The Churchill Arms - Never Have So Few Drunk So Much

Are you sick of just reading about pubs?  Well, don’t just sit there!  Grab a plane ticket and glide across the Atlantic.

I can’t tell you how many pints I’ve drunk in how many pubs, but a few stand out when I’m alone at night, lost in thought, anxious to once again tread the rain swept streets of London, searching for a new refuge from life’s cares.

The Churchill Arms one of the most traditional and modern pubs around.  From the outside, it looks like a garden and as a matter of fact, it may be the only pub to have won at the Chelsea’s annual Flower Show.

The Way to the Ladies...

Traditional and modern?  Looks traditional, inside and out.  Warm.  Comfortable.  British.  Quirky copper-pot decoration, but bursting with floral asides.  The food?  Thai.  First pub to specialize in Thai food.  The cooks are Thai.  The waitresses are Thai.  The beer is Brit and first class.  Only a doorway separates the traditional pub from the Thai side, which sports an equally quirky décor.

The Churchill Arms has been in the same spot since 1750.  Winston’s grandparents often came here…or so the rumor goes.  Lots of Churchill memorabilia on the walls.  Lots of everything on the walls, hanging from the ceiling,  and creeping up the windowpanes.  A team of dusters must labor for hours.

My own impressions:  Super beer.  Superb atmosphere.  Thai food is ok. Spring rolls came out crispy, but with an out-of-the-bottle sauce.  Pad Thai lacked a little something.  But then, when you’ve been to Thailand, or Asia in general, the tastes run spectacularly different.  Despite the ethnicity of the staff, this was British Thai.  If you’ve ever had Mexican food in Wisconsin, you know what I mean, ay?

I should point out, there are two types of pubs:  brewery owned and free houses.  The free doesn’t apply to the price of beer, but rather to pubs that only owe allegiance to their customers and are free to sell any beer from any brewery.  I don’t discriminate. Both get their share of my kids’ inheritance.   The Churchill Arms is a Fuller’s pub.

Brewery owned is not to imply that the pub in question is anything less than grand.  It’s just that in my eternal quest to sample every Brit ale, from north to south and east to west, I can’t play favorites.  Free houses offer beers that you may not find anywhere else.

I’ve been to the Churchill Arms a number of times, which tells you something.  It’s a place you don’t mind lingering and chatting up the locals.  Quite a collection of people of all ages and occupations.  The famous Royal Albert Hall is close at hand, as are a host of museums, including a fabulous Museum of Science.  Close at hand?  It was raining heavily and we were short on time.  We grabbed a cab.

If you’re only in London for a few days, this is a pub you’ll want to remember.  And, you won’t need to remember too many more!

http://churchillarmskensington.co.uk  (Notting Hill Gate tube stop)