I wasn't as impressed by the interior as everybody else is but my visit revealed this as a great rock pub on a Saturday. Yes, rock not metal. Beer was good, people seemed nice and the music is excellent.DATE OF VISIT: 09/04/08

Decided to have a look in whilst out down Oxford Street. I have been to other Eerie Pub Co ones before in Nottingham and the Black Widow down Gloucester Road all of which have a goth/horror theme.

Disappointed there were no ales available that day so opted for the Straropramen instead. Also had the rump stake all of which came to £12.21. The toilets were clean but as I only visited at lunchtime I couldn't say how busy this place gets during the evening.

Would I recommend this place? Yes by virtue of it's novelty value and it's close proximity to Oxford Street making it ideal to rest those weary feet after hitting the shops. If you're a tradionalist when it comes to drinking then this may not be for you and it feels as if you're having a pint whilst visiting the London Dungeon but otherwise if you're not too serious about your drinking then I guess you could do much worse...

7/10This pub is the tits. Themed on old london ghostly macabre oaky woods you half expect the headless horseman to ride you through the night amongst the brass bottomed girls and the theatrically incandesant ethereal atmosphere. Bollocks to the rest of you, this gets a stonking 10.

Typical Sam Smiths London pub, with dark interior, fancy glazing in the windows and the 'how do they sell it so cheap' beer. Handy retreat from Oxford Street, but badly let down by the lack of 'real' OBB.For such a lovely pub it's a real shame it's "all keg in here Sir"! Sam Smiths need to get some real ale in here because otherwise it's a non starter for an evening out.
Such a great looking pub - the windows are stunning. No real ale, but it's a fine place to escape the consumer hell of Oxford Street. Knocking back pure brewed lager while this afternoon's snowstorm blew outside was particularly enjoyable.

I had to check to see if people were reviewing the same pub I went to. Go to the upstairs bar, ita's intriguing without being engaging... otherwise downstairs quite drab. Bar staff and cronies were absolute teenage blank bubble headed south africans/aussies who fancy themselves as the stepford wives and drone on to each other about shoes and handbags and boys. If you're over 30 prepare to be treated charmlessly, as if you're a slightly distastful alien. Wont be going back... there are far superior sam smith pubs nearby.

No handpumps, no ale or bitter.Tucked away off Rathbone Place and probably doesn’t get much passing trade. There is a small front bar with bench seating around the sides and a few tables. The even smaller back bar has a few stools just one table and a dartboard, there’s also a serving hatch to the bar which looked as if it was still used. Upstairs is a pleasant lounge with sofas and armchairs that feels a bit like walking into someone’s front room. It does have it’s own bar upstairs but I imagine this is only opened during busy times. This pub has no handpumps ! so while it is still relatively cheap if you are a lager drinker it is very dissapointing if you are not.

Had a swift Wheat Beer here yesterday. It seems quite pleasant - but no cask ale, as has previously been noted by rpadam. There is indeed a comedy club (every Wednesday at 8.30)
http://www.pearshapedcomedy.com
and if you want to read about the history of the pub
our CEO Brian Damage compiled this
http://www.pearshapedcomedy.com/Fitzroy.htm

Anthony Miller
Managing Director
Pear Shaped in Fitzrovia
Cheap and cheerful, but although I don't even drink OBB out of choice, I am still offended that it doesn't serve any cask beer. Even if only 1% of the clientele wanted to buy real ale, there would ample demand to justify installation of some handpumps. I can't image why Sam Smiths persist with this approach for some, but not all, of their central London pubs (it just seems pig-headed to me). Having said all that, a nice pint of stout, as always...

I have to agree with the comments below while this pub has a good choice of beers & a jukebox you can't get passed the fact...it smells !!Went in there last Saturday night for a quick drink. Place was fairly busy and it definitely is a nice traditional boozer. It was only let down by a really bad stale smell. Had a booking at a local restaurant last night and popped into this place beforehand as we were a bit early based on the previous reviews.
Glad we did. Friendly staff and a good atmosphere, the Spurs game was on but I didn't feel that this took over as it can in some places. Most of the patrons seemed to be just chatting and laughing away. Great relaxed atmosphere. Definitely plan to go back again to watch a 6 nations match before long.

cue the cavalcade of spanish girls, exit stage left for the bar Nazi. Still a good bar, despite the busybody glass collector/traffic marshall who herds customers from the road and tells them where they can stand. the man is a pest, par excellance. Tiny, and usually rammed, but lots of character. Good selection of lagers, brilliant jukebox, and occasionally some attractive spanish girls hanging out. The toilets are terrible though, but maybe that's part of the charm. Nice bar, this bar has bags of atmosphere which attracts a nice clientele. not sure about the roving bar nazi, all it appeared that his job was,: telling people where they couldn't stand. That being the only downside to this place, a good place to meet interesting people.

Nice little corner pub, somewhat lighter and brighter than most Sam Smiths outlets in London (and none the worse for that). Usual low, low prices and OBB on handpump. Really rather good.Feels nicely Fitzrovia, whatever that means to you. The place clearly attracts a BBC crowd and, in such a narrow little spot, can feel crowded when busy (where doesn't?!) but the lager's good, there's atmosphere and, ignoring the geeks, there's little to fault. You insensitive clod! I breathe through my mouth due to an obstruction of my nasal passages. What's the problem?

Saturday ale and evening meal, Went upstairs to eat where it is quiet. Good choice of beers but cannot recommend the Sly Fox as it tastes of Ginger and I prefer my ales to taste of ale, Other beers good. Food superb, the daily special sausages were served in the biggest yorkshire puds I have seen.Nicholson's pub so some decent real ale including London Pride, Landlord and the monthly guest Hyde's Jekyll's Gold which was ok but nothing special. They had a board up where you could vote for the monthly guest.

Long narrow downstairs bar area, looked like there was an upstairs room although it is one of those places where it is described as a function/dining room so you are not sure if it is always open.

Nicely presented pub, clean friendly and a decent selection of beers.

Small, low-ceilinged, attractive old pub with plenty of stained glass and leaded windows. Two hand pumps and the London Pride was in good nick despite my being their first customer of the day. Don’t imagine it’s a big sports pub but they do have a couple of screens and were happy to put the rugby on when a group of guys dropped in on their way to Twickenham for the England v Ireland game. I also felt let down with this pub, mind i visited before Christmas as well so sounds like it has improved.Promises a lot from the outside but as CambridgeBlue said drab inside! and hardly an all "singing and dancing" barmaid not that she has much room for dancing and her surroundings hardly made her want to burst into song.Mind you the day was"nt a complete loss as in the nearby Newman Passage is the Lamppost that can be seen in the end credits of Minder!(Well little things and all that )OK gave this place a second try the saturday after christmas.
Slightly better selection of Ales and they have fixed the loo but still a little drab inside.
You May do better walking a little further down the road.

The Brains SA Gold was my refresher here today. Beer was acceptable, pub fairly uninteresting. Bes feature is being able to drink outside in the sunshine. Good pub, friendly staff..usually gets really busy but I've been in many times on a Saturday afternoon after shopping and it's much quieter and has a relaxing atmosphere.Beer quality better than many Nicholson's, but the evening music is unnecessarily loud (presumably in a dismal - but failed - attempt to create some 'atmosphere'). Suggestion: if you want to drink in the Marquis of Granby, try the other pub with the same name at nearby Cambridge Circus instead.

the late licence is this pubs USP. Not the best of best but definetly not the worst, alright for a late un. Small one bar pub. Only Jennings Cumberland Ale on last night which wasn't impressive. They have tried to brighten it up from how it was before but lost some atmosphere. Plenty of better pubs around.Mildly above average pub in light of its otherwise ghastly location. Major drawback is the barladies' choice of eardrum-bursting teenage muzak which tends to drown out 75% of any intelligent conversation between Enlightenment Fitrovians in attendance.

What a great place this must be if you're a hip young thing more interested in being seen than actually having a drink. Waiting for the three male(?), otherwise unoccupied bar staff to stop preening each other for several minutes before they deign to serve me does not a good impression make. Serving me a Riesling instead of a Sav Blanc and then arguing there's no difference, didn't help either. Pity - it's been nicely refurbed and the prices are reasonable. But strictly for poseurs only. this pub has got worse since its "renovation". Before i would describe it as scuzzy and now i would simply describe it as camp. Several choices of real cider - Addlestone's Cloudy was £3.10/pint and pretty tasty. A long wait for food on a Friday lunchtime; might be best visited at non-peak times.

Not bad. Not usually too busy, despite the location, and only a few media twats. Decent beer and service, relaxing atmosphere outside of Friday evenings. Nothing special, but better than many in the area and a good alternative to the Sam Smiths' that dominate. The staff have an inexplicable habit of playing the music really loud at random moments even where the place is quiet.Fairly large corner pub that was remarkably quiet on a Saturday afternoon despite the rugby being shown. Three handpumps serving Youngs, Blacksheep and Cumberland Ale. Looks to be trying to re-invent itself as an evening venue with the daytime trade seeming rather incidental judging by the effort they put into it. tis a real pub.
landlord is harsh but fair.
people are great.

Strangely, given its location, it was closed last Saturday afternoon on Six Nations weekend. Good friendly waterhole away from Tottenham Court Road / Oxford Street. I had a perfectly acceptable pint of Adnams (a bit steep at £3) and London Pride also on offer. Small downstairs bar with scrub floor and tables and a dining room upstairs. Good to see they specialise in pies (several to choose from) and you can still get a cheese or ham toastie for £1.50. I visited the Newman Arms on a recommendation of a friend. I was told to book ahead and after my meal I knew why. We had dinner upstairs in the pie room, an interior which seems to have managed to escape the gastro wave. Traditional English character filled the room, with "Players Cards" and butterflies hanging on the wall. I had the gammon and my partner the lamb and rosemary pie. The order took 15 min to arrive and was absolutely delicious! We took a punt on a bottle of Merlot from Montenegro and were so surprised by the quality we decided to buy another bottle to take home with us. On our way out we stopped off downstairs at the bar for a cigarette and were pleasantly surprised to see the staff spoke English and could pour a good pint. Highly recommended!