London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Other locations — Harefield
Contemporary pub, gastropub (Brunning & Price)
Park Lane, Harefield, Uxbridge UB9 6HJ
T (01895) 822631 W www.oldorchard-harefield.co.uk
Open 1130 (1200 Sun)-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome, children’s portions served.
Cask beers 6 (Fuller’s, Phoenix, 4 unusual often local guests), Other beers 2 keg, 2 bottles, Also Over 100 whiskies, some rums, 50+ wines.
Food Enhanced pub grub/gastro menu, Outdoor Front terrace, large beer garden, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Summer weekend barbecues, beer and food events, board games.
Old Orchard, Harefield UB9 (London)
“We could be in the Lake District”, sighs deputy manager Damien, admiring the view from the Old Orchard on Greater London’s far flung northwestern edge. And while this is perhaps overstating the case just a little, the surroundings here are among the most picturesque and rural of any pub in the capital. The handsome white building, hidden down a narrow lane on the outskirts of the village of Harefield, is perched atop the Colne valley, surrounded by a vast and verdant garden, with a view that sweeps down to the Grand Union Canal and placid boating lakes, in fact former gravel pits, in Colne Valley Regional Park. There are no craggy fells to be seen across the rolling fields visible from the top of the lane but you may well spot the outliers of the Chilterns.
Formerly a private house, a hotel and most recently a high end restaurant, the Old Orchard was reopened in September 2010 as a food-led pub that welcomes drinkers as well as diners. Inside it’s spacious, comfortable and rustic in a country house kind of way, with open fires and framed vintage maps. Six excellently kept cask beers in this Good Beer Guide listed venue always include a house ale supplied to the pubco by Phoenix in Manchester, London Pride and Tring Side Pocket for a Toad, a rare but welcome sight as a regular beer. Guests might come from Chiltern, Dark Star, Itchen Valley, Marston Moor, Purple Moose, Vale or White Horse. Staropramen and botttled Budvar are better than usual lager options. Food is hearty stuff at moderate prices and might include pheasant and venison terrine, posh sausages, roasts, grilled trout or sweet potato and parmesan gnocchi. Also worth perusing is a large collection of whiskies and other specialist spirits including rare rums. Well placed for walkers and cyclists exploring the Green Belt countryside and only a short climb from the canal, this is a friendly and welcome newcomer.
Underground Northwood, Uxbridge (then bus) Bus Harefield Green (331 Northwood), Dunster Close (U9 Uxbridge) Cycling NCN 61 Walking London Loop, Hillingdon Trail, Colne Valley Trail
We have a number of Brunning & Price pubs in the North-West and, while they do what they set out to do very well, “moderate prices” is the last phrase I would use to describe them. They are consistently in the top 10% for both beer and food.
Thanks for comment Peter. I meant moderate in comparison to some of the high end London gastropubs where main courses are around £15 (or upwards), whereas the Old Orchard has a reasonable choice at around £10. If there’s a new edition of the book I’ll need to think about a consistent way of comparing food prices, without bogging the listings down with actual figures that could easily change. I could consider also giving an indication of beer prices too as these can vary greatly, and indeed at around £3.70 a pint for guest cask the Orchard is at the top end.