During the 1950s and ’60s, this tidy pub tucked away down a beautiful Belgravia mews is said to have drawn a mix of the very high and the very low: on the one hand, the wealthy locals who’ve long dominated the area; and on the other, the underworld types who aspired to it (the Great Train Robbery was reputedly planned upstairs).
These days, it’s a little less vibrant, but it’s still a pleasant place, spruced up by a fairly recent refurbishment and enlivened in summer by its fabled hanging baskets. It’s a Fuller’s pub, which means that the beer ranges from merely reliable (Chiswick) to excellent (occasional seasonals and the unjustly maligned London Pride); food fits into the Fuller’s tradition of simple, smart pub grub.