Old Fire Station, Brentford  

The Old Fire station is the closest thing Brentford has to a trendy drinking spot. It's not the only pub in London which sits in converted fire station - and is arguably the best of them - but it does suffer from a number of issues. First off, from the exterior, it's an undeniably pretty building. Dating from the turn of the century, it's clear fire engines were smaller in the Edwardian era. Inside, though, it's a little less interesting. Split into two levels the downstairs decor is modern and slick, which feels rather out of place in both terms of the exterior and it's general location. Cocktails are the flavour of the day (and there were a lot of tempting concoctions) rather than the beer, while food is also served. Attempting to bring the West End to the outskirts of London can often fall flat and although they do a decent enough job here, we didn't really warm to it - the relative lack of custom on our Saturday evening visit did somewhat dull the overall atmosphere for us.