Finally... not  a Sam Smith’s pub. Although the only reason I’m reviewing this place is because it’s not Sam Smith’s, I only happened upon it within my first few weeks of living in London, which was way before I discovered £1.95 a pint Old Brewery Bitter.

Any road, The Argyll Arms.

It sits comfortably right around the corner from the Oxford Circus tube station, which means that I am very lazy. The exterior has a proper pub look to it though despite being set in amongst a bunch of shops and only having one outwards facing wall. Inside it’s a little weird. The first half is segmented into three little compartments almost, kind of like a train from a 1930’s black and white picture. The segments have a door at one end and the bar at the other, meaning each section can be served independently by its own staff member, making everything way more manageable.

The back half is more open and contains the rest of the bar, plus there’s an upstairs. It’s actually a pretty big place. What attracted me to the Argyll initially was, yeah, it’s proximity to the tube, but also that fact that they have guest ales. At the time I was under the impression that it would be difficult to get a decent pint of bitter down here in the South... or Sarhf, and so when I wandered in to the Argyll to find that not only did they have cask ale, they had my favourite [Black Sheep] I was incredibly excited.

Sadly the ‘sheep went off the menu a week or so later to make way for something else, but the rotation is pretty good so you can experience a fair amount of brews from all over the country. Pricewise we’re talking city centre after work drinker’s pub, so you’re looking to pay around £7 for a round of two pints. It’s not extortionate by any means, but it’s not for the faint of wallet.

The range of drinks is excellent, with two guest ales, a couple of brand name lagers and even a choice of cider on tap, plus the staff are real efficient, helped in no small part by the aforementioned segmentation of the customers. It’s pretty easy to get served, even at busy times, and because they’re not forced to cover huge stretches of bar the staff are relaxed and friendly rather than overworked and knackered.

BEER SELECTION: Varied and reasonably extensive. ****

COST OF A ROUND: £7 odd for a bitter and a Guinness. ***

STAFF: Pleasant and efficient. ****

FOOD: Standard pub fare. The burger, the wedges etc... **

SKIRT RATIO: Business/Office types, if at all. Mostly a man’s world. *

OVERALL: I like the Argyll Arms. It has a tendency to get quite busy, even with the old satsuma style layout, but once all the after work drinkers have fucked off home it’s a nice steady level. ****

The Gazz Edition - Argyll Arms - Soho - Brought to you by Gazz Wood -