163. Mayfair, Saturday 20th September 2014

A gentle crawl from Marylebone to Mayfair was arranged towards the end of September. After alighting from the train at Marylebone, Avril and I walked to the Barley Mow on Dorset Street, which is a cosy little pub complete with snug at the back and a fine place to drink as the beer selection is very good though unfortunately I didn't actually write it down. It is definitely a place to drink rather than eat.

A little further on is the Coach Makers', a pub that I have not frequented before but it is rather nice though far more foody, it does this in a quirky way that is not the generic quirky of so many other gastro pubs, but a little different. Apparently there is an upstairs and a basement but we decided to stay in the spacious downstairs bar. A couple of decent proper beers that I didn't record.

The Golden Eagle on Marylebone Lane is a salt of the earth boozer with a single room and traditional bar and several interesting beers on tap. There is also a piano though this was not in action when we visited. Well worth staying in to sample the ales. Time for a snack and a short walk to the Iron Duke where we had been before and knew that we could purchase a splendid Scotch egg and wash it down with some splendid Fullers beer, so this is what we did.

After discovering that Guy Ritchie's pub was shut, we headed to the Coach and Horses, a mock Tudor establishment with stained glass windows that we have walked past on a number of occasions. As it's a Taylor Walker it is nothing special, but the barman was friendly and the beer selection was OK and fairly well kept. The Audley is another conveniently placed but not particularly nice pub that has a toilet which can be used. Quite a large traditional boozer with a varied selection of ale, but far too full of twats on our visit so we stood by the door and supped up rapidly.

Shepherd Market was the last area for our final three pubs. First up was the gastro trendy, but good, Market Tavern. Trendy with a hefty selection of Camden beer, close up photos of jauntily placed food on the website, rather formulaic, but the beer and atmosphere are decent and so it is worth staying. We didn't and instead had one at the Kings Arms which is a decent enough if little untidy but perfectly functional and unremarkable watering hole with a few beers. Final stop was at the slightly more characterful Grapes, with a much better selection of beer and authentic boozer as opposed to drinking den vibe. Certainly enough in this little area to satisfy.


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Dan Lovegrove
dan@doctor-lovegrove.com

Last updated 31st August 2015.