ReviewTo say that this pub is my local is a minor understatement as I live under a minute’s walk from it.
The Cock & Bottle (also known as the Coke Bottle) reopened in July 2015 under the ownership of the City Pub Co having undergone a much needed refurbishment. As mentioned below, many of the original Victorian features remain: the floor has been sanded and lacquered, boards being either original or reclaimed - they do look rather good; the colour scheme is mercifully drawn from a Victorian colour palette and a few knick-knacks persist. Furniture is very conventional with leatherette upholstered banquettes below the windows, above which are cerise velour drapes. This is a multi-roomed pub and a snug to the rear features many brewers' mirrors, past and present; a side room features a fireplace and large rug, but seems increasingly made over towards dining, despite the upstairs dining room; A4 paper sheets denoting reserved tables have also appeared, which for me is a sure-fire way to lose points. A CAMRA Heritage Pub of Regional Importance, the bar back is rather fine too with cut and etched glass and snob screens, above which are spherical carbon filament lamps. There are metal columns marked out with beverages such as ‘cognac’ accompanied by a little metal tap; there is speculation that as a precursor to the optic spirit delivery system, spirits were delivered by gravity within the columns; if so, this is probably unique.
Music played, which was muted and unobtrusive. Lavatories are very new and aren't too bad, but the exposed plumbing to the trough basin doesn't quite add up: the taps aren't marked as hot and cold and they are the old-fashioned stop cock type which means that when you turn them off, you transfer germs back onto your hands; they should have fitted modern pushbutton taps. Additionally, the hand dryer gets in the way of the basin. It should (with another) have been fitted to the area occupied by the large mirror.
The place is very mixed, probably more so than any other W11 pub, customers are a mix of American bankers and TV executives who rub shoulders with an older crowd who've managed to cling on here despite the Croesan gentrification to which this area has been subjected over the last two-and-a-half decades. On a previous visit, David Cameron sat on a stool near the lavatory door.
Beer? Usually around three ales, drawn typically from the likes of the Portobello Brewing Co. and Truman's. Now a couple of festive ales as well as Gloucester Brewery’s Session IPA which is brewed with a type of hop that imparts a medicinal/metallic taste and despite a pint costing a relatively reasonable £4.40, it’s not a beer I’d order again.
The staff here are friendly and English is widely spoken but they could do with turning off the TV as a way to keep the bartender entertained. In general, I like this pub quite a lot now, though there aren’t many decent pubs in W11. It should also be noted that on Fridays and Saturdays, this pub defines 'rammed', so is best visited earlier in the week. Aside from the encroachment of dining-only and the reserved tables, my main gripe is that the foundation date of 1851, which is proudly displayed to the corner, but this refers to the pub's original incarnation of the White Swan, a roundel of which can be seen to the bar back. What a shame the management didn't have the imagination to return this pub to its original pre-1980s' name...
