The ongoing redevelopment of the old BBC TV Centre and surrounds is an impressive thing for hungry and thirsty Londoners… and a very odd thing for those of us over 50. We – probably forever – will associate the address with Swap Shop, that dance routine from Record Breakers and “answer on a postcard” competition entries to Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Saturday Superstore and Going Live. Heading there physically for snacks and beer was never on the agenda…
And yet here I am, on a wet Monday, making the short walk from the tube to The Broadcaster (see what they did there?), the latest addition to an already impressive roster around this postcode. It’s the sister pub / restaurant / concept to The Lighterman in King’s Cross, something obvious as you approach – a modern building, warmly lit, spread across multiple floors.
As it happens, on a wet Monday, the multiple floors may work against The Broadcaster. As welcoming as it appears, the ground floor was empty, aside from a couple of staff looking at something of a loss for something to do. It’s the sort of thing a random passerby would clock and head elsewhere. Hell, we nearly did, even though we’d booked.
And then we get ushered upstairs (past the event spaces and private rooms and assorted other bars) to the (covered) roof terrace where there was a hell of a party going on. Barely an empty table, cocktails and wine flowing, plates of good food as far as the eye could see. It was like Soho House on an average evening… albeit a more approachable, nice Soho House. We ended up chatting with the tables either side of us because, well, it’s that kind of vibe. The front of house team is funny, efficient and well informed too.
Food and Drink at The Broadcaster
So far so good then. And the food and drink just added to the mood. To be fair – and to repeat my Instagram post from the evening – there’s nothing here that’s cutting edge but, frankly, it doesn’t need to be. There’s a concise and appealing wine list. The menu is a list of crowd pleasers / gastropub classics that should just about fit any mood. Prices are keen by 21st century London standards.
With a bottle of Protea Chenin Blanc to try and make us think it was a sunny evening in South Africa rather than a very damp one in Shepherds Bush, we chatted – between ourselves and the tables around us – over a steady graze of nicely executed food.
A charcuterie plate with good pickles. A stack of pleasingly spicy, chilli-dotted fried chicken off the daily specials. A shared hunk of slightly overcooked but still tasty yellowfin, with good chips, and a very pleasing heirloom tomato salad and, thanks to the flexible FOH team, a plate of celeriac remoulade that’s not actually on the side dishes but does form part of the description of a pork schnitzel main course. Hey, sometimes you’ve got to go rogue…
None of it was particularly innovative but it was always absolutely enjoyable. I appreciate several of my recent reviews have been in a similar “adequate” vein but I reiterate: “perfectly decent” is a very good thing. Every address book needs a stalwart or three and, frankly, The Broadcaster should be on your West London list. And, for the record, it is, I’m reliably informed, absolutely packed ground floor up on weekends…
The Broadcaster White City
89 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FX
United Kingdom
