Riverside Pub in Hammersmith: Inside The Dove's Tiny Bar

The Dove, at 19 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London W6 9TA, opens at 12 pm every day and closes at 11 pm Monday to Saturday and 10:30 pm on Sunday. It is a riverside pub in the plainest sense: the front door sits in a narrow alley, and the back opens onto a Thames terrace. A public house has stood on this spot since the seventeenth century, and the pub's own history page says one of its rooms went into the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest bar room in the world.

The Dove sits in the Upper Mall alley, a few minutes' walk from Hammersmith Bridge towards Chiswick, which is why first-timers often walk straight past it. The street is a footpath-width lane running along the water, lined with houses on one side and the river wall on the other. You are looking for a low, old-fashioned frontage with the terrace behind it, not a big pub sign on a main road.

The pub's own directions list three Tube stops within half a mile: Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook and Hammersmith. Kensington Olympia is the closest rail station, just over a mile away, and the pub calls that walk comfortable. If you drive, it says there is pay-and-display parking in nearby streets, but Upper Mall itself is no place to circle for a space, so park first and walk the last stretch beside the river.

The headline is the small space to the right of the main bar. According to the pub, it is reached through an extra entrance that only the eagle-eyed will spot, and it went into the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest bar room in the world. Step inside and you will see a brass plaque marking the height the water reached in the great flood of 1928. That plaque is the reason to go in even if you have no plans to stay.

Treat the tiny room as a ten-minute visit rather than a place to settle with a group. It is built for a couple of people and their drinks, and the rest of the pub gives you the sitting space: a sturdy main bar, a fire to sit beside in colder months, and a lower bar where a framed list of patrons hangs over the fireplace. The pub itself invites you to read it, saying it reads like a Who's Who of the last few decades.

The Dove's own account of its past is full of names. The poet James Thomson composed the familiar strains of Rule Britannia here, Charles II is said to have romanced and dined his mistress Nell Gwynne under this roof, and A P Herbert gave the pub a cheeky pseudonym, The Pigeons, in his novel The Water Gypsies. The pub is honest that much of its history is shrouded in mystery, and it is happy to leave the rest to your imagination.

The more recent claim is that the pub has hosted some of the finest actors, writers and politicians in London. The brewer Fuller's has owned the building since 1796, which means the beer served over the bar today comes from a brewery that has held this pub for more than two centuries. If you want a talking point for the table, ask the staff to point out the framed patron list and see how many names you recognise.

Drinks are the main event. The pub serves Fuller's best-loved cask ales, guest beers and a short list of classic cocktails, plus an extensive wine list that includes growers' wines the pub says are exclusive to it. Soft drinks, coffee and tea are on the menu too, so the terrace works for a mid-afternoon stop as well as an evening pint. Prices are not published on the website, so read the bar boards when you arrive.

Kitchen hours are separate from opening hours. Food is served Monday to Wednesday from 12 pm to 3 pm and again from 5 pm to 9:30 pm. Thursday to Saturday the kitchen runs through from 12 pm to 9:30 pm, and on Sunday it serves from 12 pm to 9 pm. The pub describes the cooking as refined pub classics made from fresh, seasonal ingredients, so expect a menu that changes with the season rather than a fixed list.

The pub takes bookings through the Book a table button on its website, and that is the sensible route if you want a specific time on a weekend. Walk-ins are fine for a drink, but the terrace is small and sought after on a dry day, so the best tactic is to arrive at 12 pm when the doors open, claim a spot by the river wall, and order before the lunchtime crowd arrives.

If the terrace is full, the interior is a perfectly good plan B. The fire and the old bar are the draw in cold weather, and the pub is dog friendly and welcomes families, so nobody will be turned away for bringing a dog or a child. Assistance dogs are welcome throughout. What you should not expect is a quiet corner on a sunny Saturday, because the combination of river and history keeps the place busy.

Once you have finished your drink, the river path is the point of the visit. From the pub the pub's own guide lists nearby attractions on the west side of London: the Lyric Theatre, Riverside Studios, Hammersmith Apollo, The River Café, Bush Theatre, Fulham Palace, Kelmscott House and Westfield London. Pick one or two for the stroll rather than trying all of them in an afternoon.

Hammersmith Bridge is a few minutes in one direction, and the quieter riverside stretch towards Chiswick is in the other. The pub also notes it is close to three football grounds, Fulham at Craven Cottage, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, so on a match day the area fills with supporters. If you want a calm pint, choose a day without a fixture.

The Dove is at 19 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London W6 9TA. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 12 pm to 11 pm and Sunday 12 pm to 10:30 pm. Food is served Monday to Wednesday 12 pm to 3 pm and 5 pm to 9:30 pm, Thursday to Saturday 12 pm to 9:30 pm, and Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm. Email enquiries go to dove@fullers.co.uk.

The pub is run by Fuller's, and its website is dovehammersmith.co.uk. Come on a weekday afternoon for the best chance of a quiet look at the tiny room, and leave the evening for dinner or the fire. If the Dove is full, the Crabtree in Fulham is another Thames pub with a terrace.