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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
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Submitted on Friday, 10th February 2023
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Detail Pages
Elephant & Castle, Kensington, W8
W8
W8 4LT
Elephant and Castle
It's that time of the year again! Come by @E_CKensington on Sat 5th May 12pm -4pm for our first BBQ of the year!… https://t.co/U3WM7JTEN1
6:09 PM Apr 27th 2018 from Twitter for Android
Reviews of Elephant & Castle (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Elephant & Castle
A return visit and it would seem that the floor has had a makeover but what - thankfully - has changed is that the awful games machine has gone which adds more appeal. What has also changed is the décor, where once there were framed newspaper front pages from momentous events, there are now pictures of former resident Freddie Mercury cavorting with Samantha Fox which adds nothing. Allied to which, my pint tasted as though the lines hadn't been cleaned in quite a while and wasn't pleasant to drink. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, so the grade remains unchanged.
--------------------------------------------
17th June 2016:
Oddly for this part of the world, this is as mentioned, a Nicholson's pub. It dates from 1865 and is tucked away out of the sightline of tourists plodding around dreary Kensington High Street in one of the prettiest enclaves in Kensington. Out front there's an awning-covered patio and inside it's dark, very traditional and very basic with simple furniture, some settles and lots of dark atmospheric three-quarter height wood panelling. There's a pot shelf and behind, there's an old back lit Charrington's bar parapet - it reminded me a bit of The Windsor Castle up the road. How lovely (well almost). The pub was fairly quiet yet despite this, the barman took 10 minutes to serve me. The bloke standing next to me had been there even longer and it's not as if we weren't noticed, as the barman kept glancing over at us as he chatted with customers. Added to this there was a TV showing Euro '16 (for me, a capital offence in a historic pub) and worse, there was a flashing games machine.
Ales: one unused pump, Portobello Bronze Star, Sharp's Doom Bar, Nicholson's Pale Ale, Littlestone's Honey Porter and Glamorgan Brewing Co's Pales of the Unexpected at (for the area) a competitive £4.35 a pint and very nice it was too.
I'll definitely return as this is a very nice pub indeed. If it put the TV, games machine and useless barman in a skip I'd probably give it 8/10.
On 27th September 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Elephant & Castle
A very smart Nicholson's pub in the back residential streets with a nice floral exterior. Inside is an immaculate traditional pub in a U-shape round the central bar, with some nice wood panelling, decorated with memorabilia from the old Barker's department store. There are a few pavement tables outside. A reasonable selection of beers seemed well kept: Hophead, London Pride, Proper Job, Hadley's Moonstone, Doom Bar and the St Austell house beer. Would happily return.
On 13th June 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Elephant & Castle
This is a compact Nicholson’s pub on a street corner a short walk from High Street Kensington tube station. Arriving in the evening, the first thing I noticed was how dark the pub was, as you enter into a dimly lit room that combines with a great deal of dark wood panelling and floorboards, to create an atmospheric and rather cosy effect. A couple of long, padded, curved banquettes stand either side of the entrance with numerous low stools in support and two drinking ledge lined pillars opposite help to funnel people through the room, towards the bar area. The servery has a nice, U-shaped dark wood counter which arcs around the rear wall, beneath a smart canopy and pot shelf. Gleaming brass foot rails and an impressive back-lit Charringtons branded bar back add to the grand effect the servery produces, making it the main focal point of the room. Beyond the bar, there is a small space to the rear with limited seating and plenty more wood panels, but this seemed a bit cut-off from the rest ofg the pub and was proportionately quieter as a result. Decor throughout the pub includes various paintings, corporate-style blackboards and display cabinets full of random shiny things. There was also a framed front page of the Evening Standard from the day that John Lennon was shot, although this was partially lost beneath a load of tasteless Halloween decorations. There are a few pavement seats in a small front garden area and a door to the rear leads out to a rear patio, which I failed to explore.
On the bar, the usual decent selection of ales you’d associate with Nicholson’s pubs were available, with the full range comprising Siren Liquid Mistress and Sweet Dream, Fullers London Pride, Nicholson’s Pale Ale, Sharps Doom bar and Wychwood Hobgoblin. The Sweet Dream set me back a hefty £5.05 for a pint but it was absolutely divine – one of the best beers I had all year and therefore almost worth the annoyingly large pile of shrapnel I got back in change.
I thought this was a good Nicholson’s pub with a nice, atmospheric interior, friendly bar staff and some heavenly beer, albeit at hellish prices. A lot of the pubs in this part of town make me feel a bit out of place, but I was more than happy sat in here and will be making it my ‘go to’ pub whenever I find myself in the area.
On 16th January 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
View more reviews of Elephant & Castle (12)
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- Official pages of the Elephant and Castle, including menus and cask ale details - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk
- Twitter - Elephant and Castle
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Elephant & Castle - whatpub.com
- Historic Pub Interiors - pubheritage.camra.org.uk
West Brompton, 1.32 miles, 25 min walk (show)
Shepherds Bush, 1.44 miles, 27 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Beer Garden : Yes - Front patio. - last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Car Park : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 24 November 2016 by Tris C
- Darts : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Function Room : No last updated 16 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 29 July 2013 by Dave McNally
- Jukebox : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Karaoke : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Live Music : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Micropub : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Pinball : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Pool Table : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- Quiz Night : Yes - Mondays 7.30pm. - last updated 27 September 2019 by Tris C
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 17 December 2016 by Tris C
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 17 December 2016 by Tris C
- Wheelchair Access : No last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
- WiFi : Yes last updated 17 June 2016 by Tris C
