A period of 119 days had elapsed between Gourmand Gunno’s previous pub visit and his most recent one, earlier this week. At no other stage in his life did your author have to wait so long between pints. The return – with the most recent lockdown now lifted – was therefore very welcome. Four months is a long wait by anyone’s standards, even if the reasons for it were evident. It is hard also not to spare a thought for all those in the hospitality industry whose lives have been put even more on hold than those of their customers. Anyway, it’s good to be back. Sure, shuttered pubs (and restaurants) could be considered very much a first-world problem, particularly when significantly bigger issues have been at stake recently. Further, the wonders of the online world have meant that it’s been possible to order in almost every style of food and drink since the pandemic began. Nonetheless, there remains something very basic and elemental about eating somewhere with some atmosphere and that’s not your own home. Even if man is currently a socially distanced animal (to misquote Aristotle), the sheer presence of others doing a similar thing to you, reasonably close to you, is both comforting and reassuring. Simple pleasures we almost took for granted in the past are now – perhaps rightly – more treasured.
The Union Tavern has been an on-and-off haunt of Gourmand Gunno’s for almost two decades. Even if it’s not the best pub in the area (and one that has indeed gone through many iterations over this period), it does have a wonderful outdoor space. It’s classic London; a crazy juxtaposition of all the things that make the city so diverse. Ducks float placidly by on the Grand Union canal while vehicles roar over the Westway. Look one way and there’s greenery; look the other and you see the brutalist Trellick Tower. Our group had niftily pre-booked a table for the third lunchtime post-lockdown ending and revelled in the whole occasion. Even the sun came out. Food-wise, modern but fairly generic trendy pub fare would be the most apt description. The likes of squid and halloumi sit comfortably alongside pies and burgers. It was all executed competently but in a far from mind-blowing manner. Ale enthusiasts certainly do very well here, with the Union offering a broad range of 20+ beers from brewers across the country, albeit with a London bias. Expect to pay around £20 for a main dish and a pint. No, it was not the best meal I have ever eaten, and the lunch may not even go down as a truly memorable experience, but it’s certainly good to be back. Let’s raise a glass to a welcome return. Watch this space for more new reviews too.