1 Evershed Walk
119 Acton Lane
W4 5HH
020 8994 8262
Tucked away off the bottom of Acton Lane, The Swan is an old favourite of ours. A former Bass Charrington local boozer, the pub was refurbished and reopened as a gastropub in 2003 and has remained popular with locals ever since, partly because little has changed, including the Irish lady who runs the place, who may be called Barbara, but may not. It was voted Best Pub in Chiswick in last year's Time Out Love London Awards.
It's confusingly listed under South Acton on the Beer in the Evening website although the strangely named 'Beer Gutt' helpfully points out the differences between the two areas on the site: "Chiswick is a really upmarket area full of hooray henrys and ladies who lunch; South Acton is a downmarket area full of Somalians and young birds with prams."
Earlier this year The Swan hit the news, well Chiswickw4.com,
when it was rated only 1 for hygiene by the Food Standards Agency, but last month it reverted to 5 (top mark) so we felt it was time to go back.
Well, that and the weather. Though to be fair it really is a pub for all seasons - in the winter it's a cosy wood-panelled refuge from the cold, in the summer the large outside garden is a welcome respite from the sweaty pavements. On one of the hottest evenings of the year we opted for the garden and - as if knowing we were bloggers with a following of almost a dozen - our waitress was at pains to highlight that the pub had been renovated last year, with the garden smartened up and a new room added.
The beer is good, with a range of handpump ales and interesting lagers on tap, but the food is the draw. It "combines Mediterranean flavours with the best British ingredients which are delivered daily direct from the markets" (in a big Brakes lorry presumably).
On the eve of National Burger Day (yes, really), Master WEST4URANTS had the burger. Ever the yang to his yin, his sister went for the burrata with heritage tomatoes from the starter menu, with a side salad. Mrs WEST4URANTS and I both had the pan-roasted fillet of sea trout with broad beans, peas, spinach and lemon, which was a perfect mix of summer flavours. And chips.
Just to prove it really was summer, we washed it all down with an aperol spritz and a bottle of Brangelina's ubiquitous rosé. The Swan looks set to retain its crown for a while yet.
Food (for 5): £80.00
Drink: £49.90
Total: £146.14
13-15 Bollo Lane
W4 5LR
020 8994 6037
What is bollo?
(a) a bun made from corn, yuca or potato
(b) a slang term for extremely drunk
(c) the westernmost brook feeding the channels running through Chiswick
The answer, of course, is all of them. And while it's tempting to think The Bollo House might be named after definition (b), I think (c) is more likely.
Bollo Brook rises near Ealing Common tube station and closely follows the course of the District Line (or vice versa) to Acton Town station and from there along Bollo Lane, before flowing south through Turnham Green to the grounds of Chiswick House and then finally draining into the Thames downstream of Barnes Bridge. Bollo Brook formed the boundary of Lord Burlington's estate in Chiswick. The brook originally fed the lakes and fountains of Chiswick House, but because the laundries upstream were polluting the waters it now flows through a pipe underneath the lake.
The pub describes itself as "a beautiful cozy corner pub/restaurant hidden away behind Chiswick Park station". Originally built in 1885 and named the Railway Tavern for the workers constructing the railway lines nearby, it was renamed The Bollo House back in 2000. It's owned by the Metropolitan Pub Company, which also owns the Duke of Sussex and the City Barge in Chiswick.
Mrs WEST4URANTS had had a stressful day and nobody felt like cooking so we headed out for supper. I started with the parma ham and peach salad, which was tasty enough, but contained just two of the thinnest slides of peach I've ever seen. Mrs W went for the bruschetta, and both of the teenagers chose the crispy squid.
Master WEST4URANTS opted for the burger with bacon. He declared this the best burger he'd ever had, though in the interests of full disclosure it became apparent that this opinion was designed specifically to wind up his sister, who after much deliberation had decided not to order it. She plumped for the crab linguine, and was quite happy with that. The parmesan fries were a big hit.
Mrs W and I both had the harissa chicken breast with sweet potato hash, washed down with glasses of rose with ice. The chicken was just right spice-wise, the hash was basically just diced potato, but nice enough. Nice, dice, spice, ice.
Food (for 4): £86.00
Drink: £25.15
Total: £125.04
Burlington Lane
W4 2QN
020 8995 6356
We've been waiting to review Chiswick House Cafe for some time now. Waiting for the weather to be half decent, the moment to be right and the stars to align, so we felt a little like trespassers when we pitched up without the dog, who is on her own seaside holiday. Chiswick House is dog central, though the cafe, thoughtfully when one isn't a dog owner, less thoughtfully when one is, has a strict on the lead policy in the vicinity. This Sunday, it didn't matter to us. We pitched up and only had to dodge the numerous buggies, small children, pigeons and of course, other people's dogs.
The Cafe stands in the grounds of the recently restored grounds of Lord Burlington's 18th Century Palladian Manor, Chiswick House (worth a look round if you have time and a few quid). I was explaining to my children, that it was Lord Burlington's country house, well a halfway country house to Blenheim Palace, which they found difficult to grasp, given that they think they live well within the hustle and bustle of London. The Cafe was a very run down affair until 2011 when it was designed by Caruso St John (me neither) and rebuilt winning the RIBA London Building of the Year. One of my few claims to fame is that I was photographed at the old cafe for a Time Out review - presumably sometime before 2011.
Anyway, I digress. We went for brunch. Mr and Master West4urants had the bacon sandwich and Miss younger West4urants the sausage sandwich (don't tell me they're not adventurous). All good - served on white bread which, whilst not appealing to myself, is perfect for the less health conscious.
I had a croissant because I just can't wait that long for breakfast and had wolfed down some home made granola at home. We did have to wait quite a long time for the food to arrive which is kind of irritating - surely, surely bacon and sausages are half cooked in advance? They do the full works for breakfast if you feel like it, plus the ubiquitous smashed avocado on toast, plus soups, salads, etc for lunch.
It's a proper little cafe in the heart of Chiswick House and we're very lucky to have them both. With or without a dog, pay it a visit though I am sure you have already.
Food (for 4): £17.15
Drink: £8.90
Total: £26.05
