No197 Chiswick Fire Station

197 - 199 Chiswick High Road
W4 2DR


020 3857 4669



No 197 Chiswick Fire Station is a recent Chiswick opening, on the south side of the High Road where All Bar One used to be.  It's the latest outpost of Darwin and Wallace, an independent group founded by a former All Bar One brand manager which is being watched with interest by the ABO team. D&W plans to expand into London's 'local villages'; Chiswick follows Belgravia, Clapham and Richmond and precedes Hampstead, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill and Islington.

The new bar has restored the masonry on the front that reveals the building used to be the home of the Chiswick fire brigade. The fire station originally opened on this site in 1891 and operated there until 1963, when it moved to its present location on Heathfield Gardens.

All Bar One was designed by Bass as a 'female friendly' bar and 197 has retained that vibe. Probably two-thirds of the customers were women the night we visited. And the place was packed. We had tried to book but were well behind the curve so took the offer of chancing a walk-in table.  We were behind the curve on that too, but did get a comfy sofa in the bar area where we could also eat. 

Mrs West4urants arrived first, and things weren't looking good when her Aperol Spritz took a quarter of an hour to arrive. But after a few apologies the service picked up.

From the 'Small + Sharing' section of the menu we shared a Crispy Peppered Squid with coriander, spring onion and chilli (£7.95). Slightly more crispy than peppery, but none the worse for that.

I followed it with the Chicken, Ham Hock, Leek & Tarragon Pie, served with iceberg lettuce in a buttermilk and blue cheese dressing (£14.50). It was absolutely packed with meat and a perfect blend of flavours. Mrs W went for the Wonky Veg Aubergine Curry, with coconut chickpeas and flat bread (£9.95). As the menu says - with a sad disregard for the apostrophe - 'wonky is not waste, its perfectly good grub'. And so it was.

The menu ticks all the currently hip 'Australian-inspired' boxes, like Brew or Granger & Co in Notting Hill. 'Australian-inspired' no longer means just throwing another shrimp on the barbie or a Four 'n Twenty meat pie. It's basically just a mish-mash of every other world cuisine. So expect tacos and crostini, black pudding croquettes and truffle macaroni cheese accompanied by samphire, taleggio and yuzu dressing. Not necessarily all on the same plate, but it's only a matter of time.

There's a good range of wines by the glass and bottle. We had a 500ml carafe of the Rioja Crianza from the 'Bolder & More Intense' section of the list: living on the edge.

197 will soon become a Chiswick favourite, whether for summer brunch in the outside courtyard or a Sunday roast in winter. And in 5 years' time it will seem all so 2010s, we'll be bored of it and queuing for the latest Hawaiian Poke shack, Japanese Ramen bar or Modern Jewish start-up.


Food (for 2): £32.40
Drink: £31.00
Total: £71.33

Rhythm & Brews

22 Walpole Gardens
W4 4HG


07769 332659


Rhythm & Brews is Chiswick's first (and so far only) vinyl cafe. It opened last October next to Turnham Green on the site of the former Arlington Pharmacy at the end of Wellesley Road. According to chiswickw4.com it's owned by Ann Khoshaba, a fashion designer who ran the Cinnamon Cafe in Pitshanger Lane in Ealing for six years.

The concept of a hipster cafe which plays and sells real old-fashioned vinyl is a mouthwatering one. I was certain I was going to love this place. And Rhythm & Brews certainly looks the part: tables are made from reclaimed wood; benches from old railway sleepers; there are cushions on the sofas and the walls are adorned with vinyl and pictures of all the rock gods. They even host 'live lounge' acoustic sessions. What's not to like?

Maybe our expectations were too high, but I'm afraid this was our biggest disappointment so far. It feels like the place is being run by the boy's team from The Apprentice. Siralan would tell them that you can only put style over substance for so long. Somebody on Team Caffeine would have been fired this week.

The signs weren't promising from the start. The boys were struggling to cope with a bit of a rush. The guy in front of us wanted some coffees to take away, and they got his order right only at the third attempt.

On the plus side, we sat outside in the sunshine. And our drinks were fine. I had an Americano, made with Union Coffee, and a green tea for the Missus. Little Miss West4urants had a 'Big 5 Smoothie' with strawberry, kiwi, mango and pineapple (Siralan would have picked them up on their maths too).



She also had the granola with Greek yoghurt and berry compote (£3.95). It looked suspiciously like Harvest Crunch to me, but she loved it. And accompanied it with a decent croissant, probably made elsewhere, but that's fine. I played it safe and went for the toast with jam (not too safe - I asked if I could have marmalade). It arrived with neither, so I asked again. A pot of a bright red jelly-like substance was served, which I think even Lidl would be embarrassed to put in its value range.

But Mrs West4urants was most underwhelmed. In fact she's rarely been less whelmed. We're getting through quite a lot of avocado on toast for the blog, and this was by some distance the worst. One piece of pre-sliced bread, a smear of avocado, some sunflower seeds and a sprinkling of chilli powder (not the advertised flakes) for £4.70. She went inside to complain, and received a furtive thumbs-up from a group of women at another table. (Their verdict as they left is not fit for putting on a family blog).

The waiter was apologetic and offered us a free drink - a gesture rather undermined by him then failing to deliver the coffee I accepted.

We have been positive about every place we've visited so far, and fairly. There's not one place we wouldn't go back to. And, for me, that includes Rhythm & Brews (though I might struggle to persuade Mrs West4urants to return). Maybe they just had a bad day, maybe the function the previous evening really was to blame for the missing jam, maybe the guy behind the counter really was only on his third day. If you're not in a hurry and want to sit in a hip cafe, and browse through some old records, and have a decent cup of coffee, then give it a go. But have breakfast somewhere else.


Food (for 3): £13.15
Drink: £9.00
Total: £22.15

Laveli Bakery

61 South Parade
W4 5LG

020 8742 3990

Slovakian couple Libor (pastry chef) and Veronika (shop manager) Matlovic opened their first Laveli Bakery on the Askew Road in 2008. They have 3 shops now, opening on South Parade (at the bottom of St Alban's Avenue) in June 2012, on the site of a former antique  and chandelier shop. 

Veronika told West London Mum that the name Laveli comes from ‘LA’ for their daughter Laura, ‘VE’ for Veronika and ‘LI’ for Libor. (Son Sebastian probably feels a bit left out). Sadly it didn't exist when we lived in St Alban's Avenue in the 1990s - the bread options then were Plum Duff or Sainsbury's. They now have a wide range of specialty breads, to eat in or take away.

We went for breakfast on Sunday, and got the last table outside at 10 o'clock, in the shadow of St Alban's church. Don't be fooled by the online menu. While Laveli on the Askew Road has a wide range of breakfast options, ranging from Ginger Pig bacon or black pudding in a bun to six different variants of avocado on toast, the South Parade breakfast menu is heavily croissant-based. You can have a plain croissant, a ham and cheese croissant, a cheese croissant, a chocolate croissant, a cheese and chocolate croissant...ok, I made that last one up, but you get the picture.



We stuck with the plain, which was an authentically French croissant, lacking only French ambience. It was certainly better than the Maison Blanc version we picked up later for our revising teenager. And the coffee is pretty good too. So, while it's not a great breakfast option, it's a good spot for a coffee. (And a croissant.)


Food (for 2): £3.00
Drink: £4.80
Total: £9.00

Carvosso's at 210

210 Chiswick High Road
W4 1PD

020 8995 9121



On its website Carvosso's claims to be one of Chiswick's top wine bars: "situated in a 17th century building that has been lovingly converted [what is an unloving conversion I wonder?] by the owners from a former police station and stables into a large bar, two restaurant dining areas, a cosy sitting room and four private function rooms, all wrapped around a pretty stone courtyard." 

It opened in 2006 but more than 5 years have passed since its greatest night - when Cameron Diaz was spotted having a drink with Colin Firth and Alan Rickman.  None of them were there on the Thursday night when we went - not just an impossibility but also a shame. 

This time I was with special girlfriend number 4 and for the first time this year we sat outside, in the 'pretty stone courtyard', which indeed it was, sandwiched between two heaters.  Carvosso's has the feel of an after work 80's wine bar.  It's all wood and wine and working people, and is perhaps a tad dated, but it's friendly, the menu has something for everyone and the service is speedy without making you feel that all they want to do is go home.  

Special girlfriend number 4 had the paella which came with some enormous and very bug eyed prawns.  I had the flat iron chicken with an asparagus and feta salad which looked beautiful, courtesy of a purple flower - edible, I hope.  We also had some wilted spinach on the side because I can't resist that Popeye look. I'm hopeless with wine lists and as special girlfriend number 4 wasn't drinking I had a glass of Montepulciano because I've been there.

All in all it was a lovely surprise.  The food was good, the atmosphere was nice and they even put on a sunny evening - who could ask for more? 


Food (for 1): £15.00
Drinks (including a mint tea): £9.45
Total: £27.00

Le Pain Quotidien

214 Chiswick High Road
W4 1PD

020 3657 6933


Despite the fact that myself (Mrs West4urants) and a girlfriend went to Le Pain Quotidien, Mr West4urants cannot help himself and starts this blog post for me....  

Belgian baker Alain Coumont opened the first Le Pain Quotidien - 'the daily bread' - in Brussels in 1990. Philippe Le Roux, the brother-in-law of a friend of ours, brought the concept to the UK in 2005. There are more than 20 LPQs here now, nearly all in London. The Chiswick restaurant opened in 2012 on the High Road where Balans used to be. Although chiswickw4.com reported at the beginning of last year that the site was up for sale, it seems to have survived. 

And so here I am having lunch with special girlfriend number 3.  I should say, that the ranking of my girlfriends is only in order in which they appear in this blog, not in order of specialness.  That would be both impossible and inappropriate.  However, in true 'girls who meet up' form we were chatting so much I forgot to take photos. Instead you have a picture of the lunch of the very kind girl sitting next to us (an avocado and lentil salad, I believe).  Apologies. 

 

Le Pain feels a little bit as if it's past its best. The shelves of bread felt a little sparse and the wood interior a tad faded. Our lunch was good but not particuarly outstanding.  We both spoilt ourselves with the detox salad (quinoa tabouleh, raw vegetables, avocado and organic rapeseed oil) and a green tea - it was a Monday after all.   To give credit, Le Pain is clearly moving with the times - that Instagram favourite, avocado on toast, is available for breakfast and a cashew cheese tartine was on the lunchtime specials. What's more, Le Pain has a huge terrace which will please the sun worshippers amongst you.  

Food (for 1): £9.95
Drink: £3.00
Total: £15.00