The Sindercombe Social, Shepherds Bush, W12

A first in what was originally The White Horse, but is now called the Donald Sinden Social Club or something and is influenced by an American diner which explains why lavatories carry the imbecilic description of REST ROOMS. There's some fluorescent signs, scarlet vinyl booths, bare brick and strange leatherette seats which look a bit early 1970s'. Otherwise furniture is fairly conventional high/low stuff. Lighting comes courtesy of hipster filament bulbs. What is genuinely interesting though are the polychromatic floor tiles which look like they were designed by Minton in the 19th century; there are a few columns and music was muted. Monday is tappy, Thursdays and Sundays host live music whilst Fridays and Saturdays are when a disc jockey puts records on a gramophone. Not surprisingly then, this pub is the preserve of a young trendy crowd. Ales: Sharp's Doom Bar, Hopback's Summer Lightning and Purity's Mad Goose at £3.30 (usually £4.30) a pint and good. This isn't my kind of place so I don't envisage returning.

Making my way to the nearby Brewdog bar for a few pre-gig pints prior to a show at the neighbouring Empire, I noticed that this former O'Neill's Irish theme pub had been given a completely new identity, so I made the short diversion inside to see what was new. The pub is pretty vast and has been laid out around an enormous central servery which runs a considerable distance to the rear of the pub. Amusingly, the distinctive O'Neill's decorative floor tiles remain in-situ around the front entrance area, but that was just about the only clear sign of its former existence I could spot. Elsewhere there is a mix of tile, bare floorboard and quarry stone flooring, with seating restricted to the perimeter of the room, therefore affording ample vertical drinking space for peak times. Seating options include sofas under the front windows, canteen style benches down the left hand side, padded banquette booths to the right and a lot of standard tables and chairs in the largest seating area at the rear of the pub. The servery has a plain, dark wood counter and a white tile bar back with a large circular mirror in the centre. Rather cleverly, an extended section of counter has been added in the rear half of the room, where no pumps or taps stand, allowing people to pull up a bar stool without blocking other customers access to the bar. Décor is a bit hit and miss, with undressed wooden planks on the right hand wall and a neat collection of old hub caps displayed to the rear. The rear area also seems to double up as some sort of performance space, with a small stage in one corner and the option to remove tables and chairs to create a dancefloor. Food is available in the form of an American Diner themed menu, with burgers taking centre stage. There were five handpulls but sadly only three were in operation, offering Fullers London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar and Red Squirrel Porter. It didn't require a lot of thought to opt for the Porter, which was in fine form, slipping down nicely on a cold, windy December evening. The two turned clips on the other pumps were for Purity Ubu and Roosters Yankee, which would have enhanced the remaining ale options no end. A fairly decent keg range included brews from the likes of Meantime and Sierra Nevada. This was a pleasant surprise and a good addition to what I've always found to be a much over-rated Shepherd's Bush drinking scene. It's not exactly a cosy, traditional pub experience, but it seems to be the sort of place the trendy young locals will like and I expect to visit again the next time I go to the Empire.

Official site of Sindercombe Social - www.thesindercombesocial.co.uk

Official site of Sindercombe Social - www.thesindercombesocial.co.uk

Just opened after a makeover and is a smart modern pub.M +B range of beers with a decent selection of kegs and 5 hand pumps.Adnams -mosaic was in fine fettle.Liked this pub a lot.Shepherds Bush now has a lot of decent pubs.