The days of sumptuous sofas, serene snugs and log fires are over in pubs, right? Wrong. Put your feet up and stretch out at The Defectors Weld where whiling away the hours is easy.

The Venue
It would be too easy to miss Defectors Weld amongst the throng of fast food restaurants, market traders and bars of Shepherds Bush Green. Once you’ve found your way to the corner of Wood Lane, you’ll have to keep your peepers peeled, as from the outside there are no bells and whistles - just a trendy font on a charcoal background to let you know you’ve made it to the right place.

The mass hysteria of the traffic-laden streets gives way to an oasis of calm once the door shuts behind you. It’s like being in your own country pile – darkly stripped wooden floors, dimly lit lamps and vintage picture frames breed warmth and homeliness. The downstairs bar is large and square with plenty of room for laughing and lounging amongst ample sofas and armchairs. Upstairs is a snug area with a separate bar for a bit more privacy, or if you need somewhere to hire for a private function.

The Atmosphere
The Defectors Weld is the sister bar to the Lock Tavern Camden and Amersham Arms New Cross, and like its siblings, it effortlessly mixes comfort with a dash of old school public house attitude. However, don’t expect this place to take itself too seriously; the staff are pretty, happy and jovial.

Weekends can get fairly crowded as the laissez-faire feeling of the weekdays gives way to DJs spinning and a swarm of cool, young drinkers coming in for some trend-spotting and people-watching. It never seems too much though, and there’s always a corner or cubbyhole to find if you need to get away from the madding crowd. The clientele of the pub has always been quite BBC-centric, with the TV Centre just 500 yards down the road. However, recently things have changed with the nearby opening of Europe’s largest indoor shopping centre, The Westfield. The majority of regulars are still media people though, so everyone dresses casually and seems to be in the middle of a friendly meeting about script changes, voiceovers or how best to clear up the latest phoneline based mess.

The Food
The Defectors Weld puts as much importance on its food as it does the comfort of its punters and the taste of its drinks. Fittingly, they concentrate on good, honest English food in the main, with menu stalwarts including sausages with bubble and squeak, and fish finger and tartar sauce sandwiches available for a reasonable £6.50.

You can go a little more continental and get yourself a decent plate of penne or risotto, but they tend to stick with what they know on their daily menus. Frankly, it’ll be a hard ask for anyone to steer away from their chunky burgers - a steal at £7.50. If there’s room for dessert, the chocolate cake is melt-in-the-mouth good and well worth forking out £4 for.

The Drink
The Defectors Weld leaves nothing to chance when it comes to alcohol. The heavy drinking media clientele need options and by goodness they have them. There are eleven draught lagers and ales to try out, including Peroni, Guinness, Heineken, Amstel, Leffe Blonde, Hoegaarden, Budweiser, Fruli, Deuchars IPA and London Pride. These mostly come in at just over £3. The pub also caters for bottled beer drinkers with options such as Corona, San Miguel, Grolsch, Bulmers, Birra Moretti and Brothers Pear Cider.

The wine cellar is also well stocked with a good range of whites, reds, roses and some not too financially draining bottles of Champagne on offer. However, it’s with cocktails that the Defectors Weld gets top marks with a lengthy menu including a magnificent mojito at £7 and a fabulous French Martini at £6.50 well worth a try.

The spirit selection includes an excellent top shelf containing whiskys like Canadian Club, Woodford Reserve, Glenlivet, Makers and Glenfiddich. The bar staff know what they’re talking about, too; and you get the feeling that they’d more than happily educate you in the world of whiskey given half a chance.

The Last Word
The Defectors Weld is everything that Shepherds Bush Green was missing before its arrival. There aren’t many like it around this neck of the woods.

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