The Thomas Cubitt, Belgravia  

It's always heartening to see a pub trying this hard, and it's obvious from the popularity of the place with the locals and visitors alike that they're succeeding at what they do. It's funny how quickly the standard of things change as you leave the tatty hotels and cheap shops clustered around Victoria Station - this place is a more upmarket and as such, is probably more bar than pub. But that notwithstanding, the staff are friendly and efficient - and when it's overcrowded the fact they do table service is fantastic. The atmosphere is pretty frenetic of an evening, but it's still possible to converse with your friends - like everyone else is doing. Cocktails are available, as is well-kept beer and a good selection of mostly European wine. Now that they've been open for more than a year, a lot of things have bedded in, making it an efficient operation and a pleasure to go to. They've also dispensed with a lot of the frou-frou stuff that seems to stick to places that want to be gastrodomes: sausage and mash is now called sausage and mash, possibly a sign that the chef's comfortable with the food he's serving now. And, thank god, all the tables on the ground floor are available in the evenings for drinking (you can still order food, it's just not expected). The food is pretty good, with their organic beef burger being our particular favourite. You can get sandwiches and fish and chips alongside that steak, so they are trying to appeal to pubgoers. While this isn't a cosy old boozer - more of a restaurant really, it's still a pretty good place to go.

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