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The Black Dog Beer House, Brentford
Brentford
TW8 0NF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
This is a cosy, street corner pub, tucked away down the quiet backstreets of Brentford. The pub has a simple layout, with the entrance taking you into a spacious, bare boarded, main seating area, whilst the bar is all the way over to the left, where the room extends a short distance along the front wall. The main space has a typical alehouse feel to it, with a dark colour scheme and plenty of exposed brick pairing well under muted lighting on my evening visit, to create quite a warm, cosy feel despite the spaciousness of the room. Banquette seating extends around much of the perimeter, whilst decent quality tables and chairs fill the rest of the room. There’s a nice brick fireplace on the back wall with an oval-shaped mirror above and some nice potted plants across the rustic looking mantlepiece. The servery has a pleasant dark wood counter and bare brick bar back, with large beer boards on the back wall, although I didn’t find these all that helpful, as I couldn’t find half of the beers I could see on the pumps in front of me, anywhere on the board. There’s more seating to the front left, including some nice, fixed benches along the end wall, although this space felt a little detached from the buzz of the main seating area. There are lots of potted plants around the room, that brighten things up a little, as do the vases of flowers on each table, whilst the walls have been decorated with plenty of obscure bits of breweriana. An easy-listening soundtrack played in the background, but was lost, more often than not, under the general hubbub from a good Saturday night crowd.
On handpull, I noted Hop Back Fuggle and Citra, Downtown Solstice and Hand Brew Otto Dry Stout, but I could barely figure out what the extensive keg range comprised of, due to the difficult to decipher beer boards. A very friendly barmaid poured me a good pint of the Otto Dry Stout and only charged me a mere £3.00 for it – apparently, they had quite a bit in stock and had reduced the price to clear it out.
This is a cracking little pub with what must be the most interesting ale range in Brentford, making it a must-do if you’re in the area. I thought it worked really well as a contemporary alehouse and would appeal as much to the traditionalist as it would younger beer enthusiasts. I’ve no idea why it took me so long to check this place out – it’ll be my first port of call the next time I’m out this way.
On 31st January 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
Backstreet pub that defies the usual stereotypes - it's actually large, busy, modern and has a diverse drinks range. A V-shaped interior with the old partitioning long gone and it has been very tastefully modernised without losing a pubby feel; exposed brick, a modern stab at a traditional servery, old skool pub furniture and large Italianite windows. A nod to the middle-class neighbourhood is the plethora of pot plants which work well in context and a rather upmarket courtyard garden. Arrived 45 mins before kick-off to find a slightly more genteel specimen of Brentford fans in situ. Four cask with an eclectic selection, my Dead Brewers Halls IPA was in magnificent shape (NBSS 4.5) so good I stayed for a second. Also a strong range of ciders and keg. Really impressive and on-par with the Express for me (though it helped that I actually got a seat inside here). GBG listed and rightly so.
On 6th December 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
The Black Dog is fast becoming one of my favourite pubs in London. For many years, if I was heading to Brentford, the Magpie & Crown would be my go to pub. But that one has gone downhill substantially. So, these days, it's the Express Tavern and the Black Dog. This one is the better of those two, not getting too crowded on football matchdays, not overcharging for their beers and ciders and having an excellent rotating selection.
Yesterday I walked in to find a selection of 5 cask ales - Bexley Redhouse, Roosters Londinium, Hopback Summer Lightning, Nightjar At One With Citra & Oakham Citra. By the time we left late in the evening, 4 had been replaced with Ilkley Juno, Hobson's Best, Twickenham El Dorado Pale & Loddon Citra Quad all appearing. The 3 ciders (also on handpull) were Iford Windfall, Thirsty Farmer Dry & Pulp Apple Craft Cider.
The craft beer selection is also extensive. It too was changing rapidly. On arrival, there was Animal Hop Kitty, Forest Road Lewi, Polly's Montserrat, Unity Dubbie, Salt The Final Straw, Almasty Apricot Sour, Werewolf Total, New Bristol Mello Yello, Wild Card Stout & Pig & Porter Trotty Veck. Later replacements were Brick Yellow Plum & Yuzu Sour, Polly's Oh My..., Verdant Weird Walk, XT Black Bear & Deya Steady Rolling Man.
After managing to get through 14 of the beers and ciders (all halves, I hasten to add), we staggered out feeling quite contented. My natural inclination is to visit as many pubs as possible, whilst also trying as many beers and ciders as possible. I can certainly fulfill one of may aims here without getting the urge to move on!
Original Review 18/10/20:
I paid my third visit to this much revived pub early on Friday afternoon. The fact that I managed to secure the last available table testifies to its popularity despite its location off the beaten track in the backstreets of Brentford.
As a corner pub, it has an L-shaped bar and room, with an outdoor area at the rear, which may come into its own over the next few weeks/months.
Inside feels a bit more like a gastropub than a traditional boozer. But it makes for a cosy enough environment, where the emphasis is still on beer, as opposed to food.
4 real ales were on - Rooster's Capability Brown, Oakham White Dwarf, XT Animal The Yak & Mad Squirrel Mr Squirrel. There were also a couple of ciders and a perry - Pontymedyg Perryscription, Hallets Oak Aged & Ascension Wrath. In addition, there were over a dozen craft beers. All are listed on blackboards and I was also informed that they can be checked by scanning the QR code on each table. Although that level of technology is beyond my device!
We enjoyed a short but enjoyable session here, before it was time to leave. Easily the best pub in the Brentford area.
On 28th August 2022
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
Just off the High Street,this freehouse is a must visit in Brentford.Situated on a street corner ,the interior is traditional and L shaped,with a high ceiling and large picture windows all round creating a smart of well lit interior.The furniture is traditional,with a few long tables and the interior has two real fireplaces kicking out some pleasing heat on a cold night.
You get a real mix of customers,several were dining but lots more were just drinking.If a table has been booked ,a sign tells you at what time and indeed if it is further booked later on in the session.You are welcome to take the space until the advertised time(s).All very professional and necessary as the pub is rightly popular.
There are a set of 8 handpumps for real ales,ciders and perry with a listing on a blackboard on a central column.There are also 14 craft keg taps inlaid into the wall behind the handpumps with a seperate beer list which is worth inspecting as the selection is very interesting with a wide range of styles and strengths and a varied list of brewers,many very innovative in their offering.
The real ales on my trip were Animal Hop Kitty and Crow,Exeter Advocet,Park Brewery Saw Pit and Mad Squirrel Illuminate (NBSS 3.5).Maybe not as adventurous as the keg options but still decent.
There is a vinyl deck and albums will be played creating a great atmosphere.No flatscreens to ruin it.There is a decent sized beer garden to one side.
My visit was a short tick to see what the pub was about.Next time I will spend longer and indulge more widely,possibly grabbing some food which is well reviewed.If I live locally ,this place would get a lot of my custom.
On 27th February 2022
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
This was my penultimate stop on a mini crawl around Brentford FC and although it took a small detour from the ground it was rewarded by easily the best pub of the day.
I really liked this beer house make over both for its decor and available beer and cider range.
The make over has been well described below and on a dark damp late afternoon the roaring real fire, bare boards, exposed brick, dark colour scheme and comfy banquet seating around the edges worked well to make a comfortable pub visit.
Reasonable mixed crowd in for my visit also, which was slightly skewed more towards millennials than CAMRA card carrying old gits like myself. A nice touch was the sound system, played at a reasonable level, was provided by a turntable and vinyl collection at the end of the bar with locals being invited to bring in their own vinyls for playing.
But as said below the key selling point for this one is now an extensive beer offering with a 14 craft beer tap wall behind the bar and seven ale and six cider pumps on the two L shaped section of the bar top.
A very good mix of different beer styles were being offered across the craft taps and the cask pumps and quite a lot of the craft breweries on I was not familiar with. On the ale front there were six beers available and these were XT Animal Brewing Blue Dragon, Acorn Brewery Old Moor Porter, Brewsmith Bitter, Tring Brewery Tea Kettle Stout, Ilkley Brewery Mary Jane and Whitstable Brewery EIPA. And then the seventh pump was badged with Little Critters Sleepy Badger Stout but had an “ I’m conditioning” label on it, which although annoying, does give the impression that it probably was being conditioned unlike the liberal use of ubiquitous coming soon labels in Wetherspoons establishments.
I tried both the Acorn Porter and the Tring Stout and they were both in very fine form. I never bothered to visit the former guise but I will certainly make an effort to return to the Black Dog Beer House.
On 28th December 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
This old Victorian pub has had its innards throughly eviscerated at some stage, leaving a thoroughly modernised pub. As you would expect, it's now bare-boarded, with exposed brickwork around the place, but mainly on the chimney breasts. WhatPub suggests that this might be a Nowell Parr pub; it certainly could be, as the batens on the ceiling are one of his trademarks, and although I didn't spot any of his trademark Tudor arches, these could have been lost during the stripping out of the pub. But what has survived are the lovely arched transom windows on the Albany Place side with their floral themed coloured glazing. Like all pubs of this vintage, this pub would have been multi-roomed - indeed a couple of closed in and unused doors are also on the Albany Place side, indicating the erstwhile presence af another room and a likely jug & bottle bar.
A fire was on the go when we arrived at early evening on a Wednesday, and some tables were reserved for later in the evening. An area on the left had all the tables laid for diners.
But where this pub really scores highly is in the extensive real ale selection. I think there were seven or eight on, with none from the ranks of the usual suspects, and included a rather good stout. At least, a couple of pints of it convinced me of its quality - I wished I had made a note of its name, but these sort of oversights sometimes occur when one reaches pub number eight of the day! Ths pub was doing a good trade on Wednesday evening. and is definitely one to seek out if in Brentford.
On 16th December 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
The have made a nice job of this rough and ready boozer .Had a few teething problems but should develop into a nice pub .8 cask beers on but prices are a bit high for the area or maybe too high for my liking.Outside uncovered seating area at rear.
On 10th November 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Komakino . left this review about The Black Dog Beer House
This backstreet boozer a few minutes' walk from Griffin Park has been resurrected and renamed and is a world away from the dubious establishment of previous recollection. Bare boards, exposed brick, the odd bit of wood and a grey/green paint job comprise the decor of the chunky L-shaped, high-ceilinged room. A chamfered L-shaped bar offered seven real ales (an eighth clip was reversed), including the award-winning Siren Broken Dream "Breakfast" Stout at £3.50 for 2/3 (not sold in pints), five real ciders and a keg wall with fourteen taps. Blackboards on separate walls listed the cask, cider and keg offerings along with style, ABV and price details. A fair few in on a Sunday arvo visit - a mixture of drinkers and diners - and there was a relaxed hubbub to the background of some vocal jazz muzak. Staff were on form - fortunately not be-aproned, and I wasn't asked if there was "anything else" after ordering my beer. There are some great pubs in Brentford and, although it's early days, this could get close to joining the ranks.
On 4th November 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1075 recommendations about 1075 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
mandy pusey left this review about Albany Arms
The Albany Arms has been under new management from mid June 2011.
The new managers are a young couple with positive and social attitude, they hope to welcome both old and new customers to this traditional type public house.
All are welcome, please don’t be put off by past reviews, they were in the past and the future of The Albany Arms looks much brighter
On 23rd June 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Albany Arms
Oh dear…. When you pop into a backstreet pub during lunchtime any problems are not usually that obvious as it is quiet and any patronage is usually local. Not the Albany!
I had to wait, with fiver in hand, at the bar whilst the barmaid talked through me to her friends who were leaving. Once she had finished she was very friendly whilst serving me, but I had to go into the beer garden to finish my tangy half as I'm not a big daytime TV person and I was the only person in the pub.
One saving grace is that there is a pool table and a dartboard, but I think that 50% of pubs in Brentford have a pool table and dartboard so I'll be giving this place the Spanish archer in future.
On 22nd April 2008
- rating: 2
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]