The Greystoke, W5

Facebook page of The Greystoke - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Greystoke - www.facebook.com

This pub dates from the 1930s, the name perhaps a reference to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes, progenitor of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes; there’s no evidence to suggest that the area has any connection though. This is a Greene King pub and certainly more downmarket than most of their outlets: the floor is part boarded, part carpeted, smoky blue or grey paint, modern ‘old’ partitions, traditional furniture – some studded – bedecked with laminate menus and sauce bottles (no Waitrose English mustard, but I concur that it’s very good), TV football with the commentary on, games machines and a pool table. Customers comprised a bunch of East European men to the rear, congregating around a noisy iPhone like kids in a toyshop, then some rather drunk apelike ladz – attracted by the pub’s name? – clowning about around the pool table, partly blocking access to the bar: ‘Szzorry mate!’. A GK range of beers spurned, me resigned to yet another half of Neck Oil at £3.10 which is quite cheap, served by a friendly barmaid. This is really quite a poor pub; the Grange is a short walk.

This is a large, opened out pub with a spacious L-shaped interior, next to North Ealing tube station. The place has seemingly had a fairly recent refurbishment and appeared to have been fitted out to a pretty decent spec, making it quite a comfy and pleasant place to relax over a pint. There is nice carpeting throughout the pub, with plenty of chairs, button backed banquettes and smart tub chairs filling much of the front section, whilst also leaving a good degree of standing room closer to the bar. The servery has a grey panelled counter and a nice dark wood and mirrored bar back with a few modern white tile sections here and there, all topped off with some crappy corporate blackboards. A large screen to the left of the entrance was showing a live football match, whilst smaller screens through the rest of the pub were tuned to horse racing and rugby transmissions. The room runs a good way back down the left-hand side where more banquette, chair and high stool seating can be found, as well as a T-shaped, low partitioning screen in the centre of the room, which allowed for a few more banquettes to be added in booth-like formations. Some nice London Underground themed pictures were on display alongside naff London landmarks wallpaper and there were a few nice etched glass screens partitioning the tables along the left-hand wall. Another screen back here was showing muted football whilst pop tunes played in the background. I counted six handpulls which were offering a choice of Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale, Taylors Landlord, Wimbledon Copper Leaf and a real cider, with the final pump out of action. A very friendly barmaid served up a nice pint of the Copper Leaf at a reasonable £3.95 and I was quite content drinking this in the comfortable surrounds provided by this pub. I thought this was quite a good example of how a large station pub can be opened out, modernised and yet still appeal to a wide range of customers. The (mostly) tasteful refurb, good range of differentiated seating areas and well-kept beer all appealed, and I’d happily pop in here again the next time I use the station.

Visiting a previously unreviewed pub in London can be a hit and miss affair, with many more misses than hits. But this one bucks the trend a bit, as it’s really not too bad. Being a Greene King pub it obviously had on IPA and Abbot, but also had on Wimbledon Brewery Copper Leaf, Timothy Taylor Landlord as well as Rosies Pig Raspberry Cloudy Cider. They do food at the usual times of course, including the usual pub grub. They do what looked like a good lunch club meal deal for £7.99 including a baked potatoe or good range of sandwiches; a “side” with could be chips, coleslaw, or soup, plus a pint. Unfortunately the pint is restricted to the Greene King ales – shame they couldn’t include a guest ale, even if a supplement had to be paid. Reminds me of a ‘spoons in the bad old days. The cheese in my sandwich was rubbery rubbish, was grated unnecessarily, and the chips were salted unnecessarily. The chutney was good though. I suppose you don’t expect much for £7.99. But this isn’t a food rant. The Abbot was in good condition, and the English mustard was good quality from Waitrose! The pub itself is OK, and Greene King haven’t wrecked it like they have with so many of their pubs by painting everything that doesn’t move grey and ripping up the carpets and putting in crap modern bare-boarding. Furnishings are typical, with tall tables/tall stools, normal tables and chairs, one or two armchairs and fixed bench seating. Something for everyone then. It was actually quite well patronised at Thursday lunchtime, with a large group of young blokes occupying the tall tables at the front of the pub. There’s a bit ot outside seating at the side of the pub. I was looking for a Tarzan connection but couldn’t spot one. I guess neither Tarzan nor ERB came from North Ealing. I thought this was a decent enough pub without being anything very special. A couple of guest ales is good going for a Greene King pub, and perhaps (being generous) I was unlucky with my food choice.

Official site of The Greystoke - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of The Greystoke - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk