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The Cock & Bottle, W11

17 Needham Road
W11
W11 2RP

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Graham Coombs left this review about The Cock & Bottle

Quite a comfortable homely style, with muted lighting and rows of old books to add character. It is very noticeable that shades of deep red and pink are rather nicer than the usual grey and green colour schemes found nowadays. TT Landlord, Portobello Westway Pale and Sambrook's Wandle on pump: the Westway proved to be vinegar and the Wandle was not at its best. If they can sort the beer out I will return and look for Tris.

On 9th March 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3322 recommendations about 3259 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Cock & Bottle

Very attractive corner pub, with the relatively compact L-shaped bar being supplemented by smaller seating / dining areas at each end. Also has an upstairs dining room, and some pavement tables are also available on both sides. Traditional furniture and decoration throughout, but it is the splendid bar-back that earns this place an entry in Camra's regional inventory of historic interiors. Just Portobello's Westward Pale (£4.55) available from (what it would no doubt describe as) a trio of handpumps, with Tribute 'coming soon'.

On 20th November 2021 - rating: 6
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Tris C left this review about The Cock & Bottle

To say that this pub is my local is a minor understatement as I live under a minute’s walk from it.

The Cock & Bottle (also known as the Coke Bottle) reopened in July 2015 under the ownership of the City Pub Co having undergone a much needed refurbishment. As mentioned below, many of the original Victorian features remain: the floor has been sanded and lacquered, boards being either original or reclaimed - they do look rather good; the colour scheme is mercifully drawn from a Victorian colour palette and a few knick-knacks persist. Furniture is very conventional with leatherette upholstered banquettes below the windows, above which are cerise velour drapes. This is a multi-roomed pub and a snug to the rear features many brewers' mirrors, past and present; a side room features a fireplace and large rug, but seems increasingly made over towards dining, despite the upstairs dining room; A4 paper sheets denoting reserved tables have also appeared, which for me is a sure-fire way to lose points. A CAMRA Heritage Pub of Regional Importance, the bar back is rather fine too with cut and etched glass and snob screens, above which are spherical carbon filament lamps. There are metal columns marked out with beverages such as ‘cognac’ accompanied by a little metal tap; there is speculation that as a precursor to the optic spirit delivery system, spirits were delivered by gravity within the columns; if so, this is probably unique.
Music played, which was muted and unobtrusive. Lavatories are very new and aren't too bad, but the exposed plumbing to the trough basin doesn't quite add up: the taps aren't marked as hot and cold and they are the old-fashioned stop cock type which means that when you turn them off, you transfer germs back onto your hands; they should have fitted modern pushbutton taps. Additionally, the hand dryer gets in the way of the basin. It should (with another) have been fitted to the area occupied by the large mirror.

The place is very mixed, probably more so than any other W11 pub, customers are a mix of American bankers and TV executives who rub shoulders with an older crowd who've managed to cling on here despite the Croesan gentrification to which this area has been subjected over the last two-and-a-half decades. On a previous visit, David Cameron sat on a stool near the lavatory door.

Beer? Usually around three ales, drawn typically from the likes of the Portobello Brewing Co. and Truman's. Now a couple of festive ales as well as Gloucester Brewery’s Session IPA which is brewed with a type of hop that imparts a medicinal/metallic taste and despite a pint costing a relatively reasonable £4.40, it’s not a beer I’d order again.

The staff here are friendly and English is widely spoken but they could do with turning off the TV as a way to keep the bartender entertained. In general, I like this pub quite a lot now, though there aren’t many decent pubs in W11. It should also be noted that on Fridays and Saturdays, this pub defines 'rammed', so is best visited earlier in the week. Aside from the encroachment of dining-only and the reserved tables, my main gripe is that the foundation date of 1851, which is proudly displayed to the corner, but this refers to the pub's original incarnation of the White Swan, a roundel of which can be seen to the bar back. What a shame the management didn't have the imagination to return this pub to its original pre-1980s' name...

On 24th December 2019 - rating: 8
[User has posted 1955 recommendations about 1922 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Cock & Bottle

Well I must say I didn’t recall having done this one before when I ventured over en route to the local Tube stop. It is still a lovely backstreet pub which has retained a good amount of tradition and intimacy. Three old rooms semi knocked-through into a kind of L shape. Padded banquettes around the perimeter along with a pleasing burgundy and cream paint job with some wood trim. Bar is the star, with the old back and upper retained, ornate and with insets with gold copperplate script proclaiming Whiskies, Brandies, Gin, Sherries etc. Seeing my now 9 year old review below, it does indeed look like someone heeded my advice and has given the place a deep clean and a gentle spruce-up (City Pub Co in 2015). A nice gentle hubbub on my Friday afternoon visit prior to chuck out your chimps, and some quality local conversations overheard. Four pumps with a solid selection in Adnams Bitter (NBSS 3.5), Sambrooks Battersea Rye, Portobello APA and Old Dairy Uber Brew (NBSS 4). A nice little place and worth the walk – I’ll be promoting this one into the top tier Zone 1 boozers for future reference.

July 2010
A traditional back-street boozer not too far from Notting Hill Gate tube. The pub retains a number of original Victorian features, including snob screens, ornate bar back, old wooden fittings and what can be best described as a dwarf hatch and as such features in the C AMRA Regional Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. That said, it feels a bit tired and could do with some TLC to bring out the best in it. There’s usually a couple of ales on (Hogsback TEA and Harveys seem to be predominate) and quality is rather hit-and-miss, sadly. With a bit more effort this could easily be a must-visit for the area but at the moment it’s only worth a pint for the interior, I think. Rated 6

On 20th December 2019 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


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hondo . left this review about Cock & Bottle

Bare boarded interior that retains some old features like the bar gantry. 4 real ales and food.

On 27th October 2016 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Ian Mapp left this review about Cock & Bottle

Next on my Camra Pub Guide and an improvement on the Prince Edward.

Interesting two room pub, laid out for dining in one and drinking in the other. Pretty busy on a weekday night.

Nothing too memorable about it.

On 7th February 2016 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1329 recommendations about 1315 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Rex Rattus left this review about The Cock & Bottle

I paid my first visit to this pub during the afternoon a few days ago, and thought it a pretty decent backstreet pub. It wasn't very busy – perhaps three or four punters including me in there. But the landlady was friendly enough, and I thought it was the sort of place that would be good for a quiet pint or two. They had Hogsback TEA and Harveys Bitter. I didn't have the Harveys, but the TEA was excellent. There's an excellent original Victorian bar back in place as well.
This is definitely a decent pub in an area where there aren't too many of them. Definitely worth dropping in for a pint if you're in the area.

On 26th November 2008 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]