Hey William,....... what's up?

Having previously only ever tried the Tapas at William IV, I was excited to see what the Sunday Lunch had on offer.

Another birthday party saw the group of us enjoying a lovely sunny day in the Dining Room at William. There were some (should we say - negative?) comments on the restricted nature of the menu. We're all for seasonal produce, but if you have a restrictive diet (even by choice) then eating the same foods for starters and mains isn't the most exciting option! On the upside, given the size of the main meals, perhaps it was better that we didn't indulge in the starters!

Interestingly I started to write this entry some weeks ago, just after the meal, but lost interest. One could suggest several, well at least a couple of reasons for this, although I am most inclined to think that perhaps it was a reflection of the food. Not that it was bad, but perhaps more that it was uninspired and mildly uninteresting!

The strongest recommendation would be for the lamb shanks. I'm reliably informed by the one person who had this for their meal that it was delicious and lip smacking could be heard across the room. But otherwise the recommendation would be - go during the week when the tapas is on order! It's fantastic with a wide variety of choices and some fabulous flavours! And of course a glass of bubbly ALWAYS!

Mason's Arms Happy Days

Have you ever been to one of those updated old man's pubs where you just didn't feel very comfortable - well the Mason's Arms is a happy departure from this trend! Of course it does attract some of the well heeled set, and their accompanying fancy clothes and ideas. However you can still find a nice space on a sunny day, or even a quiet warm space inside and enjoy a pint or two!


Of course if you turn up on a sunny day after a 5 hour bike ride around London, with associated windblown hair and rosy cheeks (and well lets face it less than trendy attire) you can expect to stop conversation. But still it's a great place to hang out for a while.....and as for the Baileys Coffee's late night after some Thai food - well that's another story!

Princess Victoria Dining Rooms and Timeout?

So Friday night saw us all out to sample the Princess Victoria Dining Rooms in Shepherds Bush. This was hot on the heels of a strong recommendation from a work colleague, followed closely by a report that it had been shortlisted for the TimeOut London best gastropub award in its first few months of opening this year!

Scouring the websites it did appear that there were mixed reviews, with most negative comments appearing to be about the service. Although overall people were very positive about the addition of this new version of an old boozer (did someone say Gin Palace?) on the Shepherd's Bush horizon.

The night was a bit of a birthday celebration with everyone in the mood for a good night.

The arrival went well. The decor is very nice with old wood tables and comfortable wood chairs. There was even some room to navigate around the table without having to hold your breath and suck your stomach in! The staff were also very attentive, if not terribly knowledgeable about the drinks menu. But friendliness in service can get you a long way, hmmm ... well for some of us! Hard to please everyone all the time......

We then braved the menu. This is where things can get quite tricky. Two of the group of four are sort of vegetarians (essentially pescatarians - but with a preference for full veg meals when available). Having been unable to review the menu before the visit this was going to be the moment of truth.....there are very few gastro-pubs that give a good vegetarian option. Prices of the meals aside, given the thought that has clearly been put into the creation of the non-veg meals you would have thought a single vegetarian option (main meal) would be more than a butternut squash risotto. It was listed as also being mixed with wild mushrooms and marscapone - but really, is this the best they could offer......It would appear so.

So the scene was set for a sample of the fish dishes, with one of the group trying the T-Bone steak with Bearnaise sauce. It has to be said there were some very tasty parts to each of the dishes tried - but each one was just a bit ....well.....wrong.....or unnecessary! 

Firstly, the fillet of Plaice with a curry broth of macaroni and Mussels.........all we could say after tasting this one was........MACARONI? Just didn't need it. The T-Bone steak had a problem with the Bearnaise (undefinable to anyone at the table) and thrice cooked potato wedges have been cooked at least once more than needed. Finally the fillet of Sea Bass with smoked eel and crushed potato and poached egg. Really delicious - although it had been ordered minus the treacle cured bacon.....again was this really a necessary addition. How many different types of protein do you need on one plate??

The group decided as this was a grown up evening out that instead of dessert, we would opt for the cheese plate - not that the menu tells you how many or which cheeses are up for sampling. As it turns out there were three cheeses, a fig chutney/jam, and a range of biscuits including a piece of sweet bready cake (the highlight!). Unfortunately the cheddar on our friends plate may have been cut from the end which had been left in the sun for a while (dry is an understatement), and the pungent cheese did have an after taste of plastic! The goats cheese was good though!

It might sound like it wasn't a good night - but actually we had a great night. Not sure we would go there again but were all (or at least three of us!) glad we had made the trek out. Which brings us to the Time Out nomination.......not sure about the other pubs that are in the category, but our opinion would be that it is a bit early for this one to win. But it certainly has potential!

Slightly expensive and recommended to people who like protein!