Pedigree counts, and with siblings including Waterloo’s Anchor & Hope and Canton Arms in Stockwell, there’s no doubting the class of this revamped Victorian boozer on Camberwell Church Street. Small plates, an open kitchen, blackboards and scrubbed tables – all the trademarks are here, and they even do a good line in rustic sharing dishes (Hereford beef, ale and bone-marrow pie, anyone?). Otherwise, we’re in ‘Britain greets the world’ territory: confit Jerusalem artichokes with pickled walnut mayo, spiced aubergine skewers with peanut sauce, roast skate with tartare sauce and new potatoes, and BBQ merguez-spiced lamb with chickpeas, yoghurt and peppers. For afters, spoil yourselves with a Black Forest sundae or rice pudding with marmalade ice cream. Wines, beers and other booze are all up to the mark, and the drinking continues until 2am (by arrangement) in the upstairs bar.
What's better than an amazing meal? An amazing meal, served up alongside a fresh pint in a cosy pub, obviously. London is the gastropub capital of the world, full of boozers that can compete with restaurants in the culinary stakes – they just happen to come with cracking Victorian buildings, and fires, and dogs (mostly). So whether you’re after fish and chips, or a roast, or an oxtail ragù, you’ve come to the right place. Because food tastes better with bags of atmos. Fact.
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