I'm not sure what more I expected from Gordon Ramsay's new gastropub - a reality TV crew crouched in the corner? The honey-tongued chef himself bellowing eff-this and eff-that from the kitchen?

I guess it was a certain celebrity sparkle. On reflection, I found this to be exactly what it should be: a pleasingly unpretentious converted Chiswick boozer, serving superior, but pleasingly simple, pub grub.

A spacious front parlour scattered with cosy armchairs boasts two original fireplaces - ahh, we all like a nice fire don't we? That said, the chocolate brown open-plan dining section was so roasting I felt like part of my own Sunday lunch. Executive chef Mark Sargeant's winter warmer menu relishes old school British dishes. My monster hoard of soft herring roes on toast (£5.50) defeated me, despite their succulence. Luckily my sister went for the Cromer crab with fennel, apple and watercress (£7.50), a refreshing but slightly blah starter that left her "ready for my pie".

We thought the glazed brioche crust was a delicate, if oddly poncey touch, but the bizarre disappointment (if you can call it that) of her Hereford beef in ale pie (£11.50) was that it was all killer no filler, ie all meat and barely a teaspoon of yummy gravy (only in a Ramsay pub could the filler be more meagre than the choice meat). My brave choice of rich braised Gloucester pig's cheeks with mashed neeps (£11) was offally good - they tasted like the best spare ribs ever.

As we ordered a classic bread and butter pudding (£4.50), we realised that the long hack back through the rainy roads of Chiswick suddenly seemed a digestive necessity.

We were surprised to be proudly told that the menu changes "every few weeks", since most rival joints refresh them daily. But otherwise, service was young, eagerbeaver, super-friendly and efficient as you'd expect, given the tongue-lashings meted out to the waiting staff numpties on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Indeed, though you get the sneaking suspicion the boss man himself may have barely graced the threshold of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd's latest promising acquisition with his presence, you are confident that if he did, like us, he'd effing well like what he saw.