Sunday 9th of November 2008 05:01:40 PM

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The Bell & Crown has a very, very long and wide horseshoe shaped dark wooden bar with a brass foot rail that extends from the small room in the front, through a long narrow middle section, to a wide space in the back on the river side (the Thames). In fact the river side seating includes a greenhouse like space and two outdoor levels of seating (one on the bike path and the other halfway down from the pub and covered with a tent-like overhang). There were no chairs or stools at the bar but a good number of tufted leatherette chairs and built-in benches as well as traditional wooden tables and chairs. The floors are old wood and partially covered with oriental-style carpeting. Several thick dark wood columns with mirrors and cut glass designs and several frosted glass divider screens break up the spaces. Lighting was provided by Victorian-style brass chandeliers with rose tinted glass shades as well as more modern art-deco style lamps.

The atmosphere on our visit on a Sunday afternoon was local, neighborhood, family, (and a few tourists), and truly pub-like.

On our visit there were only two Fuller’s real ales: ESB and London Pride but it looked like normally there is another choice.