Going west, part two

In which I go to more pubs in the west of London

I’m trying to go to every Greater London pub in the Good Beer Guide. I went to some of the most westerly pubs in part one. Here are some more pubs (in the west).

Three very different pubs for you today.

After feeling very grubby about this whole “go to loads of pubs on weekday afternoons” business because of that grotty Spoons in Feltham - a feeling experienced for the first time, I have to say - I decided the best way to continue was with another grotty Spoons, but this time in Hounslow.

The Moon On The Square (198/293) is once again archetypal Spoons. A big room, stairs that lead to toilets and nothing else. I always find this very strange, an upstairs with nothing but public conveniences, but go off Tim Martin if that’s what you’re into.

This one felt slightly less murky than the last - a bit less edge, more people eating than drinking. And let’s not forget that Wetherspoons pubs really are restaurants that happen to sell a lot of booze - open early for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner on the menu, open late for post-whatever snacks. It felt a bit calmer with people getting stuck into reasonable priced microwave fare (I recommend the wings, myself).

Lot of fruit machine action in this one which felt a nice throwback to the old days of pubs, though no-one was cleaning up on pound coins while we were in there.

Reasonable carpet though. Regal. Not covered in rubbish.

We now navigated our way to The Jolly Coopers, Hampton (199/293). Traffic was very trafficky (a quick reminder when driving - you are the traffic) but fortunately I was able to jump out with the understanding this would be a quick trip. Alan (my dad and lift for the day) was a lorry driver many moons ago, so this is small beer for him.

After heading inside I would have longed to have a bit longer and let me tell you why after this photo of the outside of the pub.

I told you about the traffic!

As I got inside, the landlord was holding court sat outside of the bar, then headed back to take my order. How can I tell it was the landlord and not someone who worked there, you ask? You get a sense of these things, when you go to nearly two hundred pubs. No pub worker would dare take up prime position on the outside of the bar. Languorous, is the word I would use.

He served me briskly and not in an unfriendly manner (this is not a beer blog but the Courage was drinking well), then headed back to continue his conversation with the two other people in the room. I’m not an eavesdropper but the words “NATO” and “Ukraine” stood out. There was also talk of “my regiment”, and in my experience when you hear that sort of phrase, you’re in for an absolute world of pub chat gold.

Also look at all the crazy crap on the walls. And a bar billiards table!

The restaurant behind certainly looms large - empty on visiting but you get a sense does a brisk local trade. I’d love to come back here and see what it’s like when it’s bustling, it had the feel and heart of a pub with stories and characters. Quiz night promises to be pyrotechnic.

It was an absolute sea change from the last two identikit Wetherspoons, and it’s pubs like this that make me want to do this London-wide exploration. You truly never know what you’re going to find and Hampton is richer for this one.

Time to return to the scene of a previous pub ticking mission, in Surbiton. I’d been here back in 2022 and managed to get a few pubs ticked off, but one evaded me due to not being open when it said it would. Now I’ve been there, I understand why they might not have been as punctual as other pubs.

This is The Lamb, Surbiton - and the 200th pub I’ve been to in this year’s Good Beer Guide. What a sensational milestone to finish the day on.

From the outside this looks like any London suburban pub, but it’s actually a bit special. It was Local CAMRA Pub of the Year 2024, which is some accolade for those of us with an interest in beer that doesn’t taste like vinegar, and when you get inside you immediately feel it’s a bit different.

What are they on about. It’s like being inside a Campino sweet, off of the nineties.

We got here about five in the afternoon or so, and it felt like they’d just opened the doors despite it ostensibly being open from 12PM. That feels ambitious, and no wonder I wasn’t able to get in knocking on the door three minutes past noon in 2022.

Live music looms large and it feels like being in a drama student’s halls at uni, all floating fabrics and low lighting. I absolutely loved it and once again, would have loved to have seen what it’s like when it fills up.

This had been a really fun day and I have to thank Alan (my dad, chauffeur, zero percent beer connoisseur) for being so game when I told him the aim was to visit pubs based on their compass direction, not quality. He took it in his stride, before speeding down the A3 back to Salisbury. Had I planned the pub route so he’d be able to get home swiftly and I could race back to central London on a regular commuter line? Of course I did, and I feel great about it.

Two hundred down. Ninety three to go.