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The Queens Arms, South Kensington, SW7
SW7
SW7 5QL
Pub Type
Castle (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Queens Arms
A pay by the post code mews pub but TBF its a neat but not spoilt pub and the beer was good
On 11th February 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Queens Arms
First visit to this mews pub that has undergone an internal make over and a bit of remodelling since the previous reviews, being shut for a month in July 2022 before reopening in August. Can’t comment with authority as I can’t recall visiting before but looking at previous reviews it looks like it’s gone even more foody with every table laid for dining. However I did visit at lunchtime and perhaps it’s different in the evenings when the food service has finished.
From what I could see there is now one bank of six hand pumps with four ales and a couple of ciders with the fairly mainstream line up of TT Landlord, St Austell Tribute, Hogs Back TEA and Harvey’s Sussex Best. Some more interesting stuff such as Tiny Rebel Clytch and Mondo Dark Mild on the keg taps, but I went for the Sussex Best and it was perfectly fine.
The reason I searched this one out is that I spotted it in the 2004 Brit Gangster film Layer Cake, when Daniel Craig’s (pre 007 days) drug dealing character lives in a mews house opposite, and thought “that looks like a nice pub”. It still certainly does from the outside, I would have just preferred it to be a bit more pubby on the inside.
I’ll try to come back one evening when the pre concert munching hordes are ensconced in the RAH and see what it’s like then.
On 8th April 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2109 recommendations about 1991 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Queens Arms
Good Beer Guide 2022 Entry - Eight hand pulls in two banks of 4. Landlord (fine condition), Citra and Titanic Plum porter nearest to my perch at the bar, where I was completely in the way.
Every table in the two rooms is either reserved or occupied by diners. There is a thin strip at the window for drinkers but half a dozen people will fill that up.
Screaming kids.
It is a handsome building in a gorgeous mews street but having got the tick, I won't be coming back.
Unless I have booked a table for lunch :-)
On 21st February 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Queens Arms
The place is well described below, with photos viewable on the website’s gallery. Customers tended to be younger and all local; no tourist is going to find this place in a hurry. One real problem here, is that the acoustics were appalling, a place where everyone has to talk ever louder to be heard, the resulting crescendo being hard to take.
There were eight pumps here, amazingly all in use, delivering something that wasn’t from GK for once, or Pride or Doom. Ok, I lied: Doom is available and on two of the pumps. Otherwise, Rosie Pig cider, Proper Job, Hophead, Landlord and Ghost Ship, £2.80 the half, in fine condition, served by a goofy but ultimately charming barmaid.
This is the best pub in SW7 hands down and must be one of the best pubs in the whole borough, not that that’s saying much. A more imaginative ale choice would get the score up, as would doing something about the acoustics, perhaps by applying more sound deadening décor, or perhaps curtains.
On 5th December 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1982 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Queens Arms
A classic mews pub,tricky to find but worth the effort.The apex front door gives way to an L shaped interior with wood panelling up to the dado rail on the left,a carved wooden bar back and a wood divider to a snug area on the right.Traditional furniture ,a drinking shelf opposite the short side of the bar while outside drinking is allowed until 9pm to preserve the quiet for residents.
Tables can be reserved but times are noted and dining will be common,there is a short menu with starters £7-9,mains £14-24 but bar snacks are avaiable and my chips with cheese and gravy was terrific for £5.The short but pricey wine list probably contains quality ,and given the upmarket location I would guess that also extends to the food.
However I was more focussed on the ale and there was a very friendly,chatty wecome from behind the bar.There are 8 handpumps but on my trip Doom Bar was doubled up,there was a real cider,TT Landlord and St Austell Proper Job(great nick,NBSS 4,£5.40 as you might expect here.)There were a lot of keg taps but these appeared to be large well know brands rather than craft keg.
The constant muzak didn't spoil the atmosphere,this is a very traditional pub well worth a visit especially if you like mews pubs.
On 5th August 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Queens Arms
An unbranded M&B mews pub on a cobbled street, very picture postcard and close to the museum strip / RAH. The ornate and highly unusual curved entrance doors reminded me of the like the Wykeham Arms in Winchester. The inside is an old two bar place that sadly has been knocked through quite heartily sometime in the last 50 years. Decor on the left hand side is a bit dull, I preferred the right side which had black and gold wallpaper. Nice patrons in situ, polite and amenable. Eight ales on and - shock! - they were really good. Doom Bar, St Austell Proper Job (NBSS 4), Titanic Plum Porter (3.5), Laines Mango (3.5), Hop Back Summer Lightning, Wooha (3), Vocation Cooler Shaker (3.5) and Tim Taylor Landlord. Having got stuck into the beer for longer than originally anticipated we decided to eat here and the food was fairly good for the price. A real find.
On 10th August 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Queens Arms
A nice mews pub with a good range of 8 ales and a well-run feel. Despite an emphasis on the food trade it is still a good place for drinking. The list at time of visit was Robinsons Blonde, James Blonde, Skinner's Betty Stogs, Ossett Yorkshire Brunette, Dark Star Partridge, Brew York Turtle Peach, Landlord, Proper Job and Doom Bar, with a similarly varied selection listed as coming soon. Definitely worth a visit.
On 12th June 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Queens Arms
Tucked away in a quiet mews, but not far from the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College and the Science Museum. Even though opened out at some stage, the bar is not exactly large. Attractive façade, and gastro-pub type furniture and decor. Reasonable atmosphere, and decent beer from eight handpumps (e.g. Leeds Gathering Storm, £4.20, on my latest visit). NB - As an unbranded M&B (Castle) house, the real ale choice is normally similar to that found at one of the more adventurous Nicholsons outlets.
On 29th October 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Queens Arms
It has upped its game on the real ale front in the couple of years since I wrote the account below. Always a decent selection and deservedly in the 2014 GBG. Well worth seeking out but best best go in the afternoon, Imperial currently has just two mediocre bars for several thousand people so it gets mobbed out in the evenings.
2011 review
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In the 35 years I have known the area this ex-Charringtons, now a "Metro Professional" branded M&B pub has always been one level better than any of the large number of identikit ex-Watneys, now Punch/TW branded pubs around here. M&B's more upmarket brands can be OK when they've got their fingers out and this one isn't so bad. Of course it isn't a traditional two bar Victorian local any more, there's just a pillar in the middle and the positions of the doors to remind you of the original layout. An unending series of refurbishments leaves us with a fairly standard gastro-ish arrangement, bare floors, scrubbed tables, menus on blackboards. It's not cheap, well over four quid for top-end lager, but this doesn't deter the large local student population - perhaps not surprising given the demographic all three local colleges attract. Beers are from the usual suspects, with a couple of guests though you're unlikely to get anything too esoteric. It does get very full in the evenings, even more so in summer when the proms are on, and service can be dreadfully slow and offhand. Best to call in the afternoon for a more civilised experience.
On 29th September 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Queens Arms
This pub still has on a really good ale selection. They had on Red Squirrell London Black IPA, Doom Bar, London Pride, Summer Lightning, Butcombe Great Grey Owl APA, Bath Summer Gold, Lancaster Brewery Lemon Grass, and Stonehenge Eye Opener. Just a small niggle - not knowing Eye Opener I asked the barman if it was a brown bitter style and he said they were all bitters. In those circumstances a pub with such a commitment to real ale might have offered a taster. But that's just nit picking; the Eye Opener turned out to be just what I wanted, a brown bitter in excellent condition.
The pub is still as described previously, with the fixed price menu still available. I even recognised some of the dishes on offer, such as old spot sausages & mash, and gammon steak.
This pub is tucked away down a mews, as are just about all the decent pubs in this general area, originally to keep them away from the sensitive eyes of the occupants of the grand houses lining the major thoroughfares. How times have changed. Of course you are not going to find an unspoilt backstreet boozer anywhere near here, and this one has certainly had the upmarket treatment. But it has perhaps surprisingly retained one or two of its original features, such as the bar counter and half height wood panelling on the walls. There are no pool tables, dartboards or fruit machines, although there is a smallish TV on one of the walls. Free wi-fi is advertised. When I visited there were masses of flowers outside, adding to its attraction.
All things considered this is still just enough of a pub to make it an attractive destination for me. And eight ales, with only two of the usual suspects on parade, is a definite plus. I would be happy to visit again.
On 17th August 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]