A cut above your average local, this Ealing gastro pub offers excellent cocktails, delicious food and a relaxed ambiance. The focus is on providing a touch of luxury without the hefty prices to match.

The Venue
As the name suggests, this pub is situated near Ealing Common, moments away from the tube of the same name. Approaching the venue on the main road, you’ll see plenty of tables outside – perfect for balmy evenings but under cover for when the weather isn’t so good.

Go inside the Common Room and you’ll see a huge bar on the left with all sorts of bottles of liqueurs and spirits and friendly bar staff waiting to whip up your beverage of choice. A selection of comfortable leather sofas beckon, whilst wooden tables and a separate restaurant-style eating area provide ample seating for diners and groups.

The Atmosphere
More sophisticated than your average run-of-the-mill pub, the Common Room attracts a mature crowd interested in relaxing, unwinding and having a good time. The atmosphere is pretty low key - it’s a great place for a chilled evening without music drowning out your conversation.

The Food
Rather than present a large variety of weird and wonderful concoctions, this gastro pub focuses on a select number of dishes. A range of different menus are available, offering a great choice of snacks and full meals.

The popular blackboard menu offers a selection of dishes to share for between £5.75-£10.95, such as a sausage plate, baked camembert fondue with crusty bread and a seafood platter including New Zealand mussels. The delicious mezze plate with olives, dips, warm pitta and feta cheese is particularly recommended.

The daily evening menu features four tried and tested starters, four main courses, four desserts and the popular Common Room homemade burger with hand cut chips - available with a choice of toppings such as Monteray jack cheese, green chilli chutney and red onion marmalade. Starters come in at around £5, mains are in the £10 range and desserts are around £5. While the choice is not extensive, there’s something to cater for most tastes, from marinated stir fry with coriander couscous to battered haddock with hand cut chips and salad. The char-grilled sirloin steak with hand cut chips and salad is cooked well, although it can be slightly rarer than requested, and is accompanied by a spicy sauce with a generous amount of peppercorns.

On Sunday, there’s a fairly expansive breakfast menu. What’s more, you can ask for a bartenders breakfast Bloody Mary or Virgin Mary – perfect to wash those Saturday night cobwebs away.

The Drink
Cocktails are something of a speciality here and at £4.50 from 5pm-8pm every day there’s little to prevent a taster of at least one (£6.75 at other times, aside from Champagne based cocktails which are £8). The classics list features the Vanilla Toblerone Martini and Pear Daiquiri, while the long cocktails include adventurous offerings like Bisongrass Crush and Forbidden Fruit. Martinis come in a host of intriguing varieties, including Lemongrass and Wild Chilli, Wokka Lycee (including Wokka sake) and Basil and Pineapple.

The wine list at the Common Room expanded in recent months, adding to its list Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Peter Lehman Shiraz and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc from the McHenry Hohnen estate. Red and white wines start from £12.95 for a bottle of the Terrain VDP Blanc or Rouge rising to £26.95 for Le Petit Broux 2003 Sancerre. Astica Merlot Malbec 2005 goes down smoothly and is a particularly good accompaniment to the char-grilled steak.

For beer drinkers there’s a good choice on draught, including Carlsberg, Amstel, Guinness, London Pride, Heineken, Urquel Pilsner, Edelweid, Peroni, Bierra Moretti and Leffe (£2.95-£4.50) a pint. Bottled beer starts at £2.85.

The Last Word
In the neighbourhood between Ealing Broadway and Acton, decent pubs of the gastro variety are few and far between. The Common Room breaks the mould and provides a welcome contrast to the more typical boozers in the area.

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