The Old Pack Horse (OPH), located on the corner of
Acton Lane and Chiswick High Road,
Chiswick,
London, is a fine
pub in the
traditional English style; plenty of wood paneling, low ceilings, atmosphere heavy with smoke, the odd geezer firmly planted their bar stools, a pseudo snug or two and a fine selection of
draught beers.
This is a Fuller's pub with London Pride, Chiswick, Extra Special Bitter (ESB) and Honey Dew all on tap. Guinness and Guinness Extra Cold are available for the patient. For the lager drinkers Carling and Stella flow freely. House white wine is especially palatable, served in large glasses, and for later in the evening a bottle of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey has been seen lurking on the second shelf.
During the week the Old Pack Horse is the ideal venue for a quiet pint or three after work. There is plenty of room and plenty of bar space. Be careful when ordering from the "side bar" as staff can sometimes lag a little in their attention towards this area. It is best to use the main section of the bar area, even if it is a little more crowded. Early on a Friday the OPH is packed to almost bursting as the local after work crowd attempt to quench their hard earned thirst. They need a big cold beer. After approximately 9pm the crowds have thinned and once again there are tables and seating for the taking. The early evening, Friday crowd have a different feel to the evening, midweek crew, however you would still be hard pressed to find too many "suits" here.
There is a Thai restaurant at the back of this establishment. It is also part of a franchise chain, though the food is palatable, if not always entirely authentic. Many of the dishes available are Anglicised variations on traditional Thai dishes, so much so in fact that Bangers and Mash were on the menu during one recent lunchtime sojourn. Prices are not cheap but they are reasonable. For a lunchtime nibble over a cleansing ale you'd be hard pressed to find something better in the Chiswick area.
Sadly, no sporting facilities are integral to the OPH, I’m sure some will find this a bonus and less of a distraction from the real business at hand. No pool table, darts board or big screen compliment the décor. Again disappointingly the management have seen fit to install two poker machines of the foulest variety. What is it with British machines of this kind? Old, bulky, analog and none too exciting.
The OPH is a good all round bar, with a couple of stand out features. Customers never feel uncomfortable or threatened by either cliental or staff. Their prices are reasonable and the beer delicious. It is obvious that the pipes are regularly cleaned and kegs rotated. For a midweek tipple or a good session on a Friday, if you're in the area the Old Pack Horse is well worth a penny spent.