Right move at the Junction

During festival season the weekends often end with a powerful need for what we in the hedonism game call 'soft landings'. You return, grubby inside and out, with plans to get some sleep and make a concerted return to normal life.

But, having spent the past 48 hours or so in a field with 2,000 of your closest friends, going home alone is scary. This is a good time to seek the secure environment of an English pub.

It was under these circumstances that I coerced slightly soiled friends along to the Junction Tavern. They did not want their first square meal since Thursday to be rough, so I had to do some work. I gambled, promising them blindly that the food was good.

Chef Nick Fraser Stansbie did not disappoint. Gazpacho was thick, textured, delicate with the vinegar and garlic, and full of rich tomato ripeness. Smoked mackerel was not the finest example, but by no means bad, but combined with the grated beetroot salad, the celeriac remoulade and the creamy horseradish it was just spot-on, a satisfying plate of happy food. The Parma ham was sweet, but came with a nasty, hard, overbeaten chorizo tortilla. One bum note ain't bad for fivequid starters.

A supple-like-itshould-be confit duck leg with braised puy lentils and spinach came with a tarragon dressing that did some sharp and sexy moves with the fatty meat. A lovely plate of food. Grilled fillet of salmon with warm new potatoes and a sweet broad-bean salad needs no explaining - the perfect summer dish.

Puddings ranged from an inspired Pedro Ximenez (the delicious, date-like sherry) cheesecake to a joyless apple tart: floppy apples, pallid, flannel-like pastry. Largely, though, food here is bang-on.

What else? Wood-panelled walls give the space a strong, distinguished presence and there's a large garden and heated conservatory. There are three well-kept real ales on imaginatively stocked taps and the wine list has enjoyable wines.

We went for an elegant and delicate chilled Brouilly and a £14 Viognier, which gave big bang for reasonable bucks. I love Viognier. I know its not posh but it has easiness whether it's fat, fruity Aussie or dry, snooty French - it's Chardonnay without the footballers' wives.

The Junction Tavern
101 Fortess Road, NW5 1AG