Food trends always go in waves. A few years ago, gastropubs were all the rage with wide ranging menus of complex dishes, but in 2012 most pubs have gone back to basics. The Thatched House near Ravenscourt Park is one such venue, specialising in home-cooked pub classics, with a great wine list a decent selection of beers.
Inside the newly refurbed pub is spacious and welcoming, but we visited on a warm evening, so made the most of the beer garden at the rear of the venue, an oasis of calm away from the bustling city.
The menu contains everything you instantly think of as being a pub staple, from pork pies and scotch eggs to steaks, burgers and sausage and mash. To kick off, we ordered the prawn cocktail, a retro treat of finely shredded lettuce with a healthy number of prawns making for a light start. We also tried the Welsh rarebit with bacon – fresh bread topped with a citrus tasting cheese and sweet cured bacon. Awesome.
Swiftly following this was our main courses, fish and chips and the house burger. The fish was light and flaky in crispy batter, presented atop chunky mushy peas with a smear of tartare sauce and proper chunky chips. The burger was meaty, seared on the outside and pink in the middle, just they way we like ’em. Topped with cheese, ketchup and American mustard.
Once you’ve started pigging out, it’s only right to see it through fully so we ended with pancakes with chocolate syrup with ice cream. Diet be damned. The dessert wrapped up what was an exceptionally good pub meal. The service is excellent and the prices are reasonable, we’d certainly recommend the Thatched House as a delightful place to spend an evening.
115 Dalling Road, W6
www.thatchedhouse.com