Hammersmith's new Hit

I am sure it wasn't without reason that town planners elevated the A4 over central Hammersmith. If they had visitors' interests in mind when they diverted traffic away from this libationary and gastronomic desert, they were doing society a service.

The relatively recent arrival of the new Broadway retail mall and transport interchange brought little in the way of hope - the lamentable branded operations of Bar 38 and Edward's take pride of place facing the traffic-choked roundabout surrounding the island complex.

When the new Hit - and, yes, I, too, was looking for the letter 's' at the beginning of the name - opened a few months ago, it brought a kernel of hope to the hitherto neglected denizens of Hammersmith. I say this armed with the knowledge that the proprietors, Murray Harris and Harvey Simpson, have already transformed the fortunes of a once gloomy pub, the Bridge on Castlenau in Barnes, into an all-pleasurable experience.

The Hit, a short walk from the Broadway along Shepherd's Bush Road, looks like a small retail unit from the outside, but the long, narrow bar area leads into a spacious, double-height room, subtly decorated with dark hues and low-level lighting and furnished with brown leather banquettes and formal dining-style furniture. This place has been designed with the comfort of the customer in mind. The big space at the back is used as a brasserie during the day, and a lounge bar in the evenings - an order of evolution I chose to follow.

At lunch the menu promised many delights in the form of salads, wrap-sandwiches, burgers and fish dishes. A single egg Benedict and a single egg Florentine (£3.95 each) were fabulous. My Friday favourite of beer-battered cod, chips and mushy peas turned out to be a couple of lightly battered cod slivers with spicy-coated fries and a mint puree - disappointing. The fries are supplied in unnatural abundance on all the sandwich dishes.

When I returned in the evening, the restrained crowd of office workers had been replaced by a young, good-looking crowd of folk, chilling out to the gentle, unobtrusive tunes from the sound system. (My spies tell me that Saturday night gigs with live DJs are particularly hip, and make this the ultimate pre-clubbing destination before a night at Hammersmith Palais.)

Bottled beers of Budwar, Asahi, Corona, Becks and Hoegaarden are offered, but the must-do-immediately thing at Hit is to while away a few valuable hours exploring the cocktail list. At a fiver a throw, you can't go wrong, and there's little margin for error in this well-crafted, stupendous collection of classic and contemporary drinks. The wine list is adequate, but it includes the howler La Croix Blanc, which, at £11.50, is £11.49 too much. The best in the lower-price range of white wines is the South African 2002 False Bay sauvignon blanc at £13. Similarly, with the reds you might want to opt for a French 2001 La Serre (£14), an interesting merlot from the Languedoc region.

I will go back. I like cheery, good-looking places that are good value for money. Hit is running several paces ahead of the local trend, and a venue that breeds this much optimism must surely herald the arrival of Hammersmith as an eating and drinking destination.

Hit
14A The Broadway, Shepherd's Bush Road, Hammersmith, W6 7AL