The good, the bad and the ugly: a guided tour of Westminster’s pubs

My phone vibrates with a three-letter text message heralding another inevitable Westminster hangover: “MoG?”. The Marquis of Granby pub on Romney Street is an old-fashioned sort of boozer: mahogany-panelled bar with a chandeliered burgundy ceiling and a gents you have to wade through. There’s none of your poncey hipster food served on slabs of wood here; if you head to the upstairs dining room you’re having a pie and a pint. You can see why Nigel Farage loves this place for a photo opportunity. I’m meeting another journalist for an ale and a gossip, but this used to be a Tory haunt before Conservative Central Office moved from Smith Square. These days you’re more likely to bump into policy nerds from the wonk world epicentre of neighbouring Tufton Street, or a broadcast pro who’s mastered the art of sinking a couple before heading back to the studio.

The MoG is rammed so we decide to pop up the road to the Westminster Arms on Storey’s Gate.