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Detail Pages
The Wilton Arms, Belgravia, SW1
SW1
SW1X 8ED
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Wilton Arms
This is a grade II-listed late Georgian pub dating from 1826, one of two very different hostelries in this Belgravia mews.
This had been a Shepherd Neame house with a field panelled wood front below the windows; heritage photos show hanging baskets of flowers. It reopened last September, having undergone a refit which I can only imagine must be one of the most extreme visited on a pub.
The panelled front now looks to have been infilled with Luxcrete panes, not something I’ve ever before seen in building construction. The floor is modern bare boarded, with a tiled bar apron, a modern bar to the right with an ornately carved front, with a modern tubular steel bar back. The front half of the main room features grey wainscoting to the dado, then seemingly rough bare plaster walls, with a white Anaglypta ceiling. The rear features modern bare wood field panelling and beyond is a step down to a dining area, which looks like a conservatory, seemingly devoid of diners mid-Saturday evening. There’s very little lighting in here, coming from small steel chandeliers, then hipster filament bulbs in wire cages to the walls; tea lights are on all tables. Most of the furniture comprised new tables and chairs, except to the front, where tables are a modern interpretation of the Britannia, but with single, central cast iron columns. The chairs were tubular steel, with panelled fawn vinyl, looking like they came out of a small sports car from the 1970s. There was no obvious décor, apart from a modest gilded mirror. There were painfully few customers in and Matt Bianco played on the stereo at a volume above comfort level.
It’s table service-only here, which I doubt is as a precaution, rather the feel of a restaurant is encouraged. Just the two ales, Pride and Allsopp’s Pale Ale which according to CAMRA, has recently been revived by the Allsopp family, of whom Kirsty is a descendant, brought to my table by a waitress whose English wasn’t her strongpoint. She didn’t present me with the card reader, as the assumption here is that drinkers want a tab, to settle up at the end, possibly with a 12.5% service charge. Probably the worst pint I’ve ever been poured, it arrived with a 1.5” head of convex foam (see photo). The beer was lifeless and tasted of dishwater; I could barely finish it, but didn’t’ fancy wasting £5.85.
I departed, turning right to the lights and joy of this mews’ other pub, the Nags Head which as I was to find out, was doing a roaring trade. This has to be the worst pub visit of 2021 – I was not a mews’d.
On 28th September 2021
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Wilton Arms
Reopened after a two year closure by Inda Pubs ,a small chain comitted to upgrading and restoring neighbourhood pubs.I was fortunate to pop in on the first day of their ownership and enjoyed a lot of free ale !
The interior has good wood panelling to the left side,a fine carved wood bar surround and a lower conservatory at the rear.I was lucky enough to be shown the first floor dining room,where years of paint and wood chip have been removed to expose wonderful sash window shutters and surrounds together with the existance of pieces of original ,very old wall paper which have been left to give a distressed look offset by some fine artwork from a local gallery.With traditional furniture this will be a fine place to dine.
The ground floor is open plan with upmarket wooden furniture and the large front window with etched pannels and coloured glass upper opening panes give a lot of natural light to the interior.There are a few seats outside.
At the bar there are two handpumps offering Allsops Pale (NBSS 4) and IPA (NBSS 4.5) which I enjoyed almost to excess.The keg options were far more mainstream.The welcome was friendly and professional and I really hope this pub turns out to be a roaring success for the team.This is yet another mews pub that really deserves a visit,I will most certainly be back.
On 10th September 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Wilton Arms
Medium-sized pub in a Belgravia side street. A nice high-ceilinged room with much dark wood and glass panelling gives a good traditional feel. At the back is a conservatory which can be hired for private functions. Beers are from Shepherd Neames with Whitstable Bay Pale and Bishops Finger on pump at time of visit and in good condition (but I still refuse to acknowledge Spitfire Lager as a thing).
On 25th May 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Wilton Arms
Not a patch on the Nags Head. Foreign bar staff, weak real ales and no atmosphere at all. Not good.
On 17th May 2017
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Wilton Arms
Shepherd Neame pub interior as described below. 3 real ale taps(2 on). Does the job if you want something to eat or use the wifi but the nearby nags head is a much more characterful pub.
On 13th October 2015
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Wilton Arms
The Wilton Arms is a traditional looking Shepherd Neame run London backstreet pub. The interior consists of a couple of booths on the left hand wall and a bar on the right. At the rear is a sunken seating area within a conservatory. The usual SN draught was available alongside some standard draught products. One of the three hand pumps was unused leaving Spitfire and Whitstable Bay as the ale options. Traditional pub grub is available with the mains all priced around the £10 mark. During my lunchtime visit on a recent Friday there were a handful of locals at the bar and a couple of groups of tourists who were taking in some famous London fish and chips. There was some low background music playing and the TV was off, although Sky Sports is advertised.
I’m not a massive fan of Shep pubs, but I liked this one and would return with no fuss if in the area.
On 12th October 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5250 recommendations about 5218 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Wilton Arms
A decent pub just up the road from the Nags Head,Shepherd Neame ales available which a prefer to the Adnams at the Nags,but although I have no problem calling in here for a drink it dosnt have the charm of its neighbor .
On 5th June 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Wilton Arms
Reasonable Sheps pub in a quiet back street that almost feels like a mews. Comfortable rectangular bar, with traditional furniture and decor plus some screens which help break the space up a bit. Additional rear seating area down some steps, and a couple of standing-height tables out the front. Master Brew, Spitfire and Late Red (£3.60) available from the three handpumps, and I've always found the beer to be on good form. Reasonably busy on my lisit vist, and this helped the atmosphere which I had felt somewhat lacking on my last visit and thus rating increased by a point.
On 9th February 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
I L left this review about Wilton Arms
Very pleasant Shepherd Neame pub with Master Brew, Spitfire and Bishops Finger on. The Bishops Finger is well kept here. The hanging baskets when in full bloom can completely obscure the name!
On 17th August 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 287 recommendations about 284 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Wilton Arms
This is a Shepherd Neame pub with the usual range – except that it did not have Kent's Best when I was in there the other day. But the Master Brew was OK. This pub has a well- tended exterior, with numerous hanging baskets and planters, making it appear very inviting. Inside it's spacious, without being barn-like, and very clean and comfortable. There's plenty of assorted bric-a-brac around the walls – books, beer jugs and the like. The food seemed very reasonably priced for the area, and although I didn't eat in there, it looked pretty good. So, this pub couldn't be more different to the Nag's Head a few doors down the street. I would certainly visit again if I needed a drink to see me through the long walk from the Grenadier to the Nag's Head! Seriously, I do recommend this pub.
On 23rd July 2008
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]