Princess Victoria, 217 Uxbridge Road

We had been so desperate to escape from Acton, we hadn't really paid much attention to where we were going. A long walk in the freezing cold past closed pubs and general desolation had broken our spirits. The occassional bus going the other way to Hays Bypass began to look like an increasingly attractive option. So we were overjoyed to finally see a pub that was open and looked to have some kind of atmosphere.

After such a long trek, it should have been easy to fall in love with this pub, in fact any pub. It was warm, it was busy, it served some real ales and it has won an award (Time Out's best gastropub 2008 if you're wondering). The large food guzzling bit of the pub is separate from the drinking area so, unlike some gastropubs, it's possible to have a drink without feeling pressured into buying something to eat. But even so, we managed to spot a few problems. The bar prices are astronomical, with the food prices matching those of expensive restaurants (with a menu containing items that only a restaurant critic would have any inkling what they were). Crisps are available for the credit-squeezed, although they are hidden away, presumably to lull the unsuspecting punter into buying poncily named bar snacks instead.

Then there's the people. You may have heard a little about the looming recession, may even be experiencing it first hand. There's a chill in the air, not just from the Arctic winds blasting through the country. But you'd never have guessed it from visiting the Princess Victoria. Everybody was looking very pleased with themselves, as if they were above all of this doom and gloom. Perhaps they are or perhaps it's just escapism. Perhaps, like us, they were just happy to have found an open pub in this wasteland between Acton and Shepherds Bush.

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