The Grove, Ealing Broadway, W5

Large Greene King pub housed in a rather austere brick building located in a good position opposite Ealing Green. Inside, the horseshoe-shaped bar offers plenty of seating (supplemented by quite a few benches in a fenced-off area out the front). The few customers were mostly students with guitars, and it soon became apparent why it was nearly empty as most of the beers were off. However, this was later explained because the pub is closing for a major refurbishment this weekend and they were using up the stock. All a bit odd, but I will probably return as I was promised that they will have more real ales on when it reopens.

This large pub has a large student contingent, not that it is a problem in anyway. I spotted a few premium lagers and an abundance of bog standard ones. No real ales though! I found the barman to be friendly and the price of beer was reasonable. There are plenty of screens for watching sport and there is also a dartboard and a pool table. One can escape the noise by sitting out the front on one of the numerous picnic tables whilst watching the Ealing locals amble by. This is an OK pub for sport, but I'd probably drink elsewhere at other times.