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Best gastropubs
Find more London gastropubs
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| Bull & Last |
Carpenter's Arms
Bold
Anglo-French fare is the order of the day at this thoroughly enjoyable
gastropub. Beautifully layered flavours are present in each dish we
tried – creamy lamb sweetbreads with baby turnips and pickled grapes,
for example, or meaty halibut set atop cider-braised bacon, peas and
lettuce with a clean, savoury broth. It often feels more restaurant
than pub, but it doesn’t seem to be a concern of the eclectic mix of
fans that flock to the place day and night.
When to go For solid seasonal British food prepared and presented with a flourish.
What to have Anything that looks good – the dishes consistently deliver on taste.
Carpenter's Arms, 91 Black Lion Lane, W6 9BG (8741 8386). Stamford Brook tube.
The Gun
Tom
and Ed Martin’s dockside gastropub is still as good as ever. Best in
the summer but a fine place to dine all year round, the more casual
back room is our favoured perch for knocking back the pints (Adnams
Broadside, Young’s Ordinary, Abbot Ale) alongside perfect pub food – a
pint of prawns with aïoli, perhaps, or a pie of the week. The posher
dining room is a perfect setting for gastronomic excess, with a Modern
European menu that may feature braised shin of venison, duck confit or
foie gras velouté.
When to go On a blue sky day, to soak in the views across the Thames.
What to have Anything from simple fat chips to a full-blown Sunday lunch.
The Gun, 27 Coldharbour, E14 9NS (7515 5222/www.thegundocklands.com). Canary Wharf tube/DLR or South Quay DLR.
Feature continues
Bull & Last
Own-made
charcuterie, dedication to ingredient provenance and quite possibly the
best triple-cooked chips in the capital makes this revamped gastropub a
firm favourite with food lovers. The fab range of draught ales includes
Spitfire, Black Sheep, Old Speckled Hen and London Pride. To eat, we
loved braised ox cheek with parsley risotto and roast marrow served
with cassoulet; we’ll be back for Sunday lunches. To try everything –
and believe us, you’ll want to – multiple visits to honour this will be
obligatory thanks to the gargantuan portions.
When to go To warm bellies before hitting the nearby Parliament Hill farmers’ market. Bring the kids, too – child portions cost a mere £6.
What to have Anything from the blackboard, and try your hardest to fit in pudding.
Bull & Last, 168 Highgate Rd, NW5 1QS (7267 3641). Kentish Town tube/rail then 214, C1, C2, C11 bus/Gospel Oak rail.
Princess Victoria
A
former Victorian gin palace, this gastropub has managed to hang on to
the elegance of its former incarnation while at the same time propel
itself into the present with a serious attitude to food and drink. New
leaseholders Matt Wilkin and James McLean are the two to thank; Wilkin,
previously head sommelier at the well-regarded Capital hotel in
Knightsbridge, has conjured a fine wine list mixing both strong
European wines as well as those from lesser-known regions. The ales,
including Timothy Taylor Landlord and London Pride, are well-kept.
Meanwhile, McLean has ensured that there’s no fustiness about the
menu,which focuses on reinventing the gastropub meal with layers of
flavour – fall-apart confit Barbary duck, for example, is neatly
matched with soured onions, creamy fondant potato and simple winter
greens; bar snacks include deep-fried pig’s cheeks with an eggy
gribiche sauce, or sour-sweet guindilla peppers stuffed with mellow
feta. The Princess has a lot going for it – quality without ponce, and
comfort without compromising elegance.
When to go On a Saturday, for a slap-up lunch and a chance to peruse the artisanal food market in the carpark.
What to have
Go surf and turf. The potted Dorset crab is one of the best; follow up
with 28-day-aged ribeye with ludicrously tasty thrice-cooked chips.
Princess Victoria, 217 Uxbridge Rd, W12 9DH (8749 5886/www.princessvictoria.co.uk). Shepherd’s Bush Market tube.
York & Albany
Angela
Hartnett hasn’t disappointed with this new venture, a Gordon Ramsay
Holdings project that consists of a very handsome dining room, hotel,
bar (and – a bit of window-dressing really – a deli). Yet for all the
fanfare, when it opened, it’s a great place that lives up to the
promise. Wowing us with stunning and precise reworkings of Modern
European cuisine, strongly accented with ingredients and techniques via
Hartnett’s Italian background, she – along with head chef Colin Buchan
– has created something very special indeed. The consistent quality of
the offerings – smoked duck carpaccio or oven-baked halibut, say – is
virtually guaranteed.
When to go For a spot of high-end cooking in kooky Camden.
What to have Any of the Modern European dishes that have an Italian accent.
York & Albany, 127-129 Parkway, NW1 7PS (7388 3344). Camden Town tube.
Harwood Arms
There are many pubs laying claim to serving ‘seasonal, local and
natural produce’, but Mike Robinson’s Fulham venture actually
transcends it. A well-known game specialist, Robinson himself actually
hunts for all the deer that will form the base of dishes such as roast
venison T-bone with cavolo nero and mushroom ketchup. Much of the menu
uses wild ingredients sourced from land in and around the woods near
Robinson’s first gastropub, The Pot Kiln in Berkshire. Everything we
tried was superb, and washed down nicely with the well-kept ales
(including Black Sheep bitter, or the current guest ale, Good Old Boy
from the West Berkshire Brewery).
When to go For a bone-warming, conscience-free game meal.
What to have Pigeon, venison, rabbit – all good. With warm Bramley apple doughnuts to end.
Harwood Arms, 27 Walham Grove, SW6 1QP (7386 1847). Fulham Broadway tube.
Indian | Oriental | Italian | Cheap eats | British | Vegetarian | Gastropubs | Best service | Best to impress | Best for grazing
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40 comments
Hot red chillies in eastcote best karahi food reminds me of home cooked food not sweet and creamy like you get in most of the resturants. Value for money ,good service what else can you ask for.
I think Matt you'll find that vegetarians and vegans DO know that most of London is not vegetarian or vegan!
We just like to know where we can go to eat with omnivorous friends, where everybody will get what they want and we (the veggies) are not lumped with the "heavily salty goats cheese something with "sun" dried vegetable" option that seems to be at every restaurant possible.
We do like food you know, we don't enjoy chomping on rocket salad for every single meal.
And in response to your comment on culling livestock, the answer is not to suddenly kill all of them, it's to reduce the demand for meat, which in turn reduces the need for so much wheat, land and water which humans (who can't afford to eat meat) CAN use. For more info, read Tommo's wonderfully articulated post.
I went to Hot Red Chillies in Eastcote and I must say that food was A- class . Any one who wants to eat home real home cooked food I suggest you visit Hot red chillies next to Eastcote station.
Well, this is my answer to that seemingly impertinent question. ,
Real Karahi Food - Hot Red Chillies in Eastcote all the way
the best turkish and meze to be found is i Olives and Figs restauarant in a small alley way in Spitalfields.I found the food is great value for money. Bring your own booze near Liverpool Street is just amazing. I am surprised there is no mention of the place.
??? no mention of Tayyab's? the most popular restaurant with the pakistani and bangladeshi community in London - always huge queues for a tabel - and unbeatable home cooked - on Fieldgate street
The Prince of Wales in Putney, is a hidden gem when it comes
down to Gastropubs. I go there regularly with my partner or friends and we travel over the water from fulham to eat/drink there. I really rate this place.. Has anyone been there?
this website rocks
It is one thing to debate about suitability of omnivorous critics reviewing vegetarian cuisine. I do feel that one may find such a standpoint to be a 'slippery slope' argument – surely such logic would conclude that only vegetarians would be competent to review veg meals, and one might similarly go on to argue that as the subtle differences between different Moroccan herbs may be lost to those unaccustomed (i.e. foreign), only native Moroccan food eating people (note: this is irrelevant of their race/colour, such a category only concerns that one's 'home food' is Moroccan) should be deemed truly competent to review Moroccan food, and so on. What I believe (and correct me if I’m wrong) to be the fallacy here is that the herbivores amongst us must remember that the meat eaters go vegetarian quite often (porcini risotto with truffle shavings anyone?) and it is only suitable that critics represent the mainstream. Like it or not, even for dishes which do not contain meat, the omnivorous palette IS the mainstream and therefore justifies an omnivorous critic. In any case, I accept that this itself is a contentious line of reasoning and do believe debate on this topic may not necessarily be unhealthy.
It is, however, a completely different animal (pardon the pun - I couldn’t resist) to talk about ‘the harmful effects to the environment’ eating meat indirectly causes, and I suspect I am not alone in being quite irritated by the veggies’ pretentiousness in the matter. Sure, cattle may consume part of the Earth’s resources. But are you suggesting that we cull all cattle and livestock in order to ensure that there are more resources left for humankind? Or is your proposed solution to let them all go back into the wilderness? For surely, they will consume as much resources in the wild. Why stop at livestock anyway? Why not start terminating humans whom you deem unfit and a waste of Earth’s resources? For surely, humankind as a species uses up the Earth’s resources the most – makes more sense to address the real issue at hand. Yes, I am being sarcastic. All I’m trying to say is- since when did preferring broccoli to beef suddenly make you guys rulers of the universe?
Let’s also not forget that there are a million ways in which veggies themselves can help reduce the burden to mother nature that they themselves are causing. Recycle more. Invest and donate into research for renewable resources. Cycle around, don’t drive. Watch your carbon footprint. Instead of acting like you are the saints of this world simply because of your dietary preferences, get off your high horse, and if you care about the environment so much, go do something about it. Otherwise, the L.s and S.s, and Tommos – you really are just full of organic fertiliser.
Michael,
Buy the Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide. There is a section on Haute Cuisine. Just be aware in London that there are some expensive restaurants that don't have very good food and some cheap ones that have very good food. Also try the red star recommendations in each section, you can tell by the average pricing which are the more expensive/ "exclusive". (Note Hakkasan is expensive & has very good food) but is far from exclusive (as it is basically a canteen style restaurant with a beautiful interior).
Could someone out there please tell me where I could get a copy of a guide/brochure of the best restaurants in London eg Simpson the Strand, Rules, La Gavote, Connaught Hotel,Gay Hussar etc.
In a nut shell - expensive, exclusive, up market!
Vegetarian/Vegans out there do not seem to understand that the majority of people in London are not vegetarian. Hence restaurant numbers in the review are weighted towards those catering to omnivorous diets.
We recently went to Amaya during our first visit to London and had an unforgettable meal. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
M.moss - your argument falls over at the first hurdle!!! If you object so much to the resources it takes to produce wheat, you'll be comforted to know that 70% of grain and cereals grown in the US are fed to animals reared for the meat industry. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. According to Compassion in World Farming, about 20% of the world's population could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to US cattle alone!! On top of this, a 2006 United Nations report summarised the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Need I say more?!