A West London local with a welcoming cafe culture.

The Venue
A fair hike (or short bus ride) from Ealing Broadway tube, the journey is well worth it when you rock up to this delightful ‘bistropub’. French management and candlelit tables imbue Castlebar with a Parisian je ne sais quoi, which is compounded by the huge covered, heated patio. This outdoor area stays warm and dry even in the depths of winter, giving the illusion of European cafe culture just inches from the otherwise uninspiring Uxbridge Road.

The main bar area off the patio is a pleasant mixture of low lighting, quality newspapers and eye-catching specials boards. Several flatscreen TVs showcase all the major European football games, but this isn’t really a sports pub. When there’s no footie the screens show classic films.

The Atmosphere
Cafe culture rules here. The clientele comprises mainly locals: couples and social groups in the evenings, a few more families with babies at Sunday lunchtime. Although Castlebar is universally packed on weekend nights (and often in the week, too), table service for everyone means there’s no pushing through sweaty groups of people or leaving your mates while you stand in a queue for half an hour. This improves everyone’s mood, as does the fact that smokers and non-smokers sit together on the covered terrace so there’s no dashing outside for fags in the rain.

The Food
Castlebar food is top notch. Not only does the bar have an excellent a la carte menu and daily specials but a variety of other menus for brunch, lunch and virtually any snacking emergency.

The a la carte isn’t cheap (approx £25 for three courses) but you get what you pay for - big portions of well cooked food, delicate flavours, speedy service. A peruse of the menu reveals some typically French options: mussels, terrine, sauteed mushrooms with brioche. The star turn is the rib eye steak with peppercorn or bearnaise sauce with the bar’s perfect fries (£14.95). This is memory food, the kind of melt-in-the-mouth flavourful meat that you associate more with French chateau than a London pub. Lighter on the digestion and the pocket, but equally enjoyable, is the butternut squash, pea and courgette risotto (£8.95): fluffy, sticky, buttery bliss.

The Drink
Wine lovers will be overjoyed with the exciting and varied list, with a clutch of both new and old world wines. The cheaper reds include the fruity Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Tocapilla (£15.75 a bottle), a delightful mouthful of dark berries, and the house Merlot, a lighter French wine that’s spicy and enjoyable (£4.95 a glass). The whites are equally delicious with a thirst-quenching and fairly reasonable French Sauvignon Blanc Vigne-Lourac at £4.85 a glass. The house white is an unpretentious Italian Pinot Grigio - clean and crisp.

For those with something to celebrate there are also affordable Champagnes, starting from £6 a glass. If you’re not usually a wine drinker but fancy some with your meal there is lots of help at hand. The wine list gives a short precis of the flavours to expect in each wine and staff are on hand to suggest the perfect partner for your order.

If wine really isn’t your thing, there's still plenty to choose from. An array of continental lagers and bitters are available for the beer drinker (San Miguel, Staropramen, Leffe, Hoegaarden, John Smiths, Adnams), while the cocktail list is impressive. In particular, the home made Bloody Marys are some of the best in London, made from the Castlebar’s own secret recipe.

The Last Word
The French bistro effect of this charming, friendly bar more than makes up for the high prices and shady locale. Food to remember, wine to make you forget. What a delicious combination.

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