The Marquis of Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1APReverting to the name from its spit 'n' sawdust past, this ex-Goose has tried to emerge in splendid grandeur from its golden egg. A total refit has seen mock-Edwardian wooden panelling adorn the walls, natty little lamps spring up like mushrooms after rain and prices skyrocket in order to fit in with the newly gentrified/homogenised Brunswick Centre across the road. It attempts to come over all aristocratic, but looks more like the furniture section in Harrods. Posh students rather than posties seem to be its primary market, and in they swarm, smoking like chimneys and posing like statues, obviously feeling it fits in nicely with their aspirational world. An excellent range of real ales kept me mollified, and the barstaff are very friendly, although as yet serving with all the speed of a glacier, and with rather impenetrable accents ("yoo vant doobellorsingal wodka?"). A better array of tables would help solve its impending seating crisis (seeming to come only in one size - large - the tables are then occupied by two sets of couples, glaring icily at each other and pretending to be waiting for 15 friends in the hope of driving the other couple off), and the music ranged from silly to simply horrendous, but it wasn't overly intrusive, and didn't really detract from what proved to be a mostly enjoyable experience. Does posh food. Gets very, very crowded.
Reviewed by Fred Flange, Dec 2006
http://www.randompubfinder.com/review.php?Name=The_Marquis_of_Cornwallis,_31_Marchmont_Street
