Bars & Pubs

By Ben McFarland

On a corner among a cluster of suave streets that takes in the fringes of West Kensington and treads on the toes of Olympia and Brook Green, the Havelock's been around for a while and recently bounced back from a significant fire, but it's nearer cold than cosy with its austere, sparse J-shaped space only slightly warmed by aubergine and cream colours and voluptuous vases filled with flowers. Gastropubs don't come much more gastropub than this place: olives, pistachios, chalkboards, scattered Sunday papers, distressed wooden tables, an elaborate wine list… you know the drill. There's no music but it's noisy. Being Brook Green, it's all coiffured young professionals who wear work shirts on the weekend, yummy mummies and the odd ambitious Antipodean gone walkabout from Shepherd's Bush. Grab a table outside on the posh pavement and pretend you live round here.

Brusque German pilsner Bitburger makes for a fine lager option while Aspall Suffolk Cyder doesn't need to be drenched over a pint glass of ice in order to refresh. Real ale is represented by three hand-pulls displaying, on the occasion of our visit, the names of Adnams, London Pride and the wonderful Doom Bar from the Sharp's Brewery in Cornwall. The good news is the food's terrific. The bad news is that it can take an absolute age to arrive (one hour between courses on our visit) and when it does it's brought by staff who are surly, scruffy and for whom sorry seems to be the hardest word. Sort it out.

Time Out Issue 1966: April 24-30 2008