please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Visited here with me old mate the Crown Prince of Ealonian Land as this is his local.
Fairly typical Fullers Establishment catering primarily for the foodie brigade. Had a couple of honeydews and a couple of bottles of Bengal Lancer (probably my favourite Fullers offering) but didn't have any ale from the hand pumps so cannot comment on the quality but it was probably fine.
Pleasant garden with a small kids play area so would be ok to go down with the rug rats. To be honest this pub appeals more as a place to go in the afternoon for a meal or with kids as opposed to somewhere you would stay for a skin full all night in and this was reflected in the fact we moved on after a few.
Not spectacular but no complaints at all!
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Re-opened after what seems like an unnecessary re-furb. I must be old as I thought it was just fine before. Now much louder and brasher with speakers blaring in the garden. Not for me now but perhaps just what the under 30s want?
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This once great pub has a worstening reputation for serving short measures, especially pints.
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Good quality Fullers pub with mixed crowd mid-afternoon and very attractive interior. Beer OK, foody.
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Fullers establishment just down the road from Northfields tube station. It was very busy on my Sunday afternoon visit and many people seemed to be enjoying or had already enjoyed lunch. Service was friendly. Beers on were Pride, Wild River & Chiswick. I was also pleasantly surprised to find Westons Wyld Wood on handpump. The interior was light and airy. Not a bad pub at all.
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I'm in two minds about the Plough. On the one hand, it is probably the best pub for a half mile radius and good beer and great food. But, firstly, everyone in the area knows it and it's always just a little too busy for its own good (no problem in good weather, as the garden is massive to soak up the customers). Secondly, it's a little pricey. Thirdly, the bar staff also seem to know that it's good and they don't try very hard. Seems to be a revolving door of bar staff. Their live music policy used to be good (saw the excellent Ta Mere there) but I can't work out what's going on any more. Don't discount this place but it is a notch down from when I first started going here 7 years ago.
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I like this pub, good service, handy for transport and nice Fullers beers although at the pricy end. Pity about Mr Petomane in the Gents doing his Trumpet Voluntary, as a very occasional visitor I do hope he isn't a "feature".
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Good pint but bloody expensive after the previous bars I was in.....
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A great pub but only after about 7pm when the parents drag their kids home to bed. Otherwise it's closer to a creche, particularly in the back garden.
Excellent selection of Fullers and guest ales plus some interesting bottled lagers (Brooklyn Lager, Kaastel Crug, etc.).
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Visited this pub Saturday evening, the staff seemed more interested in talking to each other rather than serving customers. Unfortunately our meals were cold, we asked for the manager, but they were too busy to see us, our replacement meals followed 20 minutes later, unfortunately my partners meal was still frozen in the middle, we told a member of staff the situation and we wished to cancel our order. We will nether return to this pub again, I have since noticed this pub has a very low rating with Scores on the Doors, I can fully understand this, such a shame used to be one of my favourites back in the 90's
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Fast becoming a favourite for us. Great beer (wide range of Fullers plus others), nice atmosphere, good food, efficient friendly young bar staff.
But loses a point for sticking a reserved sign on the coffee table by the fire - what IS that about?
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The "Loo's" (sic) in this place are ok. In additional to one set each of Ladies and Gents there some unisex ones although these can get in a bit of a state. Unfortunately after a recent run-in with some very rude and intimidating members of staff (not loo-related I hasten to add!) I'm not going back to this pub until I hear of a change in management.
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Lovely local boozer, but what's with the booking of nearly all the tables in the bar on Friday nights? Keep the locals happy and stick to just reserving tables in the dining area!
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Lovely pub. Really excellent range of draught Fullers beers and draught and bottled lagers. Busy, friendly, and well above avgerae food. A really top local.
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Glad to read that it doesn't appear to have changed much since I did my courting here in the 80s! Got engaged one evening after about 8 pints of Pride!! (Still going strong after 23 years)
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This is my local (used to live literally next door and now round the corner) and its a great pub overall. The re-fit a few years back did the place the world of good and the latest extension and sort out of the beer garden ahve improved it no end. Plenty of comfy seating inside (though the nights when big tables get reserved is a pain) and lots of room outside. Food is very good, though a bit pricey. Sure every pub will have some problems but mostly this place is excellent overall. And the late opening hours are very very useful!
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Very nice decor and welcoming without overdoing it staff. Beers as well kept as you'd expect from Fullers and the midnight opening a real bonus for a fellow who works late.
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I had mixed feelings about this place after the refurb. Long gone is the grubby public bar with the TV screen, and the partitions in the lounge bar which created lots of cosy drinking areas.
Now its all open plan, clean and shiny, with a matching clientele.
I'ts kind of grown on me, though. Although (In my humble opinion), The Plough has lost it's old character, it's new, more civilised one, isn't too bad either. It's still one of the best pubs in Ealing.
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I live in Northfields and while this is probably the furthest local pub from me it is my favourite. It�s not all sunshine and kittens (what is he talking about) butI like the Plough for a lot of different reasons.
The front of the pub is very much like a front room, lots of lamps, bookshelves and soft furnishings make it a very comfortable place for a drink. At the back there is a large dining area and is much more of a standard gastro pub affair. Past the dining area is a large beer garden with outdoor heaters and penned in climbing frame for the kids. The garden is great during the summer and in the winter due to the heaters and it�s so large that it�s unlikely that you�ll have to wait too long for a seat.
The Plough is the sort of place to come if you want a quiet drink or a chat with your mates. The pub is open until 12 most days and until 1 on Friday and Saturday making it a great place to wind down the night (unless you�re on a mad one). The patrons are pleasant and there�s normally a nice, low-key buzz about the place. The staff are all very friendly and are, on the whole, not bad at what they do. I�ve only had to have a go at a member of staff for shoddy service twice in the 4 years I�ve been drinking there (I�m an intolerant sod). The quiz night always pulls a crowd although it�s hard as pub quizzes go. There are a couple of regular quiz teams who ALWAYS win so if you want to take part please have the phrase �It�s not the winning but the taking part that counts� firmly in mind. Despite all that good stuff The Plough is a little impersonal, it�s unlikely that you�ll get chatting to anyone you didn�t walk in with and the staff, although professionally friendly, aren�t particularly chatty. I expect that sort of anonymity in an All Bar One but it is a little surprising in a Fuller�s pub like the Plough.
The bar has a good permanent selection of lager and a few that are rotated reasonably regularly although these tend to be continental lagers and weiss beers. Being a Fuller�s pub it has a respectable collection of beers (ales/bitters). The collection firmly enters �expansive� territory when you include the multitude of obscure bottled beers ranging from South African ciders to European fruit beers and on to beers you don�t find in every pub like Newcastle brown ale. The beers are very nice and the lagers are great, cold, clean and with plenty of life. I can�t comment on the quality of the wine list as I�ve never bought a bottle from the Plough but what I can tell you is that it�s reasonably long and the prices vary from cheap to quite expensive.
Despite the slightly gastro pub feel of the dining area I find the food to be surprisingly shoddy. I�ve eaten there on more occasions than I should have and, with the exception of the house burger (which isn�t the best to be had locally anyway), I�ve been unimpressed. My Jambalaya was insipid and watery, the haddock fishcakes were bland, under seasoned and had far to much potato in them, the vegetarian lasagna had no body, their wedges look like they�ve seen the fryer twice an night for the 3 nights they�ve been languishing in the kitchen and even their tuna mayo sandwich was poor as they clearly hadn�t drained the tuna properly leading to �slop in damp bead�. I�ve not tried the Sunday roast but I wouldn�t chance ruining an event like that by having it in the Plough.
A previous reviewer labeled the place as �pretentious� and I can only assume they�re one of those people with a class fixation. True there are a lot of middle class people around on the busier weeknights but they just keep to themselves like everyone else and the other drinkers are neither snooty nor socially intimidatory. Myself and my friends fall firmly into the �working class� category and the old boys who drink there were all tradesmen (growing up around Northfields meant I know most of them) so don�t let that previous comment put you off.
The place is, unfortunately, child friendly but either because the climbing frame if fenced off or because the area has many more established families (with no young children) than young ones the kids never become bothersome unlike a lot of other pubs/restaurants in Ealing.
The music is a mixture of lounge and jazzy/deep house and suits the overall relaxed atmosphere of the place. As was mentioned before the first and third Thursdays of the month are jazz nights and guarantee that the place will be filled to the rafters. As a fan of dance music and after numerous disappointing Jazz festivals I was initially skeptical about the jazz nights but the music is fantastic and it�s made that much better by having the music performed live by a set of well seasoned and charismatic (they often pick up the mic between songs) musicians.
All in all a great pub for people who've grown out of the whole 'going out and getting smashed' scene (although I do get plastered in there quite regularly).
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This is one of my favourite pubs in West London. The beer is top class and the range is wonderful. Great staff / food / ambiance. They've gone down the route of not putting TV's all over the pub which means you go there to socialise - not gawp at the goggle box. Nice change as everywhere else goes against this. Highly recommended.
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Great selection of spirits and lovely nut brown ales. Had a nice steak pie and read the paper, good polite young staff...highly recommended
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prentious, intimidating, full of middle class people, no life no atmosphere. However its ok during the day for a read of the newspaper and a quiet drink
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The plough has a gastro vibe to it and I wasn�t surprised to see signs up for the jazz nights on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, but it hasn�t totally lost the pub feel.
It has a pretty wide selection of lagers alongside Pride, Chiswick, ESB, Discovery with Honeydew and Fruli keg.
The friendly barmaid added to the comfortable feel and I�d imagine the quiz every Tuesday to be quite entertaining. There is also a beer garden out the back with a children�s play area.
In my opinion this would be a great pub for a relaxing couple of pints, but forget it if you�re up for having it large.
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Was more of a real pub before the refurb, good laugh, locals etc etc. Now just the same as most wine bar type places with no atmosphere.
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Went to this pubs a few years ago and it was dire, was served chili that tasted, and probably was, dog food. Since the refurb it's much improved. Really good open-plan layout, the food is nice and they've got a great beer garden. Ok, so it's got the same wooden floors/chalk board refit as most places, but it's better than crap food and stained carpets.
swizz - 17 Mar 2008 16:30 |
This pub strikes a good balance, nothing majorly exciting but pleasant venue for a pint and it has a nice atmosphere. The Chiswick ale is a good drop and reasonably priced.
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Really good pub - friendly staff, good beer and food. Family friendly and much better for food since smoking ban. regularly take friends and family at weekends and always get positive comments about the place. busy quiz night on Tuesdays.
much better than the Ealing Park Tavern. (average score seems to still be (unfairly) influenced by bad reviews pre-2005 refurb.)
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Great pub - really enjoyed my time in here. The jazz band were wonderful and although the pub was on the expensive side, it was lots of fun.
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A great pub with an excellent range of beers. The food is also nice. Not the cheapest pub in the wqorld though
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This is one of the best pubs by far!! Its a nice feel to the pub, friendly staff, nice locals. There Beer is fresh and cool, including Honey Dew which is lovely. Food is to die for and quiz a good laugh, open till late at night...what more could you ask for?
anonymous - 29 Mar 2007 18:34 |
Very good pub. It has stayed popular ever since it was done up 18 months ago. My freinds and family both go and have all good reports. Its nice to have something like this in Ealing so we dont have to travel further to get high standards. Only bad point is that its so busy sometimes you cant get a table. Wish they would extend it further back, especially as I am a smoker and would still like to come here when the ban comes this summer.
anonymous - 25 Feb 2007 14:33 |
This is a great pub. Beer's good, food's great (although service is a bit temperamental) and it's got a very welcoming atmosphere. Has become a real feature of the area. Much better than the massively over-rated Ealing Park Tavern round the corner.
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Went in on Saturday for the first time in about four years - couldn't believe how busy it was. As mentioned below the place has been refurbished since my last visit - I remember there being some lovely old glasswork panelling which has now unfortunately gone. Can't remember much else about the new decor though as I'd had one too many. Seems to now attract a younger crowd and the atmosphere seemed friendly. The beer was good and we got served quickly enough.
Swings and roundabouts.
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I love this pub. Me and my boyfriend go regularly for their beautiful food, the homemade chips are something that you should definatly try! It can sometimes be tricky to find a table but apart from that this place is great, definatly a favourite.
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This is a pub which is alot bettr than it used to be, the roughians that vacated this pub before the refurb were dodgy scummers. it had a great first year as me and my girl friends you to go every week, and now its still not bad but maybe lost its touch, or maybe other pubs have had to step up to the mark to compete. the quiz is popular on a tuesday although bring back the guy who used to do it...alot more fun, and pleasing on the eye shal we say!
anonymous - 30 Sep 2006 15:35 |
Used to be alright before the refurb, a proper pub, now just another typical atmosphere lacking pub, aimed at city types returning from work etc.
anonymous - 18 Sep 2006 20:18 |
Nice little pub for a summer evening drink, with a large beer garden out the back. Nice cold beer, and not bad prices either.
The food is pretty awful though, the steak although reasonably priced was like hacking through tyres and was incorrectly cooked by the "new chef", the pasta special was anything but special, and half of the rest of the menu was unavailable. Eat before you go.
Nothing spectacular here, if it wasnt for the beer garden and cold beer, i wouldn't bother.
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Never a good word to say about The Plough! I've never had a good experience there. I find the staff to be rather dismissive and off-hand, the food is dreadful (and expensive!) and the pub seriously lacks in any kind of atmosphere. I would not recommend this pub to anyone.
anonymous - 22 May 2006 09:37 |
I visited after hearing about the pub from a few other Mums. Went with a friend and our kids on a Friday lunchtime. Absolutely loved it! Really lovely garden bar, great play area, loads of space for kids to play and run around. We sat down and enjoyed our drinks while our kids took care of themselves. It's all enclosed so no worries about kids disappearing. Lovely food, kids enjoyed it. Great that it has parking. Only comment is that if they go to all the trouble of having a play area in the garden, then they should have a children's menu. Otherwise, I think that you will find us there alot this summer!
anonymous - 16 May 2006 21:44 |
Interesting range of bottled beers, yes, nice atmosphere now, shame that there were kids running about all over the place however.
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since the refurbishment in july 05, the threatening atmosphere has been removed, any dodgy types have been barred and the place gets very busy; especially with the later licensing (til 12:30) on friday and saturday nights, and for the gorgeous sunday lunches. staff are friendly and helpful, the non-smoking 'restaurant' and conservatory at the back are excellent for families and for cosy nights in front of the fire, the changing list of specials is excellent. the range of beers is also interesting and new, and seems to keep expanding every few months. the transformation from a smoky london boozer to a warm and friendly local pub is a wonderful change for locals and visitors alike!
anonymous - 13 Mar 2006 01:42 |
They've recently re-opened and I think it's great inside. It's got a friendly and relaxed feel, and seems much less smokey than before. Was in on a Sunday afternoon, but didn't notice any cliquey types. They advertise that they have the largest selection of beers in Ealing - definatley worth going to have a look.
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Currently closed for refurbishment till mid - July. Based on some of the previous comments, let's hope there's a better atmosphere when it reopens
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Very, very threatening atmosphere and occasionally violent
anonymous - 22 Apr 2005 09:11 |
This place sux big time. Oh dear.
anonymous - 15 Dec 2004 16:59 |
Unfortunately, Dean (the possible rejuvenator of this pub) was moved by Fullers a few months ago (despite the requests of the decent customers within the pub).
This pub is now usually empty (as many 'normal' customers have gone elsewhere), apart from a braying crowd whenever football is on.
The very few staff (aged from 18-21) now concentrate on asking people to leave within 2 minutes of serving them at closing time.
The last 4 managers were asked by Fullers to reduce the 'Threatening Influence' within the pub. Alas, myself and many others will not set foot in the place again.
If it wasn't listed, then this place would become a great block of flats, and be more attractive as well.
Ignore my feedback from below, as Dean was the best manager they never had.
anthony2 - 19 Apr 2004 00:56 |
Very cliquey
John Soames - 31 Dec 2003 12:31 |
Fortunately, Dean (the excellent assistant manager) is about to get his chance to take over this place (in the next day or two). The pub itself has been in the doldrums for years - a succession of managers has failed to sort out a seemingly terminal decline.
The news that Dean is taking over has been welcomed by many (including those who have deserted the place) - he's already proved to be 'Hands-On' at the Plough and when left in charge, the food has been excellent (he's a trained chef). He's also very friendly to all of the public, and not just a particular clique (which other managers seemed to get involved with).
Looking forward to a much better pub. Good to see that Fuller's are putting someone that the customers want in charge, rather than another transient management team.
anthony2 - 11 Sep 2003 13:06 |
The Plough has gone downhill rapidly since Dolores left. The food especially is poor. The sausages I was served as part of the bangers and mash dish I ordered (on the basis that they can't get that wrong) were clearly pre-cooked and (partially) warmed up.
The rest of us had over-cheesed pasta bake.
The "award winning" pub garden now resembles a disused playground, which is what it is. The swing and seesaws have been stripped out (why? but not the rubber crash mats (ditto).
1/10
John Wilson - 8 Sep 2003 11:07 |
Fullers pub. Excellent food especially Sunday roasts. Large beer garden. Warm atmosphere
arturo_morales - 19 Mar 2003 13:11 |
