The Britannia has been transformed in recent years from old man’s boozer into a sleek and modern hidden gem behind Kensington High Street.

The Venue
Just a couple of minutes’ walk from the tube station, the Britannia is easy to find if you know where you’re going while still being sufficiently far back from the main drag to avoid becoming a tourist trap. Named after the brewery that once sat on this street, it’s now part of the Young’s empire as proclaimed by the trendy taupe and royal blue signage outside. The pub’s picturesque exterior is enhanced further with fashionably-neat topiary bay trees lined up outside, and once inside you’ll see the full effects of the drastic makeover the pub underwent a couple of years ago. It’s bright, airy and a bit like a trendy bistro, with a bar area to the front, and dining room and conservatory beyond. The wood tables are lined with pretty tealights at night, and the contemporary feel continues with lots of leather furnishings and a grey/green colour scheme. These changes were unpopular with the old guard, but they better suit modern tastes.

The Atmosphere
When the Britannia started to put a heavier focus on food and wine, the demographic changed completely. Now your fellow visitors are likely to include tourists from neighbouring hotels, media and music types from the nearby Daily Mail and Sony offices, and cashed-up locals taking a breather from a shopping expedition. It’s not as busy as it was when they had to pack in a pub full of drinkers, and there’s plenty of space to ensure you’ll always find a table. The staff are warm and welcoming, and recognise that they’re in a competitive area, so go the extra mile by organising board game nights, quiz nights and lazy Sunday events with live jazz and Bloody Marys on a weekly basis. There are two plasma screens so that international sporting fixtures can be shown, and you can even book table service for drinks so you don’t miss a minute of the game.

The Food
The Britannia upgraded their food menu at the same time as the décor and, as a result, it’s pitched somewhat above standard pub fare. They list all their suppliers, and boast about their organic and local ingredients, which are used to create tempting dishes including sirloin and rib-eye steaks with triple-cooked chips, portobello mushroom burgers with zucchini fries, and sea bass fillets with salsa verde. Main courses cost £10-£20 each, and starters (grilled white asparagus and quail’s egg or half a dozen oysters are another indication of the sophisticated tone of the menu) come in at £6-£11. You’ll need to order side dishes with most meals (another £3 each), and desserts are six quid too, so this is by no means casual pub grub. The high prices are to be expected in this part of London, and fortunately the Kensington customer can afford them. They’re justified by the chef’s skill and the skillfully-sourced ingredients on offer.

The Drink
Predictably, the drinks aren’t a great deal cheaper than the food. A pint of Young’s is nearly £3.50, and lagers top out at £4 for the Staropramen and £4.20 for a Peroni. The wine list starts at a fraction under £20 for the house white, and unusually for a pub there’s a fairly comprehensive cocktail menu with champagne cocktails and mojitos costing around £8. The drinks selection is a clear indication that The Britannia is more focussed on food now, though they need to ditch the plasma screens if they want to convince the foodie crowd of that.

The Last Word
The Britannia is a useful hybrid of modern restaurant and trendy bar, but it sometimes seems confused about its pub roots. Nevertheless, the food is excellent and there’s always something fun going on thanks to the enthusiastic management team, so it deserves to be far more than just a shopping stop-gap.

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