A beacon of light for this part of Fulham, in a short space of time this upmarket boozer has become a destination venue for young, well-heeled locals.

The Venue
The Arbiter is a friendly, quality pub on SW6's North End Road, a street more well known for its daily market, pound shops and fast food outlets. Until four months ago this was a struggling restaurant, but it has been taken over by a pair of former Allied Domecq colleagues with great expectations.

Nick Worthington and Ollie Fisher have opened The Arbiter as the first in a five-strong chain of pubs. The pub is set over two floors, both of which are graced with big open fires. The previously poky windows have been replaced by wide expanses of glass and the decor is mix'n'match, but with style.

The Atmosphere
Patterned green wallpaper contrasts with bare brick walls, and vintage furniture with racing-car memorabilia. Seating is on sofas and armchairs set around big, chunky tables.

The Arbiter has a laid-back, friendly vibe where market stallholders mix with young lawyers. It gets steadily busier as the night progresses. By ten in the evening on the weekend it's bustling with life, something to bear in mind if you're having food, as you may prefer to hide out upstairs for a while.

The Food
The Arbiter's particular culinary calling card is British-Scandinavian, especially on the starters which can include Danish meatballs, gravadlax and a smorgasbord of pickled herring and cold hams. Main courses come in at a reasonable £6.00-£8.00 and range from sirloin steak to vegetable pies. Refreshingly, The Arbiter is much more of a pub that serves food than a gastropub.

The Drink
Five seems to be the magic number as far as drinks are concerned. There are five draught beers: the lagers include Amstel and Heineken and real ale lovers are well catered for with Timothy Taylor's Landlord plus a guest ale every week (including gems such as Rebellion Mutiny from Marlowe). There are five bottled beers on rotation (Sol, Cobra and Tiger on a recent visit). And the wine list has been whittled down from two and half thousand potential runners to five whites and five reds: a godsend if you find long wine lists needlessly bewildering.

Cocktails are also a big part of the drinks' offering at The Arbiter. The pear and honey bellini is delicious and there's an as-yet-unnamed addition of a vodka sour. Other cocktails include North Sea Breeze, Bison Cherry Cup and Nicol Plated.

The Last Word
An upmarket, friendly boozer, The Arbiter has been an instant success with the locals, successfully filling a distinct gap in the market.

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