Restaurants

The once grand interior of this once grand pumping station (with what looks like original tiling, and old haulage machinery hanging from the soaring ceiling) has, sadly, been turned into a bit of a dog’s dinner, with incongruous dark wood Indonesian furnishing, a blond-wood bar that looks as if it’s straight out of Ikea and, over half the space, a false ceiling with plasticky circle effects. But this does nothing to dent the place’s popularity with locals, who recognise the benefit of a spacious bar area that serves proper cocktails, and a restaurant with good, honest food. A starter of soft, coconut-infused shell-on prawns on layers of fried won tons, with a zingy salsa of avocado, red onion, coriander and lime, showed a sure hand with a great mix of flavours. Scallops were pretty faultless too. More quality came with the mains: very fresh haddock in a luxurious, non-greasy batter, with lashings of chunky chips; and tender sirloin steak, cooked exactly as requested, with more of those chips and a béarnaise sauce. Pleasant staff helped along the relaxed ambience.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008