The Union Tavern, W9

A nicely refurbished, traditional boozer located next to the canal in a real ale desert. Inside is over two levels, the upper one on street level and the lower with a terrace by the canal. There's mixture of styles which work well together including old pine school chairs, old leather chairs, red banquettes, a real stove and a small butcher's block which, disturbingly on a scorching September day, was full of Christmas decorations and menus. The bar was staffed by two friendly and efficient barmaids who were happy to give out tasters and brightened the place up. Monthly Meet the Brewer evenings were advertised on a chalk board giving an indication that they take their beer seriously and embrace brewers other than Fullers, who own the place. This is further reflected in the ale range which consisted of Twickenham Autumn Red and Naked Ladies, Five Points Pale and London Pride on our visit as well as 10 keg offerings which are listed on a blackboard above the bar. Everything which we tried was in top nick and flew down. The menu listed some interesting modern pub food although we didn't try any. A top spot in the area and I'd welcome a revisit.

PSM has done a very accurate review,and I also thoroughly enjoyed my visit.The ground floor bar room is stripped out in a modern way with sanded floor boards but retains some comfortable seating options,a fitted bench below a side window with views over the canal being particularly good.The loo doors here have pictures of Audrey Hepburn and Sid Vicious ,a good juxta pose.The lower level snug looked like a good retreat,while the small downstairs bar has a few pew seats while the canalside outside terrace is a real feature.It is possible to moor a boat directly outside. At the bar there are 10 keg taps featuring many London brewers,and there was an upcoming meet the brewer night featuring Kernel.The 5 handpumps will always stock London Pride but the other four will feature guests ales which comprised Twickenham Autumn Red and Naked Ladies and a very good Five Points Pale on my trip .Live music is a feature here,and the food menu looked interesting and somewhat ethnic with mains coming in from £9-£14 but with a wide selection of light bites. IMHO this is one of the best pubs for real ale within spitting distance of the canal for miles around,and tops any that I have tried in the Little Venice and Paddington area.I plan a revisit.

This is a split level canal side pub close to Westbourne Park tube station. The pub is run by Fullers, although this isn’t entirely apparent on approach or indeed when looking at the beer range. The pub was revamped by former manager Steve Keegan (currently working for the Late Knights Brewery), who persuaded Fullers to focus on their role as part of the London Brewer’s Alliance and use the pub to showcase beers from other up and coming London breweries. This is a nice touch and meant that as well as the ubiquitous London Pride, I could also choose from Redemption Big Chief, Backstage IPA, London Fields Hackney Hopster and ELB Pale Ale. The keg range similarly focuses primarily on the capital’s brewing talent, with beers from Kernel, Camden, Signature Brew and London Fields available among others. Craft bottles are also sold from the fridges although I didn’t see any menus to help guide you through the selection. I tried a pint of the ELB Pale Ale which was very well kept. The pub has had something of a gastro make-over since my last visit back in 2003. Food seems to be an integral part of the pub’s DNA, with a tempting BBQ themed menu available, from which I sampled some very tasty chicken strips with BBQ dipping sauce. There is also a heating cabinet at the end of the bar storing a few traditional pub snacks. The entrance takes you into the main bar with the servery directly opposite the door in a bare boarded room with plush leather banquettes around the front left and rear right corners and a mix of pew and standard seating elsewhere. The décor is a little bland, consisting of a few nice Fullers themed photos, a large floral display in the front window and an attractive fireplace on the back wall with a TV screen above, turned off on this visit. To the left of the bar is a rack filled with the day’s papers and here steps lead down to a small lower level area with limited seating options. Over on the other side of the room, a staircase leads down to the pleasant canal side garden and bar where I have fond memories of soaking up the sun during the Notting Hill Carnival several years ago. A varied soundtrack played throughout this stay, but the volume was at a sensible level, so it wasn’t too distracting. I enjoyed this pub in the past for the pleasant garden setting and appreciate it even more now that there is an interesting range of ales to choose from. It’s a nice spot for a pint or a bite to eat and I’d happily return when next in the area.

This pub has improved considerably since my visit a year ago. There were four ales on - Clarence & Frederick's Best Bitter; Shamblemoose American Brown Ale, Moncada Brewery Porter, and, presumably as a gesture to its Fuller's branding, London Pride. I do know someone who would have chosen London Pride over the others, but that's another story. There was a fifth unclipped handpump, which, the barman told me, had until a day or so ago been dispensing Moncada Notting Hill Blond. There were also a dozen or so keg taps behind the bar dishing out beer form the likes of London Fields and Camden Breweries. Also, the tall butcher's block tables have gone, to be replaced by normal tables and chairs. I've upped this pub's ratings a couple of notches to a 7.

This is a Fuller’s pub perched on the side of the road right by the Grand Union canal. There were just the two ales on – London Pride and Bengal Lancer. I saw some menus lying around but didn’t get to look at them. This pub has rather a strange layout. As you enter from the street you are in a very modern furnished room, with butcher’s blocks for tables and that sort of thing, plus light pastel coloured walls. But take the metal spiral staircase down from the right hand side of the pub and it takes you into another small room. This in turn leads out to the terrace facing on to the canal, which, as it’s south facing can be something of a sun trap. But it’s not the idyllic spot it should be, although the narrow boats passing by add to the atmosphere, as being by the main road it does get some noise, and the blokes working on cars in a garage over the canal didn’t help. But for all that it’s a nice enough spot if the weather’s good. I certainly wouldn’t call it a destination pub, but it’s OK as long as you don’t mind these madeover pubs, and are happy with (albeit limited) Fuller’s ales.