Fabulous service, wonderful food

I was once in a pub where, when the waitress delivered the food to our table, we asked to be replenished with drinks. She explained in great detail her reasons for being there and that fetching and carrying drinks was not one of them. Fair enough. A little irritating, though, given that I had to let my food go cold while I waited at the bar and the same waitress was trying to make ringlets with her finger in strands of her hair.

I was once in another pub where, after ordering a hot dinner at the bar, the plate of food arrived at my table only seconds after I had returned from the bar. A little worrying, I know, especially given the fact that meat was involved. I simply should have known better. At the risk of furnishing you with information you don't need to know, the food left my body almost as quickly as it entered.

The reason I am relaying these stories is the same reason I was so hesitant in visiting The Pilot - the owners of which also operate the two offending venues detailed above. But that was all some time ago. I haven't been back to either venue since but, in the interests of fairness (and a certain amount of cajoling from a work mate), I headed off to the far-flung fields of Gunnersbury.

The Pilot is handsomely proportioned and nicely accoutred. Having just come out of a major refurbishment it demonstrates some restraint on the design front with a simple bare-boards approach and sports just a hint of elegance in the decor. There's a very pleasant beer garden at the back, and another building beyond the garden that is currently being kitted out for use as a private dining room.

Pumps dispensing Adnams Extra and Wadworth 6X greeted us on our arrival, which is always a grand sight. But we took advantage of the table service and a seemingly endless stream of perfectly prepared vodka and tonics - you'd be surprised how easy it is to get such a simple drink wrong. Starters on the menu included a smoked haddock with spinach, cr?me fra?che and pecorino gratin (£5.50), and a chicken liver pate (£5.50). I boringly chose the white onion soup with rarebit cro?te (£3.95) which turned out to be a triumph - thick, creamy and mildly infused with chives.

From the main courses of mussels and frites (£9), chargrilled bavette steak (£10) and baked sea trout (£10.50), I was once again triumphant in my choice of treacle-cured bacon with Lyonnaise potatoes, a free range egg, green beans and a mustard sauce (£8.50). A better dish will be hard to find - a point endorsed by my friends Pete and Jane who wouldn't leave my plate alone.

All of this was wolfed down with perhaps too many bottles of pinot grigio (£17.50) and Catena Lunlata Argentine Malbec (£25) - wines start at £10 per bottle, albeit for a La Croix, and rise to no more than £29.50. We returned home from this fantastic new inn contented.

The only concern I had, given that my cover had been blown, was the attentiveness of the serving staff who seemed to be in super-efficient mode. So I asked some friends who live over that way to check it out for themselves. 'Fabulous service,' they reported. 'And such wonderful food. Thanks so much for the tip, we're going to be making it our regular from now on.'

The Pilot
56 Wellesley Road, W4 4BZ