The last time I found myself in Hoxton’s The Macbeth, it was 2009, I was wearing drainpipe jeans, and I was going to see a friend’s terrible, terrible band at the tail end of the indie glory years. Sixteen years later and I’m back, splitting a bifana in roughly the same spot where I once suffered through an onslaught of angular guitars and yelped vocals.
The Macbeth has a storied history. Built by the Hoxton Distillery as the White Hart in the 1800s, it got its Shakespearian moniker in the mid-noughties (presumably as a result of the ceramic mural inside depicting the Bard’s Caledonian classic). It became an important site of pilgrimage for indie kids across the capital – hosting such musical titans as Franz Ferdinand, Florence + the Machine, and, er, Iglu & Hartley.
By its end the venue had been smartened up in a manner unbefitting a divey music spot, and so it wasn’t much of a surprise when, in July of this year, the premises was taken over by Jamie Allan – the chef who co-transformed The Auld Triangle in Finsbury Park from Hibernian hoochhole into the much-feted Plimsoll – and became a gastropub serving up Portuguese-inspired small plates.
It is, our server assures us, still very much a boozer (and if you wish you can sit in at the front of the pub and sink six pints of £4.95 Macbeth Lager without eating), but the food is the star of the show here. We order eight plates, and first to arrive are the viva-grande tomatoes, which were arguably the best thing we ate all evening: meaty, juicy, with a deep savouriness, they’re everything supermarket tomatoes are not. Equally meaty is the rich, tallowy butter spread thick on crusty bread – slices of which were dipped in the tomato oil and duly dispatched before another plate arrived.
The pork possesses the same seared edges that you might find in a smash-burger patty
The lamb samosa and plum chutney gives a nod to Portugal’s colonial history, while the scallop escabeche is fresh and fruity. And then comes the bifana, one of Portugal’s two salty, fatty, dripping, cheesy national sandwiches. This one is wonderful: the pork possesses the same seared edges that you might find in a smash-burger patty, and there’s a slight but satisfying kick in the aftertaste. We went halves on it, but really I could have easily done a whole one.
The two larger small plates we order – seafood rice and the rabbit peri peri – arrive in quick succession. The first consists of raw monkfish, cooked by plopping on top a soupy arroz de marisco full of plump cockles and scallops. The rabbit peri peri is perfectly grilled, and comes with fat, crisped chips. Both were great, if over-salted, and both could have done with something to cut through that richness. We ended the night with another highlight, the exceptional flan, and a glass of the delightful vinho verde.
Across the capital there’s been a recent spate of back-from-the-dead pub offerings. They all profess to be boozers first and foremost, but really, few are going to them for an all-night pint sesh. They’re restaurants that serve beer, and you know what? That’s okay. But the Macbeth feels different. While not quite a Proper Pub, its later opening hours (the kitchen shuts at 11 on Friday and Saturday), louder music, and buzzy atmosphere means it operates more like a late-night version of the Iberian-style tasca: the perfect place to grab something salty and satisfying after a night out on the piss.
The Vibe Faded ex-boozer with laidback Iberian touches and an open-plan kitchen.
The Food Portuguese small plates made to be eaten with several pints – or after a big night out.
The Drink Their house lager is an unbelievable £4.95 and they serve Murphy’s (not Guinness), but there’s also a very decent wine list and all your classic cocktails.
Time Out Tip Be prepared for a late one – head down on a Friday or Saturday and expect to be there until gone 1am, just like in the pub’s halcyon indie era.