I never quite got the Princess Bride thing. I am sorry. I have seen it. I remember it. But I never found the need for a repeat performance, until I can quote it word for word, verbatim. “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” Um, okay. I may seem to be rambling here, but when in Google you start typing and it wants to second guess what you are going to request as you type P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S The Princess Bride is recommended and all the quote pages and sound bites you can imagine pop up, still… “I do not accept excuses. I’m just going to have to find myself a new giant, that’s all.”
"We are but poor, lost circus performers…"
The Princess Victoria, if I am permitted to get back on track, was recommended a long time ago by Suma but we are not going here because of our own dusky Princess. We are going there because of huge gaps I noticed in our quest map. I guess SE, NW and W London are not places we can 1. easily get to as a group given the galloping ineptitude of TFL and 2. care to venture into because most of us live elsewhere.
The Quest Map
We do also plan a trip to the NW, where young David and Jonathan live, and plan to get Missing in Acton when we close in on Andy and Asami’s hood.
Anyway, I do digress again. I actually made a conscious decision to find a pub in the big expanse that we call west London and lo and behold The Princess Victoria came up on several searches as worth a squint.
Here is the pub.
The Princess Victoria
Joining us on this trip are Darren, Andy, Asami, Suma and Claire.
Now the menu is not online, however the cute website does include choices ranging from a deliciously glazed potted crab and rib-eye steak with triple cooked chips to the most perfect crème brulee. Apparently their “traditional Sunday roast is cooked to perfection”. I think we will be the judge of that!
Their chef James has cooked in a variety of Michelin Starred restaurants, winning “Young Chef of The Year 1997” and has now put aside his Michelin star roots to cook good classic British food from UK sourced ingredients…..but not without a hint of haute cuisine!
They are also proud to be purveyors of fine wines and a cigar bar, with a herb garden to smoke in. See if we can’t convince Oscar to come between the time of writing this prelude and the actual event.
What Others Are Saying
Disclaimer. The views hereafter are not representative of the Quest for a Sunday Roast or any member of the Quest team
“Beer is varied and well kept. Interior is lovely (despite not-so-welcoming exterior) and the garden is charming. Staff were very friendly. It would be five stars from me if there were more vegetarian options on the menu.” http://www.google.com “I go here for the food, which has been nothing less than excellent on every single visit. Other reviewers have pointed out the bad acoustics of the restaurant – it does get very noisy in there. The simple solution is stay in the bar. Though this can have its perils. My one and only bad experience here was timing an evening meal within an hour or so of a QPR home victory; the place was full of braying, walrus-faced cockneys bellowing dim-witted and mostly intelligibly things at each other and then laughing like foghorns. It put me right off my quails eggs.” http://www.google.com “Was there with 4 friends for dinner. Had excellent choice of wines (350 !!!) and good food. The winelist is outstanding. We started with a Manzanilla Sherry (37,5 cl bottle), fruity, well-balanced, good acidity, ideal as opener. Continued with a German Riesling (Donnhof) a real typical Riesling with very good price/quality. Next a VdP d’OC Syrah-Grenache which was a mistake (unbalanced, too short) but ended with a Maury, Mas Amiel 15 years ripened …. as the best replacement for the desserts. Just some Stilton & Bread with this and everybody felt in heaven !!!” http://www.urbanspoon.com “If you want something more than an average Sunday roast, this is the place. I can’t believe I have lived so close to this pub for a year without going in! Inside is much nicer than the outside suggests. Courtyard doesn’t match up to the rest of the pub though, this is a perfect rainy day place, light and airey feel. Posh for this neck of the woods. Landlord ale on tap too!” http://www.qype.co.uk “I absolutely love this place, food is delicious and service is great, nothing to complain about so far apart from once not being able to get a table on a busy night as no reservation was made, can’t blame them, who wouldn’t want to eat here.” http://www.timeout.com
So there you have it. The football thuggery rears it’s shaven head once more, but it sounds like the venue has a chef who cares in James, given his rebuttle of several of reviews I saw. Fingers crossed.
Oh, and getting there, as always, is going to be a pain. TFL, you suck!
Probably the worst underground system in the world
Initial Thoughts
After braving the ghetto to get there the pub, the second nice pub on the way, was lovely. It was nearing 1pm and the place was nigh on empty. It was clean, not warm, but not cold. Beers were flowing. Everyone was happy.
It was light, given large, old school windows, with an antique look created by a darker than duck egg blue decorating scheme and old pictures on the wall. We all liked the vibe. It was baby friendly, dog friendly and there was no room at the bar for slopeheaded walrus faced Shepherds Bush Luddites to cause any issues. In short, it was a lovely gastro pub set in a less than leafy backdrop.
The menu was very interesting and extensive – without doing the norm of falling back on Thai dishes. Here is the menu of the day.
The Food
Appetisers
Andy and Asami shared the fish platter.
Mains
(From left to right, Roast beef – Asami, roast pork belly – Andy,Claire, Suma, Darren)
Dessert
(From left to right, millionaire shortbread – Claire, STP – Suma, Rum baba – Andy, Cheese plate – Asami and Darren)
Observations and Comments (Collective and individual)
- Very interesting menu. Pork plate. Chorizo scotch quails eggs. Oak smoked eel. Monk fish cheeks wrapped in home cured bacon.
- Prussian blue Walls and old paintings. Gilt framed mirrors and skylights. A bit chilly. But it was quite empty.
- Nice spicy, but brown, Bloody Mary.
- First bowl of bread free, then £1.50 after that.
- No plates for bread. Although you did have butter. So if buttering bread on the hand and eating off the table is your thing – you will love it.
- That is really salty – Asami, about the salted cod.
- Very fresh – Asami, really fishy, again, about the salted cod. Arguably the most salty and fishy fish we could buy.
- Andy made the OK sign. Meaning he thought it was good.
- Really interesting mix of textures and tastes – Asami, as there was thinly sliced fish, shredded, whole shrimp etc.
- Why does my cabbage remind me of my grandma?- Claire. Although we worked out it was because the old lady used to make Scotch broth.
- Wow! – Asami
- Great hunk of pork- Darren, really really tasty. The pork was amazing, from the crackling through the layers. Although had to spit the bones back into my napkin when I took the last bite. I should have been more careful. So glad I took Suma’s advice, on the pub and the pork.
- Hmmhmmmhmmm. – Suma
- Hmmm. – Darren, who then had to say he was not quoting, or paraphrasing, Suma
- Hows the beef? Claire asking asami
- It is good. But I tried the pork first and it is better – Asami
- Carrots are nice and sweet .- Suma
- I don’t eat carrots normally. – Andy
- No airblade. – Claire, I have been in nicer bathrooms.
- The gents were spacious, clean, but cold. – Darren
- I am seriously disappointed – Claire, in her Millionaire shortbread, that was rubbish… tiny… pathetic. She even left the ice cream and started to help Suma on her monumental STP.
- OMG – this is death row dessert. – Suma
- By 2.30 the place is absolutely heaving – Darren
- Date and walnut loaf rather than pumpernickel – really nice. – Darren
- Would have been nice to have descriptions of cheese on menu – as we ended up with two of the same kind of cheese. – Darren
- Fish board was very very good, colourful and flavouful. Oak smoked eel being very good. – Andy
- Pork was amazing and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. – Andy
- Rum baba with vanilla rum was a great desert.- Andy
- Cheese was good. – Asami
- Beef was very nice but I wish I had ordered the pork – Asami
- Vegetables were really good, cooked with care – Asami
- Roast Pork and crackling was simply amazing. It’s going to be one of my death row meals. Great veggies, particularly the carrots – perfect. – Suma
- Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream was divine. I’d have it again. – Suma
- Shepherd’s bush never fails me. I’ll be back for sure. – Suma
- Thanks to tfl, was late but Shepherds Bush is a nightmare for me to get to at the best of times! The place was nice but I wasn’t sure whether it wanted to be a gastro pub or a traditional pub. Food was really nice, I don’t normally order pork but felt I had to try it, I wasn’t disappointed. The dessert made me want to cry, the smallest piece if millionaires shortbread I have ever seen, and was a bit too hard for me. – Claire
- Score would have been 4.5 if dessert was better. – Claire
Afterword
I have to say that if the Princess Victoria was in my neighbourhood I would spend a lot of time there. The food was superb, the staff attentive and numerous. There was a large menu. I wanted the meat plate, the chorizo scotch eggs, the monk fish cheeks, I could go back there for the next month and still be happy.
The downside is that it is in Shepherds Bush. Not always the easiest place to get too and a little too close to Loftus Road. Although it has been pointed out by former local Suma, that QPR fans are a family oriented bunch.
Would I go again? If near locals Andy and Asami picked the venue next week for their outing, I would still go. Yes. The Princess Victoria is wonderful, airy, clean, well staffed and the food is superb. What would I change? Heat the bathrooms, add Airblades, side plates for the bread, and take the Millionaire shortbread off the menu. At £2 cheaper than the other desserts it will entice the thriftier members of the public, but they will be utterly disappointed and with they had picked the STP. Also mix up the bread selection. Other than that, it was ideal.
Overall, a great pub, and a great day. Thanks all.
We are absolutely/mostly/not amused (Delete where appropriate)
