Barmy Arms, Twickenham

The main positive of The Barmy Arms is its river side location on the Thames opposite Eel Pie Island, with the footbridge to the island a short walk further along the tow path. Inside the pub has a thin main bar area with a low ceiling. But then off to the left is a larger room with seating which is usually used for dining at lunchtimes. But the big positive of The Barmy Arms is the large outside drinking area covered with Jumbrellas which is a good spot for a pint with a river view on a sunny day. The pub is owned by Punch Taverns and the beers were London Pride and Youngs Ordinary on my last visit. They have always been alright but never exceptional in my experience. This is an OK pub, but nothing special and it tends to score because of its riverside location and there are better pubs with better beer (IMHO) in the shape of The Eel Pie and The Fox on the cobbled Church Street a very short walk away. However, I tend to visit mostly on match days, when the Barmy Arms takes on a different persona, and is the place to visit for Rugby fans and a place to be avoided by everyone else. Then the bar in the garden area is operational and the garden and outside tow path down to the river is full of pre and post match fans from either (or all four persuasions if it’s a Zurich premiership double header) mingling and drinking happily, usually without any bother. And after the game the disco starts up and there’s nothing quite like several hundred worse for wear Rugby mans murdering ‘Delilah’ to make you forget about the result.