The Hand and Flower, London W14. Pic: Fuller’s.
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Fulham and Hammersmith
Contemporary pub (Fuller’s)
1 Hammersmith Road W14 8XJ
T 020 7371 4105 w handandflower.co.uk f Handandflowerw14 tw handfw14
Open 0700 (0800 Sat, 1200 Sun)-2300 (2330 Th, 2400 F, 2230 Sn). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 6 (Fuller’s, occasional guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 5 keg, 12 bottles, Also A few wines and specialist spirits.
Food Breakfasts, imaginative upmarket pub grub, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Seasonal parties, functions.
Taken over from Marston’s and relaunched as a Fuller’s pub in January 2012, the Hand and Flower is particularly notable for its useful location right opposite the Olympia exhibition hall, home for the time being of the Great British Beer Festival alongside numerous other events. Sadly the interior of this handsome Victorian corner building at the very top of Hammersmith Road has long since been knocked through into a single canteen-like space that feels rather noisy and brash, with loud music and inescapable big screens, so grab the “Flowers Corner” snug if you can.
The beer range is wider than average – Chiswick, HSB, London Pride, Seafarers and changing seasonals and specials on cask, Brooklyn Lager, Honey Dew and Veltins on keg and 1845, Bengal Lancer, Golden Pride and Vintage Ale alongside various Chimays, Vedett White and the rarely seen Hoegaarden Grand Cru in bottle. A few surprises – blue cheese stuffed roast figs, calves liver with black pudding mash – lurk in a menu of upmarket pub grub, and there are eight boutique bedrooms for hire upstairs.
National Rail Overground Kensington Olympia Underground Kensington Olympia, West Kensington Cycling LCN+ 35, 44, links to Putney
Leave a Reply