The Eagle

215 Askew Road, Shepherd’s Bush W12 9AZ

Open up the door to your imagination and realise the inevitability of the future. Picture a place not too dissimilar to Islington, Clapham or Westbourne Park where young, culturally-developed people whittle away Sunday afternoons at their local, yawning, stretching, gorging on gastro grub and generally spilling a variety of well-known beers across their broadsheets. This is Geronimo Inns’ futuristic vision of Ravenscourt Park, hence the addition of pub number 22 to their portfolio. These chaps are well versed in the dark arts of the publican. In 2007 they won the Evening Standard Pub of the Year award with Mile End’s Morgan Arms, plus they were gifted the Catey Pub and Bar award in 2008.

The Eagle is instantly recognisable as a Geronimo fledgeling and were it not so trite one might be inclined to say something like ‘The Eagle has landed’ at this juncture. For a start, there’s bookshelves everywhere. They’re all over the shop, dormantly laden with both real and faux reading material. This is common practice with Geronimo and The Eagle has all the usual markings: hulking wine list; separate dining area; objet d’art scattered throughout; and a healthy obsession with stylish lampshades, modern art, Chesterfield armchairs and mirrors which exude the allusion of expanse (not that The Eagle needs it). Added to these are the uniquely-Eagle accoutrements: an open coal fire; a head full of wifi; and a plasma TV NOT connected to Sky and therefore mostly, and so thankfully, turned off.

The overall atmosphere is as laid-back as a pride of lions in slacks. The entrance side is more inclined towards large scale banter, the far side near the men’s loos conducive to secluded board games and intimate liaisons. The designers obviously had a long, drawn-out autumnal encounter with the Dulux dog as the colour scheme is both warm and subtle. Think obstinate ochre, purposeful pea green, tactful taupe, and melancholy mud.

To quench the palate there’s a big man’s-handful of beers on tap and a wine list that goes the whole nine yards. In fact, it’s gone the whole nine yards and then done a lap of honour just for good measure with its creator, John Clevely, doing a jig along the way. He’s a Master of Wine, you know, and they’re the Jedis of the wine world: rare and omniscient.

Towards the rear is the restaurant where traditional British comfort food of the ‘chorizo, black pudding & quails egg salad’ school of thought is served. Here you’ll discover an anorexic menu that is really, really, really, really, really, really.....average. Really. Which is unusual for Geronimo. They are the Lewis Hamilton of pub dining but at The Eagle they’ve started off in pole position then careened round the first corner, clunked a wing and ended up fastly approaching a brick wall head-first.

There are many websites on the t’internet that actively encourage the use of the word ‘moist’ but Fluidfoundation isn’t one of them. Not when we’re talking about food, that is. The mash is wet. The crab on toast is damp. The lamb with anchovy relish is stodgy. The deep-fried mushrooms are clammy. The sea bass with fennel puree is soggy, but then that should be. Potatoes? Mum could’ve done better. Greens? Veer very much on the yellow side of green. The desserts therefore trump the ‘which course is best’ competition, especially with the hazelnut and muscavado tart. So far, so decidedly ordinary.

But wait for the pièce de résistance, the masterpiece of merriment, the grace that doth save: the garden. If this were a visit to the movies, everything thus far would just be trailers. Once you step into the quiet, Alice In Wonderland garden you’re now experiencing the main feature. This garden has private function written all over it. You may feel the urge to ‘perambulate’ along the new paving, in an old-fashioned sort of way, passing the pillar-like trees, the sturdy granite alfresco-dining tables and the outdoor summer bar. The tidy lawn begs for a croquet set and the caste iron street lamps add antiquity to its edges. On ye go to the swinging picnic benches, amusingly shaped like a train set.

Ravenscourt, Ravenscourt, come in Ravenscourt. Hello, is anyone out there?!! No, not yet. So for now The Eagle will have to make do with locals and nearby media offices for custom. It’s such a LONG way from anything that looks remotely like public transport.
In essence, extraordinary garden: check. Quick and courteous service: check. Inspiring interior: check. Adequate gastro fuel: check. Mediocre, middle-of-bleeding-nowhere location: check. A future left waiting for the world to catch up: most definitely.