The Churchill Arms at 119 Kensington Church Street is one of London’s most photographed pubs, and it earns every snap. The building dates to 1750, a pub has stood on the site since 1824 when it opened as the Bedford Arms, and it was renamed for Winston Churchill after the Second World War. Churchill’s grandparents were regulars here in the 1800s.
The flowers
The pub reportedly spends around £25,000 a year on flowers, and it shows. The facade is a cascade of blooms in summer and an extravagant display at Christmas, winning Chelsea Flower Show awards. Inside, the floral theme continues into the conservatory at the back.
The pub and the Thai food
Inside are low beamed ceilings, stained glass windows and walls packed with Churchill memorabilia, photographs and wartime artefacts. Managed by Fuller’s, with London Pride on tap, it is a proper historic pub first.
But the surprise is the Thai restaurant at the back, which claims to be the first London pub to serve Thai food, running since the late 1980s. The menu covers the crowd-pleasers: Pad Thai, Thai jungle curry, chicken cashew-nut stir fry, all served in the butterfly-themed conservatory. Mains are very reasonably priced for Kensington, making this one of the best-value pub dinners in west London.
The verdict
It gets extremely crowded at peak times, so arrive early. But between the history, the flowers and the Thai food, the Churchill Arms is the rare tourist-favourite pub that locals genuinely love too. Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 11pm, Sunday 12pm to 10:30pm.
Photo: Google Maps
