Choosing our Pubs

Penny says we need a battle plan for hitting the pubs as none of the Nicholson's pubs were in Chelsea or Fulham.  I have scoped out some pubs in the area around the apartment and there are a few that might be worth a visit.

Hollywood Arms is a couple of blocks away from the apartment and is part of Young & Co's pubs.  It isn't your typical historic looking pub but the food looks good, including the Sunday Roast.  Young & Co. has other pubs in West London (Chelsea and Fulham) and they all offer Sunday Roast and they all look sparkly clean, more like afternoon tea establishments than bars.  Perhaps they are "gastropubs" instead of the traditional pub.  Another of their pubs that is fairly close by is the King's Arms, located about 4 blocks up Fulham Road.  They believe in "great British food" but most of all they "believe in burgers" (they are a Burger Shack).  What can I say?  That appears to be the most popular pub food these days, although to their credit they do offer a Dorset lamb burger with whipped goats curd, red onion, pickles, shredded lettuce, and fries.

And Penny, Young & Co. also offers a pub app for your phone to help you find their pubs.

Another pub that is around 5 blocks from the apartment is The Sporting Page, a gastropub from the Food and Fuel chain.  Gastropubs seem to specialize in wine and cocktails rather than ale so if we want an historic pub that serves real ale, we might have to go into town as Chelsea doesn't seem to be the best place for cask ales.

Cumberland Curl

For instance, when we go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, we could stop at the Elephant & Castle for lunch, which is a Nicholson's pub specializing in sausages and chops.   Or maybe we'd rather go to the Churchill Arms when we're up at the V & A, except their kitchen specializes in Thai food (who knows, we might be ready for that!).  It's part of the Fuller's pub chain which doesn't have any pubs in Chelsea or Fulham.

If we visit the Smithfield Meat Market we can stop at The Old Red Cow
which is supposed to have a good selection of many types of beer and offers a good Sunday Roast, but you have to make reservations for that (we can do that online so we don't have to worry about language difficulties).   If we go to the British Museum we can stop at The Lamb, which offers Wiltshire lamb rump, broad beans, onions & gravy (18£) for "brunch" (I think that's lunch since they only open the kitchen at noon).

When we go down to Borough Market on the south side of the Thames, we can stop by the historic George Inn, a historic coach inn owned by the National Trust and managed by the Greene King chain of pubs.

We are going to need a little help with our pub trail.  Are we looking for real cask ale? Historic interiors?  Good British food?  Here are a few "best pubs" articles to get us started.  Many of the historic pubs are very small with standing room only so they advise avoiding lunchtime and the post-work rush.  We can select the ones that appear on all the lists and then check their menus.

Cittie of York pub recommended by the Pocket Rough Guide to London.  A Samuel Smith pub.

• The Telegraph:  24 of London's most incredible historic pubs
• The Evening Standard Go London: The Best Pubs in London
• TimeOut: The Best Pubs in London features a wine bar on the first page...
• Fodor's: London's 15 Best Pubs
• Visit London: Best Traditional Pubs in London
• Food and Wine: 19 of London's Best Pubs
• CNN Travel: 10 of London's Oldest, Greatest Pubs

So the question is do we want a real pub, a boozer, or do we want a pub with good food?  And if the latter, does that mean we should stick to gastropubs?