The Prince Of Wales, SW1

Do NOT go anywhere near this pub! It is rubbish! The landlord is extremely rude, the prices are a joke and the whole place should have been bulldozed years ago - Londoners would not touch this place with a bargepole - go round the corner and enjoy yourself way more! This so-called pub is a disgrace!

This is a pretty standard small and thin boozer. Landlord and Pride were available during my visit, but there were three hand pumps with their clips turned around and Amstel was also available along with a standard draught range. It was pretty busy during my visit as a match on Sky Sports was being aired on the plasma screens at either end of the bar. There was nowhere to sit so I sat outside on one of the picnic tables and enjoyed my well served pint whilst people watching. This place doesn't really stand out and I wouldn't purposely return.

Real ales on were London Pride, Timothy Taylor Landlord, and the more rarely seen O’Hanlon’s Yellowhammer during my recent visit. I went for the Yellowhammer as it as an ale that I’ve only had a couple of times before, and it was as good as I remembered from the previous occasions. Food menu consisted of Thai food – great if you like it, which I do and the chicken green curry was most enjoyable. However, a group of six American tourists wandered in (presumably having taken a wrong turn at Buckingham Palace) looking for some fish and chips, and were somewhat surprised to find that an English pub didn’t have this staple menu item on offer. This is a smallish one-room pub down Wilton Rd, which looks as if it ought to be a backstreet pub, but is prevented from being one by virtue of being on a busy thoroughfare. There were some stools at the bar; one high table and high stools, as well as some normal tables and chairs and a scattering of small stools. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual in the way of decor, though I did spot some prints at the back featuring the Crown Jewels and other regal paraphernalia. There were some picnic benches outside, presumably for smokers, with a canopy over them which unfortunately made the inside even gloomier than it would otherwise have been on a very dull and overcast day. There was TV monitor on showing the cricket, but muted, some pop music being played, and I saw a one-armed bandit flashing away. It’s carpeted throughout, which gave it a warm feel, and the windows had some Victorian style drapes next to them. But my abiding memory of this pub is the overpowering smell of disinfectant, or some other cleaning product, that lingered throughout my visit. Nonetheless, I quite liked this small and reasonably cosy pub. I am sure that without the all-pervading smell of disinfectant it would be much nicer.