The Belvedere, Acton, W3

Official site of The Belvedere - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

Official site of The Belvedere - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

A barn of a pub is right.Easily fit a couple of hundred people in here but on my visit nul customers on a Wednesday night with football on.Decent looking interior.No cask

This huge High Street drinking barn could be part of any number of bland identikit pub chains, but just so happens to be a Stonegate premises. The pub seems to be the focal point of the local Polish community, although aside from the Polish barmaid, a few Polish lagers and about ten reserved tables all with Polish names on them, you would never know as there is no obvious attempt to create a theme here. The place looks like a shop conversion of the worst kind, offering a big, open plan room with loads of standing room around the bar area which leaves the place feeling cold and empty at quieter times. A few high tables and stools break up the centre of the pub, with the servery over to the right and the majority of the seating along the left hand side where various pillars and short sections of wall break the space up a little to create vaguely intimate spots to grab a seat. The seating is actually quite nice, including some smart button backed high banquettes and plush tub chairs. An Avatar pinball table looks a little lonely in the front right corner, whilst to the rear there is a small carpeted raised seating space which had a few pool cues stood in a rack, although there was no sign of a table. Walls are sparsely decorated, with the highlight being a few contemporary images which have been quartered and slightly spaced out to produce an unusual effect. I popped in here as it was the only pub I could find showing the England match, with a huge screen on the back wall doing the honours with commentary just about audible. An old chap turned up just as the second half was getting underway, plonked himself at the table next to me without buying a drink, watched five minutes of the match, fell asleep and only woke up when I got up to leave on the final whistle! Tellingly, the pub was practically empty (certainly quiet enough to fall asleep) on an early Saturday evening but most of the tables were reserved from 22:00 onwards and the pub advertised that it was open until 3 am on Saturdays. Despite a long curved bar counter, there are no handpulls along the entire length so I had to pick from the usual mainstream keg brands. I ended up with a reasonable pint of Guinness, served to me by a friendly barmaid. I really found it hard to warm to this place which suffers from a whole range of pub turn-offs - open-plan corporate interior, lack of decent beer, lack of atmosphere and character to name a few. The service was okay and the place served a purpose in allowing me to watch a thoroughly boring football match but beyond that there really is very little to recommend here.

This is a typical bland high street chain pub and I wouldn't make a point of visiting again. The barmaid was nice enough, but there was an overpowering musty smell and my ears were being polluted with Gareth Gates. There is no real ale and my Guinness was served in a glass that I am more accustomed to receiving when ordering an orange juice for the nipper. Poor show!