Picture of Hope Fitzrovia, W1T 2AJ

Historical version 30 of Hope Fitzrovia, W1T 2AJ (view current version)

Small, friendly pub tucked behind Goodge Street Station, near Tottenham Court Road.

Note: As of mid-2012, the pub has renovated extensively and now calls itself The Hope Fitzrovia. The comments below pre-date this change.

There are six handpulls for ale prominently arrayed along the bar, and the pub regularly serves London Pride and Timothy Taylor's Landlord (though the standard has been known to vary in quality), at £2.95/pint. There will usually be at least one other guest ale available, such as Wadworth 6X and Sharp's Doom Bar (on a March 2009 visit), or Flowers Bitter (in May 2009, £3.05/pint). Unusually, all ales and lagers were off on an October 2009 visit, possibly due to problems with the pump system, and in January 2010 there was only Courage Best on the handpulls. A gin and tonic will set you back around £3.20.

The downstairs is rather cramped and can get very busy in the evenings, especially Fridays. On a Saturday afternoon it is an excellent place to hide away for a quiet pint. There are several picnic-style tables outside, and a big screen in one corner (that rarely shows anything on weekdays, unless there's a big football game on, which are noted on a chalkboard near the screen, or the Ashes cricket).

There is an upstairs room which can be hired out for free if you promise to fill it with a reasonable amount of people, and at other busy times it is open and usually less crowded than downstairs.

Food is served at lunchtimes noon-3pm daily (Sausage Of The Week has been good in the past, and there's always at least one vegetarian option) but arrive before 1pm to be sure of getting a table. There are usually one or two vegetarian specials available; portions of chips are plentiful and speedily served. Still, it seems as if quality has been dropping off during 2009. You still get three sausages and plenty of mash photo, but the sausages on a November 2009 were rather overcooked, though the mash was still very tasty. Ewan has also tried the vegetarian quiche (£6.50, in July 2009) and it was very simple, being just a plain quiche without anything beyond cheese and egg, but tasty, and with a crisp, fresh salad photo.

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Last visited by Ewan, January 2010. Opening hours and food times taken from Time Out website, April 2008.
OS X co-ord: 529464 OS Y co-ord: 181816 (Latitude: 51.519925 Longitude: -0.133800)
This is version 30 (as of 2013-05-10 07:22:03). View current version. List all versions.