The Pilot, Chiswick — Restaurant in London

We got married two weeks ago and held our reception at The Pilot, and honestly both us and our guests have only good things to say. We would wholeheartedly recommend the venue to everyone.

When we were looking for a place to hold the reception, we knew we wanted a small venue with a relaxed vibe, so pubs were immediately at the top of our search list. The Pilot immediately impressed us, as unlike lots of other places we contacted, they were super quick to respond to every email and really helpful with the information they provided. They were even working through a re-do of their wedding brochure at the time we were in planning mode, yet they kept us in the loop and were fabulous at helping us make the right choices from the various food and drinks options they were developing. A new events manager, Teck, also came on board during this time and we honestly couldn't be happier about that as he did a phenomenal job throughout.

The food is delicious, and the portion sizes are huge (especially considering there's buffets and cake on top of dinner). We were very happy with the quality and options available, both on the wedding menus and that we could add in other bites from the pub menu too if needed. We also got to visit for a food tasting in advance, and were very impressed that even for that Teck pulled out all the stops with decorated table, printed menus, and even asking for any photos we had taken to make sure the presentation of food on the day matched up to what we saw - we weren't fussy about that, but we were certainly impressed by Teck's forward thinking and attention to detail. There is also an online ordering system so we could put in all our menu choices and guest names ahead of time, which made sending in that whole long list very convenient. Teck also let us drop our cakes off the day before the wedding, and pick them up the day after, which made coordination for us super easy.

As for the venue itself, the Wellesley function room at the back of the pub garden is gorgeous. As a converted old stable, it has big barn doors which are perfect for a hot summer day, and you can book private use of a section of the garden too. That section is covered, which means no worries about sun or rain as it works great either way. We had planned to bring a few simple decorations with us for the table, though when we arrived Teck had already put out some really tasteful candles and flowers for us that just worked so much better than what we had planned, and we were really grateful for his excellent styling skills! The room size is really convenient too, as it's big enough to be flexible with the table layout, but small enough to still feel like an intimate venue. We had a large asymmetrical U-shape, and this turned out brilliant as it left a nice empty space for mingling and wedding games.

Lastly we can't not mention that on the night, we had several members of staff dedicated to just our event, and the absolute stand out star was Ian. He was both super professional and happy to join in our jokes and fun, amazingly attentive to all the guests, constantly keeping an eye on everyone's food and drinks, making sure no glass ran dry, and checking in with us throughout about how the evening was going in general. Ian was an absolute treasure, so kind and thoughtful, and every guest thought he was a highlight of the event.

Overall we 100% recommend The Pilot for any wedding or function, their staff are outstanding (especially Teck and Ian) and their thoughtfulness, attentiveness and positivity will make your event so easy to organise and a joy...

Looking for somewhere local to Brentford, but accessible to guests coming from further afield, my fiancé and I booked the Wellesley Room at The Pilot for our engagement party for around 65 guests (held on 16 September 2023). We'd already been to The Pilot before at various points in our lives with each other or with friends, and we knew we liked it as a pub, so it was nice to discover the function room.

Even with minimum input from us with regards to how we wanted the room set up, the events staff at The Pilot quite clearly have a knack for this sort of thing. We arrived on the day to find some tables and chairs put out and arranged in such a way that those of our guests who couldn't be on their feet for too long had somewhere to sit down, with with more than enough ample seating out in the covered outdoor area that comes reserved as part of booking the Wellesley Room.

The Pilot were able to provide festoons of fairy lights, which were all around the room and just perfect for the event, and there were enough points in the beams and walls where our own decorations could be hung up. As a Brentford fan, we wanted to be sure to be able to watch the match that day too - not a problem as there was a large TV in the room with Sky Sports and TNT Sports. Music later on we were able to put on ourselves with the Bluetooth speaker system available in the room (which staff will show you how to set up when you arrive).

There is no hire fee, which is really good, just a minimum spend, and if booking over the weekend then expect to pay a £100 deposit to secure the room on a particular date, which is more than reasonable given the location of the pub and the size of the function room. The food options if you require catering are really good and even two weeks on from the event, our friends and family are telling us how much they enjoyed the buffet that we were able to arrange with the in-house catering (the Yorkshire puds were the firm favourite), with options available for all dietary requirements. We were allowed to bring in our own (shop-bought) cake and staff had a fridge where this could be safely stored until needed.

It really was the perfect day. There's so much I want to say about it, but if you are local and considering space to hold a function, then we can highly recommend the Wellesley Room. We would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ian at The Pilot, who went above and beyond that evening; he looked after us, our families and our friends on the evening to the point that we all considered him a very important person at the party – we honestly owe so much to him for making our engagement party the success that it was. It really was the perfect day, and there was no request too big for staff during the planning stages, or for Ian and his staff on the day.

Thank you again to all at The Pilot for giving us a space to make memories that many of us will treasure for...

Being a fan of 1960s British black and white crime movies I saw The Pilot featured in a film called The Marked One from 1963.

I was excited to learn it still existed and for the past few years had been meaning to pop in but living the other side of London it never happened; until yesterday.

I was riding past on my scooter and despite being dressed in motorcycle attire (I clearly stood out) I was warmly welcomed by a charming and delightful member of staff called Luke.

Luke's subsequent actions really blew me away as clearly a young man (i'd say Gen Z) and all the bad press they get he went over and above for me. I was made to feel accepted and comfortable from the get go.

I enquired about peppercorn sauce with chips. Unable to find it on the menu or the till he then telephoned the kitchen. Clearly unhappy with the response he got from them he then went to the kitchen area in person.

Viola; I was presented with chips and peppercorn sauce. Not wanting to be. a nuisance I had said it was okay and I would happily just eat the chips but Luke extended customer service to the next level.

A real credit to himself, The Pilot and the Fullers pub industry. I extend my sincerest thanks for his kind hospitality and wish him the very best...