A Home Away From Home...With Beer (Harcourt Arms)

Member Name: reg_scrat

Product:	Harcourt Arms
Date:	04/07/01 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent Atmosphere, Friendly, Nice Garden, Interior

Disadvantages: Could Be Cheaper

The Harcourt Arms is an unpretentious, wholesome pub tucked away in the nice neighbourhood south of Marylebone Road and east of Edgware Road. Believe it or not, the area contains a fair number of Swedes (the Embassy and Lutheran Church are also nearby).

The Harcourt itself is owned by a friendly couple who know how to run a good pub. Their beagle puppy Ollie is also a draw - there is nothing like drinking a good pint AND getting to play with someone else's cute puppy.

The pub is relatively small, dominated by a central horseshoe-shaped bar. Like most pubs in London, beer hovers around £2.50 a pint. They serve a great pint of Adnams or London Pride - both very good - as well as Stella, Guiness et cetera. Their handful of house wines are good as I remember, and they have specials on house spirits - allowing a double to compete price-wise with a pint.

Two highlights - First, the small room off to the right of the bar, the 'Svenska Salon'. This small conservatory-type room seats a dozen people comfortably. This makes the pub ideal for convening large numbers of friends in a cozy atmosphere for an afternoon of casual boozing.

Second, the beer garden out back. Well tended and heated, the garden is a great place to hang out on these long summer nights. I have never arrived at the Harcourt and found the pub too busy to be able to sit out in the garden.

So, all in all, knowing that pubs like the Harcourt restores your faith in the idea of the London pub. Not scarily 'local', not too dressed up, the Harcourt is worth mounting an expedition to find. Furthermore, it is surrounded by a cluster of other pubs which are not too bad (the Duke of Wellington on Crawford Street, the Wargrave Arms on Crawford Place etc.).

See you there this summer!

Summary: