The Ealing Park Tavern, South Ealing, W5

Randomness Guide to London - Ealing Park Tavern entry

Randomness Guide to London - Ealing Park Tavern entry

On my visit here the barman was cleaning when I walked in and it took him a couple of minutes to spot me, but when he did he rushed over and served me quickly with a please and thank you. Landlord, Marlow Rebellion Smuggler, Hoegarden, Heineken, Amstel, Staropramen, Guinness and Addlestone cider were all available and a pint of Amstel was £3.20. The concrete beer garden out the back is a little different, but the place settings and large wine glasses set on most of the tables inside let the gastro cat out of the bag. It was never great here when it was known as The Penny Flyer, but I think this maybe a step too far in the other direction.

To me this pub represents an interesting contrast between old and new. On the one hand they have retained a number of original early 20th Century features – original exterior tiling, bar back, curtained draught excluders round the doors, etc, and on the other they have introduced the modern minimalist features such as solid wood scrubbed tables, bare boards, hard wooden chairs, and distressed leather sofas and low tables. The picture is completed by the potted plants scattered round the sides struggling for life, and the enormous chalkboard displaying the wine list. So, essentially something of a gastro pub then, but with separate restaurant and drinking areas. I didn’t eat there so can’t comment on the food. As to the wall decor – nothing worth mentioning. The young lady who served me was very friendly, but I suspect that this pub will never be very welcoming for someone who, like me, likes the more traditional pub. But they did have three real ales on – Ruddle’s Best; Harvey’s Bitter; and Brakspear’s Bitter – plus two more handpumps not in use when I was in there. The Harvey’s was OK. This is not really my type of place (for some reason I never seem to really like pubs painted battleship gray), but OK if you like these sort of minimalist gastro pubs.