WHEN I think of time machines the ones that immediately spring to mind are Doc Brown's DeLorean, Dr Who's Tardis and Nicholas Lyndhurst's dodgy East End alley.

Now there's another one to add to this list, Earl's Court's very own Evans and Peel Detective Agency.

Located in a quiet side street, Evans and Peel lies incognito behind a single door, its name etched onto frosted glass in a film noir style font

After buzzing to enter, you head down a staircase into a dimly lit underground reception room, where the sharply dressed maître d/detective is coolly sat, legs up on the desk, arms behind his head.

Confirming your appointment - note, it's definitely an appointment not a booking - you're taken through a bookcase doorway where you're immediately hurtled through time stepping foot into a 1920s speakeasy.

The fact that its so hidden away adds to its charm, which it has an abundance of with vintage decor, dossier style menus and wireless radios playing pre-war blues.

After being shown to our table my girlfriend and I were greeted by a dapperly dressed cocktail expert, who regaled us with an encyclopedic knowledge of not just the menu but the history of 1920s drinks in general.

Having scoured the extensive list we decided on the gin based Auntie May's Marmalade Bronx, which is a nod to the famous Bronx cocktail, reputedly the first to use fruit juice and the Carib Willy, a rum based Daiquiri made famous by author Ernest Hemingway

As we moved onto the second page of the dossier, we gazed at the bar and the fantastic attention to detail that had been bestowed on it.

The tiles had been chipped away to give it a run down, underground feel and located behind the bar was an index card filing cabinet, that wouldn't look out of place in say, a detective agency, which is used for storing appointments.

The Carib Willy was delicious and potent, the rum blending nicely with the coconut water to provide a refreshing, if slightly lethal first drink and the quirky Marmalade Bronx was both tangy and bitter and came served in an antique looking cup and saucer, intended to harbour the contraband within.

The food menu, as expected, contained classic American dishes such as macaroni and cheese, pulled pork and fritters.

The idea being that you have a few small plates to accompany the sliders, which are rolls filled with a variety of fillings, all of which have been smoked in the venue's very own custom built smoker called the flapper.

Now, don't be fooled into thinking that because its an American eatery that you'll be provided with gargantuan portions, because you won't.

Instead when your order arrives, it's more a of a selection of smaller plates, which actually turn out to be deceptively filling and more than enough.

We opted for the mac and cheese, the spicy corn on the cob wheels and the smoked goats cheese fritter and maple syrup.

The mac and corn are as you would expect; the cheese creamy and not too overpowering and the corn well seasoned and cut into small segments to save you the usual indignity that comes when eating corn on the cob.

But the real revelation was the fritter, the juxtaposition of sweet and savoury beautifully executed with the goats cheese melting in your mouth. It was absolutely amazing.

The two meat sliders came in the form of the smoked pulled pork in the Delta Dog and smoked peppery pastrami in the Lower Eastside Deli.

The pork slider was accompanied with an apple compote which complimented the tender and succulent cuts of meat and the Deli slider was topped off with dill mustard and pickle which created a wonderfully flavoursome mouthful.

However I felt that the fish and vegetable option were slightly better.

In the Alaskan Haul, the salmon really benefited from spending time in the flapper as it had a nice rich taste especially when topped off with the red onion and caper hollandaise and in the Wildcard, a juicy roasted pepper was coated with a smoked houmous which provided a welcome kick.

While ordering desert we were informed that the main focus of Evans and Peel is to move away from the image of ego ridden cocktail bars by creating a fun and unique venue.

As they don't take walk ins, the staff are able to give a more personable service which even includes making drinks to order.

After choosing the cheesecake, which as you may guess also came smoked and was oddly delicious, I decided to try the radiator moonshine, a hops based beer which was poured directly from a radiator which I thought was a great touch.

As I mentioned before the attention to detail in Evans and Peel is staggering, although you won't remember it as an overwhelming culinary experience, you will remember it as an experience.

Evans and Peel isn't a theme restaurant, it's more like a tip of the hat to the era, the staff are not 1920s caricatures, but they are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

A wonderful and slightly surreal experience, but one I would thoroughly recommend.