The Salisbury

Culture vultures, thespians & stagehands make up the lion’s share of the trade at the sublimely theatrical, glittering Salisbury – as fine an example of a high-Victorian public house as exists in the West End. Swathes of etched glass, decorative mirrors, cherubs & garlands, bronze flower-nymph lights, gilded pillars & original plasterwork – it’s a ravishing sight to behold. Nowadays, it is a model of respectability, but its past is racier: rouged harlots once plied the alleyway outside & the place was a notorious rent-boy haunt in the mid-20th century. Today, friendly staff at the polished mahogany bar pull pints of Bombardier, London Gold & St Austell Tribute; there’s also a fair range of wines, spirits & sustaining pub food, although this falls short of the interior’s ‘wow’ factor.