Walkers of St. James

Dark basement bar/​pub between Piccadilly and Pall Mall. Friendly staff and doesn’t get as busy as other central London pubs after work. Pints about £4.50 and typical pub food — Pieminister pies and sandwiches, burgers etc. Old rock and ska records and other paraphernalia on the walls.

This is very handy for a drink after an afternoon visit to the RA. We hesitated because half a dozen gents in evening dress were about to enter and we thought it might be a private club. It’s subterranean, both spacious and cosy, with seating on different level levels and shiny dark wood tables, chesterfield-​type bank seating as well as chairs. Doombar and draught cider both well kept. My friend and I thought we were sure to find all the pubs standing-​room only at 5pm on a Thursday night, but somehow the entrance to Walker’s, wedged between two posh shops off Piccadilly, is concealed enough to keep it peaceful, even by 6.30pm. Clients are mainly local office workers, quite posh and well-​behaved although my elderly friend said a young woman had disapproved of her woolly hat. We will try the pies in future, as a pre-​Christmas treat, although at £8.99 they seem pricey.

After a very long walk yesterday (Saturday) from Hampstead, through Marylebone, down through Mayfair we decided (by 3pm) it was time to grab some lunch. We wound up in St James somehow and literally walked by the place. We saw the menu outside and noticed they have Pieminister pies and thought, after a long walk, that’s what we need. We walked through the door and immediately you go down into a dark basement of a bar, kind of cool, looked very indie. Bad thing is they had Sky Sports News blasting and there was hardly anyone in there and there was definitely no one watching it (hint, turn it off altogether please). We got a table and immediately I noticed they had album covers on the wall (from the likes of Blur and Depeche Mode). Made me wonder with such cool artwork why they were blasting the TV. We ordered our pies and some drinks. Staff guy was very friendly. After about 10 minutes music finally came on (thank God). Pies came out and served with fresh carrots, green beans and mash. Very tasty and the veggies were tasty. I would definitely come back here as long as the TV was turned off and the tunes were going. Very quirky layout (which I loved).

The owner has done a pretty good job on the description front here! I’ll have a go now after going there last night. It’s a basement bar, all dark woods and low lighting. It’s a decent sized bar with a lot of different sets of seating with booths, tables & chairs and so on. Bar prices were fair enough for the area and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
Overall — very relaxed atmosphere, decent sized space with lots of variety of seating.