Golden Lion, St. James's, London

A lovely, cosy and friendly traditional pub.
Extra seating for the restaurant upstairs.
Views to St. James’s Palace.
Screens for sports.

Most of what needs to be said has been said by dmj1962 already: this is a small pub with a highly decorated interior, which I visited with the London Pubs Group (www.londonpubsgroup.co.uk), a group of members from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) which aims to promote pub preservation and good pub design in London. They arrange about 6 pub crawls a year around interesting pubs (you don't have to be a CAMRA member to join the crawls).

This pub has a nice selection of real ales, and is cosy, the only downside being that you may have to stand, as seating downstairs is very limited. So it depends if you like drinking standing up, or not!

The Golden Lion is a late Victorian pub with plenty of original fixtures and fittings, a stone’s throw from St James’s Square and Christie’s.

Built 1897-98 (on the site of an earlier pub of the same name opened in 1762), this is a good example of a pub designed by the architects Eedle and Meyers, who were responsible for many pubs in London.

It has an attractive and distinctive bow front with original curved wooden windows and doors, all filled with lead-light windows with stained glass reflecting a theatrical theme: the St James’s theatre was originally next door. The theatrical theme continues upstairs in the name of its dining room, which is open 12-15h.

Downstairs is a long, narrow bar, with little seating - most people stand, and there’s more standing room outside in the adjacent side passage - with more wooden panelling.

Real ales include London Pride and guest ales, which on my visit included Hog’s Back Summer Ale and Sharp’s Doom Bar. Friendly and efficient staff.