A grand Victorian pub of 1888 on the corner of Mount Street, whose name means old friend, reborn in 2022 by Artfarm as an art-filled Mayfair local with a famous ceiling and a fine pint
The Audley Public House holds fifteen hundred and twenty-nine reviews and a 4.3 – a strong score on a very large sample – and it is a genuine Mayfair landmark: a grand Victorian pub of 1888 on the corner of Mount Street, whose name means old friend, reborn in 2022 by Artfarm as an art-filled Mayfair local with a famous ceiling and a fine pint.
The grand Victorian pub
The Audley is a genuinely grand, historic, characterful pub – a magnificent Victorian building, on the corner of Mount Street and South Audley Street. There is real grandeur to this – the grand Victorian pub, the magnificent building, the Mount Street corner. The building was built in 1888 by the architect Thomas Verity (who also designed the exterior of the pavilion at Lord’s Cricket Ground), and it is a genuine, Grade II-listed Victorian gem – a grand old “gin palace” – with pints pulled on the site since Victorian (indeed Edwardian) times. There is genuine history and grandeur to it – the 1888 Verity building, the Grade II listing, the Victorian gin-palace grandeur. And its name carries a lovely piece of heritage too – “Audley” means “old friend” in Anglo-Saxon, and the pub has been an old friend to the people of Mayfair for well over a century. There is real history and character to it – the grand Victorian building, the “old friend” name, the deep pub history. The Prat’s history desk salutes it – the grand Victorian pub of 1888, an old friend to Mayfair.
The art at its heart
The Audley’s genuine distinction is its art – it was reborn, in 2022, with art at its heart. There is real distinction to this – the art-filled pub, the 2022 rebirth, the contemporary art. It was carefully restored and relaunched in 2022 by Artfarm – the hospitality company of Iwan and Manuela Wirth, founders of the renowned Hauser and Wirth galleries – who kept the grand Victorian character (the dark wood, the old clocks, the listed interior) while filling it with a rotating showcase of contemporary art. There is genuine distinction and character to it – the Artfarm rebirth, the Hauser and Wirth art, the careful restoration. Its centrepiece is a genuine talking point – a colourful, kaleidoscopic ceiling installation by the British artist Phyllida Barlow – taking pride of place above the pub. There is real distinction and character to it – the art-filled pub, the Phyllida Barlow ceiling, the contemporary art. The Prat’s desk salutes it – the grand Victorian pub reborn with art at its heart.
The pint, pie and welcome
For all its grandeur and art, the Audley remains a genuine, proper, walk-in Mayfair pub – a place for a good pint, a pie, and a warm welcome. There is real quality to this – the good pint, the proper pub, the warm welcome. The bar is the star – a walk-in pub (no reservations), pouring draught beers and ciders (from the likes of Sambrook’s Brewery, one of London’s oldest brewers, alongside London Pride and a famously well-poured Guinness), with a small menu of classic bar snacks, pies, oysters, and a traditional Sunday roast. There is genuine quality and character to it – the good pint, the fine Guinness, the classic pub food. Combined with its grand Victorian history and its art, it makes the Audley a genuine Mayfair landmark – the grand pub, the “old friend” name, the art, the good pint. Its strong 4.3 across a very large sample confirms it – a genuinely good, hugely popular pub. There is real history, distinction and quality in the whole thing – the grand 1888 Victorian pub, the “old friend” name, the art at its heart, the Phyllida Barlow ceiling, the good pint. It is a genuine Mayfair landmark – grand, historic, art-filled, and genuinely welcoming, a real Mount Street treasure.
Between its grand Victorian history, its art at its heart, and its good pint and warm welcome, the Audley is a genuine landmark of Mayfair. Its strong score across a very large sample marks it as a genuinely good and hugely popular pub. The Prat’s desk enjoys a fine pint of Guinness beneath the famous ceiling, and raises an appreciative glass to the Audley.
The pub
A strong, hugely popular pub doing a good 4.3 across a very large sample – the Audley, a grand Victorian art-filled pub of 1888 on Mount Street, reborn by Artfarm with a fine pint.
Verdict
Strong, hugely popular, and genuinely grand – the Audley, a grand Victorian art-filled Mayfair pub with a famous ceiling and a fine pint.
Enjoy a fine pint at the Audley on Mount Street in Mayfair – a grand Victorian pub of 1888, whose name means old friend, reborn as an art-filled local with a famous ceiling.
Hanna Miller, Journalist and Philosopher
London, UK
Hannah Miller, a proud graduate of the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, started her career documenting agricultural innovations and rural life in the Midwest. Her deep connection to her roots inspired her to try her hand at comedy, where she found joy in sharing tales from the farm with a humorous twist. Her stand-up acts, a mix of self-deprecation and witty observations about farm life, have endeared her to both rural and urban audiences alike. She is a four-year resident to London and the UK.
Read this on the District Line where someone was reading property prices and everyone looked equally devastated. The despair was universal.
My mate’s a London councillor. Not showing him it because he’s got enough London stress without confirmation that people see through it completely.