London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Other locations — Westbourne Green
The Cow, London W2
Bar, restaurant (Tom Conran)
89 Westbourne Park Road W2 5QH
T (020) 7221 0021 W www.thecowlondon.co.uk
Open 1200-2300 (2230 Sun).
Cask beers 4 (Fuller’s, 3 guests), Other beers 3 keg, 12+ bottles (mostly Belgian), Also 28 wines.
Food Oysters, seafood, gastro, Outdoor Small front terrace.
Functions.
Opened in the 1990s by gastropub pioneer Tom Conran, son of designer and restaurateur Terence, the Cow is now something of a veteran in offering beers that are a cut above average alongside upmarket food, taking its cue from the traditional pairing of Guinness and oysters. It’s located in Westbourne Park, once a group of country estates west of the river now also known as the Westbourne but once called the Kilbourne (thus Kilburn), another of London’s lost waterways which rises on Hampstead Heath, crosses the Westway by Royal Oak Tube and joins the Thames near Chelsea Bridge. Developed from the early 19th century, the area is now a well-heeled residential sprawl west of Paddington and north of Notting Hill, home to a cluster of specialist restaurants and bars including several owned by the Conrans.
The house cask is London Pride, joined by guest ales also secured through Fuller’s, which might include beers from Harveys, St Austell or Uley. Classic Antwerp ale De Koninck should be in reliably good condition on keg alongside Hoegaarden and Pilsner Urquell, and Guinness of course, while the bottled selection offers Trappists from Chimay, Orval and Westmalle and more exotic Belgians from De Ryck. The three different varieties of oyster and the whole crabs displayed on ice at the bar set the tone for a menu that’s big on seafood, though besides the likes of fish stew you’ll find coq au vin, sausages, steaks and some vegetarian options. The set menu looks good value but à la carte prices are highish, and get higher upstairs.
The room is long and narrow, with a front bar section where non-dining drinkers are (in theory) welcome, a dining area at the back and further dining space upstairs. It’s attractively and atmospherically done out in a curious mixture of Belgian café and Irish pub, heralded by the Guinness and De Koninck signing outside, with wood panelling, long benches and price lists written on mirrors, recalling the classic Brussels pub Mort Subite. It should be a comfortable place to settle down with a bolleke of Antwerp’s finest or a decent pint of British ale, but unfortunately on my visit the unsmiling and rather disengaged staff didn’t encourage me to linger.
Underground Royal Oak, Westbourne Park Bus St Stephens Gardens (various Westbourne Park, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove) Cycling LCN+ Shepherds Bush, link to 45 and NCN 6 Walking Grand Union Canal Walk
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