Sussex Arms TW2

London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Twickenham and Hampton Hill

Sussex Arms, Twickenham TW2 (London)

Contemporary pub, specialist (Punch)
15 Staines Road, Twickenham TW2 5BG
T (020) 8894 7468
Open 1200-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome until 2000.
Cask beers 10-12 (Unusual guests) Cask marque, Other beers 40+ bottles, Also 6 ciders/perries, some wines.
Food Pies and pub grub, Outdoor Large beer garden, front terrace, Wifi. Flat access but no disabled toilet.
Tue acoustic music, monthly Irish session, other events planned.

The transformation in July 2011 of this big “brewer’s Tudor” roadhouse just west of Twickenham Green from a sink boozer (“it wasnt a nice place,” said a customer) into a flourishing beer and cider specialist is yet more evidence of craft beer’s renewed ascendancy in the capital. The pub is a Punch lease but by special arrangement is able to source beer from all over, so friendly and expert managers Ashley Zobell and the appropriately named Peter Brew preside over up to 12 handpumps dispensing beer and another six with cider or perry.

Beers tend to be from small producers, often in unusual styles, and come from all over the UK, chosen with the aid of ratings sites like ratebeer.com: Bradfield, Hardknott, Ilkley, Nelson, Otley and Three Castles have all appeared and you might often spot a Scottish brewer like Cairngorm, Highland or Orkney. Tasters are provided to help you choose. Bottles widen the choice further — Chimay and Rochefort Trappists, Belgian fruit beers and strong stuff like Tripel Karmeliet, several BrewDogs, reliable British bottle conditioned beers from Cheddar, Downton and Hepworth, US entrants from Goose Island, Odell and Stone. As if this wasn’t enough, beer festivals are planned to widen the range still further, and they’re hoping to install an experimental nanobrewery as a point of interest rather than a commercial proposition.

The environment is pleasant too — the original dark wood and leaded windows have been restored, there’s dark wood furniture and floorboards and a delightful little room at the back tiled in green and white. Beyond this, an old market barrow forms the centrepiece of a large and attractive beer garden. As food goes, pies are a highlight — the chef is a specialist baker and pastry chef — but there’s also sausages, fish, stews, vegetarian options and a range of artisanal cheeses that provide a perfect match to the great beers. Unsurprisingly the formula is attracting enough of a crowd of thirsty and appreciative drinkers to make even a pub of this size seem busy.

National Rail Strawberry Hill Bus First Cross Road (110 Twickenham, Hounslow, 490 Twickenham, Feltham) Cycling Link to LCN+ 37, Hampton Wick, Brentford Walking River Crane Walk linking to London Loop