Taking a Chance in sunny SW6

This review was published in August 2002

Instead of using numerals, the clock face on the tower above this massive Victorian pub spells out the name 'Halfway House' - a one-time reference point indicating that this pub is halfway between the town centres of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Until recently it was known as the Front Room, an enterprise that made a promising start back in 1999 but quickly spiralled into oblivion under a management tactic that I can only describe as gross neglect. (A similar fate fell to its sister-site on the Fulham Road). Now, a first-time operator has taken a chance on the place and reopened it as the Chancery.

This is a vast venue, with what was once probably three of four separate rooms now free of structural interruption, and surrounding a large island bar. The furniture - as is the trend these days - includes a mix of butcher's block tables, old-fashioned squashy leather furnishings and rickety old tables and chairs.

But since its 'soft' opening (without any fuss or launch party) a few weeks ago, it has been doing a healthy trade with local Fulhamites who, until now, have had few quality venues on their doorsteps. They serve Adnams bitter and Charles Well's Bombardier bitter, along with the usual range of lagers.

And the lunch and dinner menu includes snacks of spicy Thai chicken skewers (£4.95), and mains of bacon and pak choi tortellini (£9.50) and sirloin steak with saut?ed potatoes (£11). Worth checking out.

The Front Room
316 Lillie Road, SW6 7PS