After collecting a serious case of ‘Museum Head’ (that fuzzy feeling inside from the combination of too much staring and a whole lot of lingering) from wandering around one or more of South Kensington’s venerable institutions you’ll be right about ready for some liquid refreshment.
The Hoop and Toy sits on Thurloe Street, midway between South Kensington Tube and The Natural History Museum and just around the corner from uber-posh nightclub, Boujis. In a land of history, cash and culture the Hoop and Toy is refreshing. You want a regular pub and some classic pub grub? That’s what you’ll get.
Carpeted throughout in that flowery darkness that pubs seem to love it is as much of a traditional local as you’ll find in any London enclave. There are plenty of tables and hardly ever a queue at the bar, which is honestly all you really want in a pub like this. Peroni is likely to be the best beer you’ll find on tap and along with it the pub runs a recurring list of real ales.
Food is all about the staples. Fish and chips, burgers and roasts will appeal to locals as much as the tourists who seek out our hackneyed classics. The Hoop and Toy isn’t the cheapest pub but in the heart of South Kensington it is reasonable enough.
If you’re after somewhere quiet to rest your feet and clear your head after the museums then this is the place. You never know, you might even stumble on one of the pub’s infrequent comedy nights at the end of a long day spent surrounded by dinosaurs, textiles and all manner of scientific gobbledygook.
