Dinner in the Villiers Terrace

[Adrian Essex]

Had dinner in the Villiers Terrace on Saturday evening and came away with mixed feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed the food. My beetroot salad was nicely presented and combined a variety of happily complementary tastes. The grilled sea bass was better than good enough and set off well on a bed of beans and tonatoes with just enough spice to maintain interest. I was told that the vodka and vanilla salmon was also good.
But I was disappointed not to have the option of at least one real ale from draught, and had to make do with Hoegaarden, which has become almost as much of a staple as Guinness in many pubs. There's no shame in being either Hoegaarden or Guinness but there's no great honour either.
And the decor throughout the pub is perhaps just a little too eclectic. The faux-log bar-front (also visible in Pizza Bella) is definitely not my taste, and the main thing the pictures hung on the perhaps a little too extravagnat floral wallpaper in the conservatory room have in common is the absence of a theme.