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By Ben McFarland. Photography Nina Kelly
Amid the many maze-like mews of Mayfair, the Punch Bowl has been slaking the thirst of posh peeps since the eighteenth century, when Georgian drinkers would fill their laughing gear with enormous bowls of boozy punch - hence its name. It must still be all right as Madonna and Guy Ritchie own a share in it, apparently, along with nightclub impresario Piers Adam. Anyway, there are flowers and hanging baskets on the outside, while inside there's dark wooden panelling, candles wedged in champagne bottles and artwork that ups the nostalgia ante (bet Madge loves that). The regulars are hardly the 'Lock, Stock' crowd, mind you: chinless suits rock back and forth on their shiny shoes, clutching their pints to their chests, while the bar staff dismiss endless Madge speculation with an impressively straight bat.
On the beer front there's no sign of Timothy Taylor's Landlord - the 'Material Girl's' favourite - but there's Courage Best, Charles Wells Bombardier and Old Speckled Hen on hand-pull. To soak it up there's Kentish sausage and mash, shepherd's pie and stone-baked pizzas.
Time Out 2008
Selling yourself is never easy, especially when you suffer from English-overly-modes t-nobody-likes-a-bra gger syndrome. So I'm not going to. I'm...
A group of us went to the Punchbowl on St. Paddy's night. The food was great and the atmosphere fantastic. The Irish band kept everybody entertained and later in the evening the man himself sang a few tunes. His Rocky Road to Dublin was better than Shane McGowan's
Highly recommended
I went on their Irish night (seems to be Tuesday evening) and there was great music and a good and jolly crows.
Since its make over, the punchbowl has become dreadful. It used to be a great pub , quiet, cheap with amazing home made pizzas. Then the trendy lot arrived. It's now so over priced, you gawp at the price of a pint, all the locals have gone and in their place is hundreds of chinless hoorays and ridiculously over priced food. disaster - don't bother.
nice looking pub, slightly out of place in the back streets of mayfair (feel sorry for the neighbours as people tend to congregate outside for a fag), reasonable atmosphere but too small to really relax after work.
had a couple of pints in there Sat 11th oct 08, at 3.90 a pint, nice place the food is over priced but well thats what you expect for drinking where M and Guy drink (part own) will i be back yes.