Notting Hill Gate - The Churchill Arms

Tuesday 19th December 2023

Christmas comes but once a year, all thee people raise good cheer. And in that spirit, it was off to the pub.

Notting Hill Gate has been a part of the tube network since 1900 with Central, Circle and District Line services all stopping here. The Central Line platform is your standard underground thoroughfare whilst the Circle and District Line platform is one of the few remaining covered by a glass roof. In the midst of a 2018 heatwave I once sat here at great length making a pact with myself never to wear a purple work shirt again given its ability to show my extreme sweat patches to the world.

I arrived this time, however, by the much deeper Central Line, taking two escalators up to the exit. On the second of these escalators, the regular displays of A4 poster advertisements for West End Shows were replaced with a piece by the artist Barby Asante called Declaration of Independence following both the up and down escalators from top to bottom, which made a welcome change.

Having taken one of the two southern exists, I continued walking south past some of the world's most expensive real estate towards a stalwart of any list of London pubs to visit, the Churchill Arms.

This is one of the best known pubs across the capital thanks to its extravagant floral displays outside. Seven years ago it was estimated that the pub spent £25,000 a year on its annual flower bill to accommodate plants into 100 tubs, 42 hanging baskets and over 48 window boxes all visible on the external facade and up into the chimney pots. The displays are so impressive in fact that they've received awards from the Chelsea Flower Show. At Christmas, The Churchill Arms goes even further, spending another £5,000 to host around 100 trees and 20,000 lights on the outside so really there wasn't much contest for where to go for a special Christmas pint.

While Churchill himself hangs on the pub sign fronting onto Kensington Church Street, the pub's name in fact derives from his Grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, who used to drink in the pub during the 1800s. However, following victory in World War Two, the pub changed its name from The Marlborough Arms to honour the family's younger generation.

In the days that Sir Winston's Grandad visited, Dukes and other members of the aristocracy were separated from the general common folk by a snob screen, which remains in place at the southern end of the bar, as one of the final examples of these anywhere in the country. There was a generous selection available on taps hidden behind at the bar but I opted for a Guinness and Charlie an Asahi which came to £14.10. I almost accidentally got away without paying for them had it not been for a very attentive bar girl chasing me out the pub with the card machine.

For a Tuesday evening, the pub was immensely busy with many people, like ourselves, there for the spectacle of the place. There were no seats to be found so we stood perched at the end of the bar at spot marked with a blue plaque as reserved for Gerry O'Brien, the landlord of The Churchill Arms for over 30 years, and admired the array of items on display throughout the pub. The ceiling was barely visible due to the number of helmets, accordions, trombones, baskets, lanterns, radios, watering cans, buoys, spitfire models and watering cans hanging from it.

Less impressive was the Christmas tree inside which failed to live up to the high standards set by the outside display without any, let alone, 20,000 lights on. Hanging on the walls were various union flags and pictures of previous prime ministers past, although this hadn't appeared to have caught up with the merry go round of recent years.

Mostly, however, the walls are adorned with pictures of the pub's namesake. Famously, Churchill himself was a great drinker and a bottle of his favourite Pol Roger champagne sits atop one of several fireplaces dotted throughout.

In the corner by one of two entrance doors is a signpost to several parts of the pub such as the toilets, where there is similarly no break from the Churchill memrobilia, and the Thai restaurant located in a conservatory round the back. This was supposedly the first pub in London to start serving Thai food more than 30 years ago seeking to provide an alternative dinner option than the traditional pub grub. It too was exceptionally busy but after an hour and a half of waiting we successfully secured a table. Eating to a backdrop of the Christmas hits heard everywhere at this time of year, the food was enjoyed by all but then again it was difficult to find anything to dislike about the Churchill Arms.

Merry Christmas one and all!