Belvedere, Acton  

From the flurry of excited newspaper articles which accompanied the opening of the Belvedere - described as London's first Polish pub - you'd be forgiven to think it might feel something like a Polish pub. Then we discovered it's owned by Laurel Pub company - home of Yates's and Ha! Ha! Canteen - and we realised why it didn't. The decor is bog standard pub chain territory - modern, bland and forgettable, while the dominating drinks include Carling and Guinness. On the food side of things, the menu is filled with distinctly un-Polish fare like Cajun Chicken and Asian Prawns. OK, we're being slightly unfair - there's a couple of standard Polish beers to sup, while a token handful of Polish specialities can be found on the blackboard, but frankly it's a half-arsed effort. Sure, there's some Polish staff here, but that's not exactly the preserve of the Belvedere. London boasts three or four Eastern European watering holes, but this isn't one of them. One day we hope review a genuine Polish freehouse, rather than simply reporting on the exploits of a pub company which seems to be claiming the glory with something that feels remarkably like a contrived cash-in.

reviewed:
24/11/2007

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late opening

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