Category: Gastropub

Dinner at The Garrison

Before heading over to the Tower of London for the Ceremony of the Keys, we headed over to The Garrison in Bermondsey to enjoy a meal. I’d never been to this area and was surprised at how many up and coming restaurants and interesting bars and pubs littered the area.

It definitely pays to reserve a table in advance at this particular gastropub. A number of times we saw a party of two being turned away when arriving, only being told that the entire restaurant was booked out for the night. The tiny space is made the most of, although thankfully the tables are arranged in such a way you’re still sitting closer to your dining companions than those at the table next to you.

I started with the scrambled eggs and mushrooms although it wasn’t as tasty as I thought it would be. The soft egg was really well done but the “toasted” sourdough really should have more crispy to offset the soft flavours.

On a vegetarian day, I went for the mushroom stroganoff that was piled on a huge amount of mash. The “stroganoff” could have done with a bit more mushroom and more sauce but it was still very flavoursome.

It didn’t come with any sides, so went for the pear, rocket and hazelnut salad to have some greens.

I finished off the meal with a very nice lime cheesecake that was perfectly offset with the swirls of raspberries floating around.

Not a cheap meal, but overall a great atmosphere and pretty good food.

Name: The Garrison
Found at: 99 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XB
Website: http://www.thegarrison.co.uk/

Fox and Anchor

Firstly, I can’t believe that I haven’t written about this place before. It’s one of my favourite gastropubs and it gets many rave reviews from other bloggers. I love the fact that it’s slightly hidden away, although enough people seem to know about it that it’s continually busy throughout the week. They have awesome ales, offer fresh British oysters (what pub often serves that!), and a hearty menu for all.

For this latest occasion (yes, I have been many times), I was meeting a good friend, Stace (pictured above) who I’ve known for many years but who lives in far north Scotland these days. This means that I don’t get to see her, and her husband, Wes that often. Sometimes she comes down to London for work, and it so happened I also was in London for the three days that overlapped with her last week in London (she’s expecting a baby soon). How serendipitous!

Anyway, back to the food. Stace ordered the mutton shanks (a strange, but just as delicious choice) that came with a good assortment of freshly shucked peas and beans.

Debating about the wonderful burger and the tempting hickory smoked ribs, I asked what our waitress recommended and it turned out to be the latter. What arrived was a generous serving of gorgeously smoked and tender ribs where the meat pulled away from the bone with minimal fuss. It came with some fresh sweet corn, coleslaw and some fat fries that weren’t as good as I’ve had there before. Knowing my dish was going to come without any greens, I ordered a fresh side salad that proved the perfect accompaniment.

We considered some dessert, but both of the main meals defeated us. My choice would have been the eton mess.

Describing the Fox and Anchor as having plenty of character would be an understatement. On a good day, you can find some proper metallic tankards to drink some local British ale, and find little enclaves in the back such as the Foxes Lare.

Although I chose to share this with the world, this place is really too good to spread the word too loudly.

Name: The Fox and Anchor
Found at: 115 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6AA
Website: http://www.foxandanchor.com/

Duke of Wellington

With Frankie visiting in town, and Luca returning from out of town, I suggested we try somewhere different other than our usual Marylebone haunt, The Providores. I searched my list and suggested we try the gastro pub, The Duke of Wellington.

Things looked good with a very busy pub downstairs and a small dining room upstairs. Interesting memorabilia, almost slightly tacky, line the walls catching my eye as we head towards our table, beers in hand. It’s not a very large dining room and like most London institutes, fairly tightly cramped together. Here’s the menu, full of interesting things divided into the usual three sections.

The dining room definitely brings a more formal environment to your typical gastropub. White table clothed dining, oh my!

Here was someone’s starter, the Goats Cheese Salad. It disappeared rapidly and not because it was for a lack of cheese I’m betting.

Unable to make the effort at home, I’m tempted by the crab bisque, strong flavours distilled into the soup. Perfect to balance out the chilly winds outside.

Frankie and Toni got drawn in by the burger with pulled pork. It’s an impressive assemblage, although like the GBK chain, almost entirely impossible to eat without a knife and a fork. The lack of any chips leftover also meant they were pretty good.

Luca was a little bit less impressed by his steak sandwich although it looked pretty impressive to me.

Going for a richer, smaller option, I go for the unusual truffled artichoke layered lasagne served with some red cabbage on the side. Though the portion size looks small, the big flavours and rich creamy bechamel easily make up for it.

Unable to resist pudding, a couple of us went for the sticky toffee pudding served with banana ice cream. It was huge and definitely a showstopper for the evening.

Just a cool doorhandle on the way out.

And the gang, Frankie, Toni and Luca outside responding to my paparazzi camera flashes.

With wine, the total evening came to about £45 a head.

Name: The Duke of Wellington
Found at: 94a Crawford Street, Marylebone, W1H 2HQ, London
Website: http://www.thedukew1.co.uk/

Hand and Flowers

What’s better after a five hour country walk than to sit down for a nice long pub lunch? That’s what we thought too and after the long Henley to Marlow walk, what better pub lunch than the Michelin-starred Hand and Flowers that I remember being so good (and popular) when I worked in Marlow.

Making a reservation is definitely recommended for any weekend visit and I counted ourselves lucky for getting a table outside. The dark and storm weather threatened to cause further trouble to our dining experience although nothing multiple golf-sized umbrellas and our waterproof jackets couldn’t handle. Our walking gear prepared us better than the outdoor table of four nearby, whose shrieks indicated ineffective umbrella coverage.

After ordering, the waitresses brought out warm bread from the oven and some of the largest white bait fish I’ve ever seen. My favourite was the warm soda bread with its super crisp crunch and delicious crumb the perfect start to our meal.

The umbrellas above helped keep us dry (when we expanded them of course).

The special dish for the day was prepared for the Great British Menu and represented a take on the classic Scotch Egg though made with much finer ingredients including a quails egg and then surrounded by crayfish meat instead of standard sausage meat.

We definitely needed rehydrating after our long walk, and there’s nothing that Pimms can’t fix on a “summer” day like this.

Here’s the beautifully presented Crayfish Scotch Egg on a bed of, what I think was, watercress made to look like a golf ball lost on a golf course. They served the egg with a tiny bucket filled with mayonnaise.

Above is the picture of the interior to the scotch egg.

I ordered the fish as my main, and served with a brown butter sauce was delicious, if not a little bit heavily seasoned.

Fortunately the amazingly green pea soup helped add some warmth and vibrancy to the entire meal.

Name: Hand and Flowers
Found at: 126 West Street, Marlow, SL7 2BP
Website: http://www.thehandandflowers.co.uk/

The James Monro

I’d read about the The Monro being a very popular gastro pub although I saw that they also ran the James Monro located on the other side of town. I ended up in this part of town after deciding to walk back from the Liverpool Football Club tour, a pleasant but uneventful walk back into town.

At first glance, it certainly looked like a gastropub but I was concerned it wasn’t the gastro pub I’d read about. The interior looked really appealing and even though it had just opened, I could imagine it getting busier as the afternoon rolled on. After looking at the menu, it was definitely going to be fine with me.

Strangely didn’t serve any local beers (Cains being the local Liverpool brewery) instead offered a Hobgoblin beer made by a brewery in Oxfordshire (nowhere near Liverpool). Still the waiter offered me a taste for free and it was a reasonable ale.

I started with a rabbit and bacon risotto, definitely needing a bit of warming up after the cold and windy walk back into town. As you can see from the picture above, the serving was a very decent size and the flavour rich and delicious. There was plenty of rabbit throughout and the small side salad was a nice complement to texture and flavour.

Next up was the 8 oz steak served with huge chunky chips and a small side salad. Topped with a peppercorn sauce, the steak was perfectly cooked and the chips perfect. The steak was surprisingly filling as well and I just didn’t have space for dessert.

It wasn’t until now, writing this up, did I find out this place is also a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society otherwise I would have picked a scotch for dessert. I’m a little disappointed a gastro pub like this couldn’t celebrate more local brews, but the food was definitely worth visiting this place. I’d also be interested to see how it differs from their other place.

Name: The James Monro
Found at: 69 Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, L2 2EN
Website: http://www.thejamesmonro.com/