Conduit of Tybourne (ex-O'Conor Don), Marylebone  

Once one of the few genuine Irish pubs, with an excellent dining room upstairs and a firm favourite with us, this place has now (almost inevitably, we feel) been recast as a 21st century gastropub. The ground floor area of the pub is pretty compact and the new owners have done a good job with the décor, creating a sophisticated, inviting atmosphere in which to enjoy a pretty reasonable range of drink and food. However, it's compactness means the bar area is rather small (the previous pub had table service to compensate) and the place gets filled pretty quickly at lunchtime and after work when the people from the surrounding offices gather, thus, the relaxing vibe is rather diminished at these times. It's quite pricey too, but that's hardly surprising given the area. We've not yet tried the food here - the competition in this area is pretty fierce, so it will have to be very good, if it's to do well and we'll report on that in due course. We recognise it's early days for this pub and it will take a little while for it to find it's feet - in our opinion it is stepping into some pretty big shoes - so for now, it's a tentative three-pinter - for the relaxing afternoons you can enjoy here.

reviewed:
3/7/2008

pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)

basement bar can be hired

separate restaurant

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