The Commoners love Parade

It has been some considerable time since Ealing Common had something to shout about. There's an All Bar One, but you can hardly call that shouting, and there's a J D Wetherspoon pub on the eastern end of the Common. But apart from these, the area hasn't prospered at all when it comes to being catered for by the hospitality industry - a genuine surprise considering the well-heeled denizens who live on the 'Common' side of the borough.

But all of this is set to change now that Parade has pride of place at the end of a row of shops on The Mall. It is a startlingly modern, extravagant-looking venue with a Tardis-like interior. The front half is a dedicated bar area, which opens at 6pm and is closed on Sundays. The restaurant area sits at the back, and is open for lunch and dinner but is also closed on Sunday evenings.

The stark white walls and bright lighting mean the atmosphere can be a little chilly on a lame Monday evening in winter when the place is less than half full, but later on in the week, when Ealing folk let down their hair and come out to play, Parade is a much more enjoyable place to relax over the odd cocktail or three.

The bar has been designed for intimate gatherings rather than the hordes of ragamuffins who seem to frequent the other venues around these parts. Several uniformly positioned rows of tables and chairs would lend more to an examination room than a decadent bar, but what cheers this place up enormously is the fact the staff seem to have been liberated from the shackles of the corporate giants (perhaps they were foreign or, more likely, trained in-house) by giving a warm greeting on arrival, offering table service throughout and generally appearing to enjoy their jobs.

Which was just dandy for us as we were settling down for a few hours to work our way through the cocktail list, which includes all the classics such as a Manhattan, a Cosmopolitan, and a Margarita (all £5.50 - prices reach no higher than £7 for a champagne cocktail with cognac and Grand Marnier). Before 8pm you can get two cocktails for the price of one.

The bottled beers of Budvar (£2.75) and Hoegaarden (£3) are also available, and there's a short selection of global wines by the glass, but oenophiles might want to ask for the restaurant wine list, which is much more comprehensive.

We left Ealing sated and safe in the knowledge that the 'Common' people now have a grown-up place with very grown-up drinks.

Parade, 18 The Mall, W5 (020 8810 0202)