London pubs: The Salisbury pub

Location: The Salisbury, London

Located deep in the heart of London, this gem of a public house is located near to Leicester Square station, in the center of London's entertainment and tourist area, a constantly bustling quarter of the city, giving it that high, charged atmosphere, highlighted by the brightly lit and neon signs for the wide variety of shops and theaters.

The pub itself is of a trend of public houses maintaining the vintage and antique designs of early pub heritage, one of the most iconic and distinctive characters that London and the UK as a whole is known around the world for.

The pub has a dark exterior, with the trademark sign hanging outside, and large patterned windows around it. There are a couple of entryways, both maintaining the exterior style, and equally giving an impression of the venue interior.

Entering through one of these, one is met with a vision of vintage style, with a large curved bar in the middle of dark wood displaying a range of beers on tap lining the inner edges. Behind the bar is the spectacular shelving of a very dark wooden frame, elaborately decorated, with curved arches framing mirrors of more etched patterned glass. On the shelves, the pub displays many of its other wares, bottles of wines, and spirits of a wide variety of well known names.

The rest of the bar is no less appreciable, with seating lining the walls, several booths of semi-circular cushioned sofas in a dark red colour tastefully lit up highly ornamental orange lighting, emphasising the dark, warm atmosphere of browns, reds, patterns and brass metal coat hangings. The windows at the entrance side, which during the day, daylight infuses the area with a gentle white ambiance, making it an ideal reading area.

Apart from the main bar area, leading through to the dining room. This medium sized room accommodates several dining tables of varying sizes, lined with chairs and green coloured cushioned benches against the walls. The walls themselves follow the style of the rest of the pub, with carved dark wood frames and patterned mirrors to reflect the light around evenly.

Even the stairway to the toilets is worth it for what greets the visitor. The walls all the way down are lined with countless overlapping posters for the various plays and acts that have graced the West-end theaters of London, going way back to times long past up to the current stage performances.

From opening, the pub sees a steady stream of customers coming in, starting with regulars, and building up to groups of both regulars and visitors, which by lunch time ensures an atmosphere of a bustling social centre, before quietening down mid-afternoon for solo drinkers and couples having late lunches. Music plays throughout the day, a variety of classic rock hits and the occasional pop tune.

Overall an excellent place to come for a drink, either on one's own, or as a group, the range of beers are generally of a good quality, from the well known lager brands, to Belgian beers, and a choice selection of both popular and guest ales. If alcohol is not an option, there is always the coffee available, as well as a range of soft drinks and fruit juices.
For those who long for a special sense of style and history, there is also an image of Marianne Faithfull reclining on one of the side sofas, as also given below.

Images courtesy of pubs.com, the BBC, and Time.