The Curtains Up is a well known Barons Court pub and it is also a watering hole I have used on a few occasions breaks rain breaks at the annual Queen's Club tennis tournament, which is held just across the road, spending some happy hours over a pint with great friends from New Zealand who regularly visit to attend the famous pre-Wimbledon tournament.

On one particularly wet Saturday in June, and with little hope of any play, I remember us all indulging in a particularly good burger and a bottle of Rose (well it might actually have been two), so I had reasonably high hopes of some decent food when I visited the gastro pub, which is part of the successful Geronimo chain, for a midweek supper in early December.

The Curtains Up is in fact more than just your average west London boozer as the name may suggest. It's also home to the popular Barons Court Theatre Club, who for the past 16 years have tread the boards downstairs in the cellar/vaults staging many successful productions.

'Shabby chic' at The Curtains Up
'Shabby chic' at The Curtains Up

Like most Geronimo pubs I have visited The Curtains Up, which had a refurbishment earlier in the year, follows the same shabby chic design principal, which is generally pleasing to the eye, relaxed and comfortable. In the separate restaurant area there are rustic wooden tables and chairs, stripped furnishings and colourful prints, some comfortable deep arm chairs and banquettes down either side. Attractive mirrors and pieces of art are dotted around along with eye catching wallpaper displaying a variety of different hot air balloons. There is also a large cast iron feature fireplace, but unfortunately on the night we visited it was not in use so we missed out on sitting by a roaring log fire.

The menu is sensibly concise and offers fairly standard gastro pub fare with a number of hearty British favourites included and other tempting choices including daily specials to make it interesting enough for most diners' tastes.

Theatre is never far away at The Curtains Up
Theatre is never far away at The Curtains Up

Fiona started with the goat's cheese and red onion jam tart with a pickled walnut salad (£6.95), which more than delivered on taste and expectation. The pastry was light and crumbly and the filling of well flavoured cheese creamy and tangy jam made for a tasty start to the evening.

I was left somewhat disappointed with my panko crumb soft shell crab on a bed of leaves with a soya and ginger dressing (£8.95). While the crab with its coating of Japanese-style breadcrumbs was nice, the dish was spoilt by the kitchen being rather heavy handed with the disappointing soya heavy dressing which overpowered the plate and spoilt the effect of the Asian influenced dish.

However, I had no complaints with my main of pan fried sea bream (£13.35) which was a good piece of fish with a lovely crispy skin and soft flesh. It came with a generous portion of smooth well seasoned mustard mash, a champagne sauce which sat well the fish and well cooked seasonal brussel spouts which added a touch of vibrancy to a plate of flavoursome food.

Tasty steak
Tasty steak

Fiona was equally happy with her very tender and perfectly cooked to order medium rare char grilled Cote de Boeuf (£21.50). It was a well seasoned piece of meat and came served with crispy flavoursome hand cut chips, the obligatory watercress and a decent bearnaise sauce. The empty plate at the end said everything about a simple, well executed main course, of which quite rightly the steak was the star turn.

We enjoyed large glasses of a very agreeable French Ardeche Louis Latour Chardonnay 2013 (£8) and a robust Château Lescalle Bordeaux Superior 2010 (£9.30), perfect to drink with the steak.

Sadly for pud lovers I can't pass comment on the desserts on offer as we were just too full to sample those on the menu but, the flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (£5.95) and apricot and pear tart tartin (£5.50) looked pretty tempting choices to perhaps try on a future visit.

Service was well paced and the staff friendly and efficient and some lively background music added to the buzz of the place which like so many Geromino pubs offers the perfect package of good food and drink in pleasant comfortable surroundings. Hopefully there will not be any rain breaks at Queen's in 2015 but if there is then it's quite likely The Curtains Up could come in very handy again as a meeting up place for us and our Kiwi friends.