Resembling one of those non-descript pubs in airports, The Bramley is a strange yet adequate pub to stop off after a hard days’ shopping in Kensington High Street. Just don’t expect intimacy.

The Venue
As with pubs of this nature, the venue has been designed so that the bar is approachable from any other area of the food court. In actual fact, the whole pub looks like it’s been wheeled into position. However, the design is traditional with a Sangria-red wall and conventional wood furnishings so there’s a serious attempt here to inject good old-fashioned British pub traditions into a thriving middle class US supermarket.

The Atmosphere
The bar staff are polite, friendly and very helpful, certainly continuing the approachable style of service expected at a Whole Foods establishment. But despite this, the atmosphere is lacking because of the sheer open-planned nature of the food court in general. Whole Foods knows – as everyone else does - that intimacy and ambience tends to lose its importance if you’re trying hard to accommodate the gastronomic desires of everyone in a single food court. This, however, is not a weakness as the food and drink tends to be of a consistently high standard.

The Food
Despite the fact that there are around nine other options for food in Whole Foods, the Bramley, amazingly, also makes a variety of tasty dishes for those intending to hang around. In keeping with the traditional pub menu but adding a touch of Whole Foods magic to proceedings, a pie menu is available with such tantalising fillings as sweet potato, spinach, goats’ cheese, red onion and herbs (the Heidi) and beef steak, chorizo, olives, tomato, sherry and butter beans (the Matador). The reliable Ploughman’s Lunch is also on the menu but if you’re here, you may as well push the boat out and have a pie.

The Drink
Among the exciting delights on tap are Dark Star Espresso Coffee Beer, St Peter’s Organic Best Bitter and Dark Star Hophead. The Dark Star Espresso is as vibrant a fusion as you’d expect with a sweet, nutty taste, broken through by the taste of rich coffee which leaves quite an interesting and not entirely pleasant aftertaste, although for the duration of the pint it is admittedly extremely tasty. Other lively and interesting options consist of the full-bodied and spicy Sierra Nevada Ale and Veltins, a light and fruity beer.

The Last Word
Maybe an extra wall could create a bit of atmosphere but the juicy pies and unorthodox ales and stouts available here at the Bramley more than make up for the lack of internal supports.

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