On 14th February 2020 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


custodian 42 left this review about Westminster Arms

Went in this donkey's years ago and honestly couldn't remember a thing. Shepherd Neame pub with 7 hand pumps, one not in use. Bishop's Finger went down well. Also a cellar bar and a first floor restaurant. Would return.

On 1st March 2017 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]


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E TA left this review about Westminster Arms

As described, there are 2 bars in this fine Shepherd and Neame pub, the one upstairs mainly for drinkers, with its array of 6 handpumps on the bar, and the basement kept for diners, although it is possible, as we proved, to eat upstairs if you can find somewhere to sit. Deciding which bar to eat in can result in a comedy situation as the two barmen bounce you back and forth. Several tourists wandered in and out while we were there, obviously confused about what a pub is, but the majority of the clients were indigenous and enjoyed, rather than endured, their time here. I had a portion of fish and chips which was served, rather naffly, on a piece of driftwood and a paper bag, but the pint of Whitstable Pale Ale with which I washed it down was excellent. It’s a surprisingly good pub given its location, and I’d be happy to return any time.

On 4th January 2016 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3272 recommendations about 3237 pubs]


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Pub SignMan left this review about Westminster Arms

I remember visiting this pub as part of a school trip to the nearby Houses of Parliament back in the mid 1990’s, although we hadn’t managed to persuade our teachers to take us for a pint - we just popped in to see the division bell, which was even less exciting than it sounds. I’d never managed to return in the intervening years, partly because the pub seems to close at the weekend, but a recent mid-week trip into town gave me the chance to pop in for a quick pint and to reacquaint myself with the bell. The pub is a simple, single room affair with bare floorboards which are heavily scuffed around the bar area after years of use. The servery runs along the right hand wall and has a high bar back bearing the pub’s name and with a Shepherd Neame clock, as the pub is currently run by the Kent-based brewers. In fact, there is all manner of Shepherd Neame related stuff dotted around the place including a number of shelves displaying old Shep’s jugs, a large pub mirror opposite the bar and loads of old Shep’s adverts and photos dotted around the room. There is also a whole load of clutter above the front door, mainly a number of bottles and jugs of various shapes and sizes. Seating is very limited, with virtually no tables, just a few drinking ledges and high stools. There were TV screens at either end of the room showing two different rolling news channels. There appear to be two other areas which might offer somewhere to sit, although I suspect they are both more formal rooms, with the Queen Anne’s English Dining Room and Storey’s Wine Bar both signposted from the main bar.
Four Shep’s ales – Master Brew, Spitfire, Kent’s Best and Bishop’s Finger – were, most unusually, supplemented by a guest beer in the shape of Osset Elizabeth Rose. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a guest ale in a Shep’s house, so I thought I should give it a try, although you certainly have to pay for the privilege, as my pint of the Osset came in at £3.95. The keg range was fairly standard but included Oranjeboom and Ashai.
This is a very basic pub with a potentially interesting range of drinks, but I quite liked the place and enjoyed supping my pint and watching the world go by from the front windows. There are several better pubs in the area, but I’d still consider a return.

On 9th March 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


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hondo . left this review about Westminster Arms

Shepherd Neame pub opposite the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. Real ale and food served.

On 8th November 2012 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]


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Quinno _ left this review about Westminster Arms

Pottered in here as a wildcard between St Stephens Tavern and the Speaker. Located in a leafy side-road near Parliament Square, this looks quite nice from the outside with some chairs and tables overlooking the way. On entering the bar I was struck by how drab and devoid of life the interior was, the wonderful bar back excepted (see photo). There’s little in the way of furnishings except a few high stools; the stripped wood floor and dim lighting added to the sparseness. There was a muted TV tuned to News 24, if I recall correctly. Apparently there is a 40 seat restaurant upstairs. Seven pumps with five Shepherd Neame ales on - Spitfire, Bishops Finger, Master Brew, Late Red and Canterbury Jack. My Canterbury Jack, whilst expensive, was a good pint.

I didn’t get much out of this place, truth be told. Very dull, it obviously caters to flash mobs of vertical drinkers from the Parliamentary estate. The two pubs mentioned at the start of my review – the St Stephens Tavern and Speaker – do the job a lot better for the area.

On 14th June 2011 - rating: 5
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


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Steve of N21 left this review about Westminster Arms

First time to visit this pub for a couple of years and the first time after its takeover by Sheps and good to see the mad French barman still gamefully employed. Also went to have a look at the downstairs bar for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to find it a decent space with comfortable individual booths around the side walls, almost in contrast to the vertical drinking open space of the upper bar.
However still prefer the upstairs bar area for a beer session, must be something to do with the seven handpumps in a row in the middle of the bar.
As previously mentioned these now dispense the entire range of Sheps beers plus at least one seasonal offering , which was still the Early Bird Spring Ale on this visit.
All the beers we tried were in good condition and the Early Bird was particularly decent pint albeit the wrong side of £3.50 as mentioned below.
Still a very good pub and will try not to leave it too long before returning this time.

On 13th June 2011 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Malden man left this review about Westminster Arms

A little off the nearby tourist saturated beaten track, and better for it. Fairly quiet on Saturday afternoon, I arrived to find the French barman in a lively football discussion with a small group of Spaniards. Very little seating in the bar, no tables that I noticed, just a few shelves with stools and of course the bar top itself. The rear area has some wood panelling with mirrors, the division bell is above here, and there is some stained glass to the rear window.
The attractive bar back is in the trademark Shepherd Neame style with the pub name marked out in red on a cream background. This is topped by a clock. A high shelf over the front door and windows has a few jugs and bottles, and the previously mentioned large pub mirror sits over the stairs to the side. Two TVs, one showing the Tour de France, the other BBC news.
Five of the Sheps range were on, Canterbury Jack, Spitfire, Master Brew, Late Red (now all year red), and Bishops Finger. There are a few seats at small tables outside to the street, with the red awning lending a rather continental feel to the pub I felt.

On 18th July 2010 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]

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