Princess Victoria serves up a right royal feast

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All your favourite gastropubs rolled into one: that's the Princess Victoria. Most "charming" old boozers tend to be dark, cramped Dickensian dens, comfortably seating all of three drinkers and a dog. But this one began as a grand old gin palace in 1829 and is anything but poky. The dining and bar areas both boast magnificent high ceilings and generous light wells. There are unique period touches: a herb garden, a huge antique sideboard and, alarmingly, many stuffed animal heads, but slate-grey walls and clean lines lend a welcome pareddown, modern feel.

The menu is also a pleasing mix of old and new. My date's £13.50 threecourse deal began with a clean, crisp, chilled watercress soup - freshly made. I went for butcher's brawn terrine (£7.50), made, my waitress said, of compressed pigs' muscles. Actually it tasted like a thick hunk of cold roast beef and I couldn't get enough of it. Full marks to a chef doing something different. You had to applaud the flair of the mains, too. My friend's coriander marinated chicken came with crispy pineapple salad and my sensational pan-fried sea trout linguine (£13) had a creamy sauce decorated with pea shoots and girolle mushrooms. Puds (£5) were a seasonal treat: a light rhubarb fool and a sticky Jamaican ginger cake with tartly poached rhubarb ice cream.

The Vic's only downside is it's a bit of a schlep from Shepherd's Bush. But with fab wines to match the food once you arrive there's no urge to leave.

The Princess Victoria
Uxbridge Road, London, W12 9DH