The Old Pack Horse, London W4. Pic: Fuller’s.
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Chiswick
Contemporary pub (Fuller’s) Regional heritage pub
434 Chiswick High Road W4 5TF
T 020 8994 2872 w oldpackhorsechiswick.co.uk f oldpackhorse tw OPHW4
Open 1100 (1200 Sun)-2400 (0100 Thu, 0200 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 7 (Fuller’s, 1-2 guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 6 keg, 14 bottles, Also 1 real cider, 20 whiskies, other specialist spirits, 25 wines.
Food Better than average Thai menu, Outdoor Front terrace, side yard, Wifi.
Retro DJs, art gallery, board games, functions.
This big pub overlooking Turnham Green reopened in November 2012 following a refurbishment that successfully combines heritage elements with a more contemporary, funky feel, functioning both as a youthful late night venue and as a fine town centre showcase for nearby owning brewery Fuller’s. A longstanding part of the brewery estate, it was rebuilt in 1910 to the designs of celebrated Edwardian pub architect T H Nowell Parr and well exemplifies his distinctively exuberant style – rich glazed ceramic faïence exterior finishes, elaborate arched doorways, Ionic columns and first floor bay windows.
Inside, a wonderful snug with an Arts and Crafts fireplace housed inside a Tudor arch provides a particularly attractive feature; elsewhere there’s an original bar back and counter and fragments of art deco stained glass. Quirky modern touches include tip-up seats, while a collage of playbills and a lightbox recall a vanished piece of local heritage, the Empire Theatre, which stood nearby until 1959.
ESB, London Pride, Seafarers and numerous Fuller’s specials and seasonals occupy the handpumps – Bengal Lancer features regularly and an external guest from a better known brewery might well be spotted. Keg offerings include Fuller’s own Honey Dew and London Porter besides Hoegaarden, Innis & Gunn and Veltins, while bottles of 1845 and Vintage Ale line up alongside a full range of Chimay Trappist beers, Anchor Steam, Delirium Tremens and Singha.
The Thai food is a cut above the cheap and cheerful stir fry standard you might expect: it can be enjoyed in a bright and cheerful restaurant at the back or elsewhere in the pub if you wish.
Underground Chiswick Park, Gunnersbury Cycling LCN+ 35 and links to Chiswick national rail
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