"A Great Local"

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W12 pub wins Time Out’s ‘best new gastropub’ award 

The Princess Victoria Pub on the Uxbridge Road has been voted ‘Best New Gastropub’ in Time Out’s Eating and Drinking awards, 2008.

The former ‘Gin Palace’ was lovingly restored earlier this year after a fire - thought to be an arson attack - caused extensive damage to the building, destroying many of its original, 19th century features.

Speaking about the award, owner Matt Wilkin said: “We’re absolutely gobsmacked. You always live in hope. We got ourselves off the ground, had a few hurdles along the way, with the arson attack and everything. We wondered if people would come and they came in droves. The support has been wonderful.”

Wilkin said the Princess Victoria pub was his first business venture and the Shepherd’s Bush location was ideal for his plan: “We were looking at doing something different, filling a gap in the market,” he said. “We used to go to Chiswick, Kensington or Gloucester Road (for gastropubs) – there was nothing here, so we saw a

gap. People have been coming here saying, ‘It’s fantastic’.”

Time Out appeared particularly impressed with the refurbishment work at the Princess Victoria, but also praised the pub’s selection of beers and wines: “Pints of Timothy Taylor Landlord, Ruddles County, London Pride and a guest or seasonal ale such as Hop Back Brewery’s Summer Lightning; Peroni is on tap too. That would be terrific in itself but the wine list is one of the capital’s very best, put together with care and enthusiasm.”

Rather than beans on toast, the gastropub’s menu includes dishes such as “buttery, lemony herring roes on toast”, smoked eel and hake fillet with clams, but also has more traditional fare, such as steak and chips.

Wilkin said that was not all that was on offer: “We do a Saturday morning market where you can buy fresh bread and fresh produce. Before, people would have had to make a journey for that sort of thing; now it’s on their doorsteps.”

“A great local, but also worth a special visit,” concludes Time Out.

The Princess Victoria won Time Out’s prestigious award after Londoners were invited to vote on the best new bars, gastropubs and restaurants that have opened in the last year. Categories included ‘best tea room’, ‘best sustainable restaurant’ and ‘best cheap eats’.

Wilkin said he was grateful to all those who had voted for his bar: “Thank you so much for believing in us. There’s more to come, more products to bring to the table. We intend to be here for the next 15 years,” he said. 

The Carpenter’s Arms in Hammersmith was one of the runners-up in the same category.

Yasmine Estaphanos

10 September 2008