Great Gastro pubs in London
Feature by Veronica Blake
IT SEEMS more of us have become disillusioned with the label ‘fine dining’, which is usually a metaphor for high prices, pretentious menus which inevitably include the word ‘jus’ written in French, snooty somelliers and annoying waiters who talk down to you and continually top up your glass.
If we want to admire gastro-constructions which prize technical skill over flavour, we go for Michelin-starred restaurants and ‘fine dining’ – and pay for the privelege. If, however, we want memorable, original food without a mandatory side order of stuffy protocol, we head for the warm informality of many small restaurants and gastropubs. It seems that Michelin has become an indicator not of quality, but of conspicuous consumption.
Little wonder that pubs have never been more popular. If we look around our neighbourhood pubs have undergone a transformation lately. Gone are the days when the smoky boozer with slot machines and a jar of pickled gherkins on the counter, alongside a plate of anemic looking cheese sandwiches with curled up edges, were all that was on offer.
British pubs have been undergoing a quiet revolution with not a pickeld onion in sight. These days, you’re more likely to find such delicacies as seared wood pigeon salad with wild garlic and red wine vinagrette, or Duck Confit with rosemary and garlic mash chalked up on the blackboard.
The Prince Albert
I did a double take when I saw those dishes on the menu of the Prince Albert in Royal College Street, which six months ago was your average Camen pub, attracting the tail end of the Camden Market crowd or the occasional local Goth.
The pub was packed out on a recent visit… not a table to be found in the upstairs restaurant which has been lovingly refurbished to its former Victorian glory by the new owner. Even better, the chef knows his stuff, having trained with Marco Pierre White at The Canteen where he was Commis chef.
He also worked at the Hotel Eden in Rome, awarded 2 Michelin stars, and was chef at 3 AA Rosettee, 1 Michelin star, 21 Queen Street. So, Camden – an area not known for gastronomy – is very lucky to have a chef with such impeccable culinary credentials on their doorstep.
The upstairs restaurant is very cosy, with lots of rustic wood, Victorian chandeliers and large windows. My friend thought the the Duck confit with rosemary and garlic mash was delicious. The menu is very imaginative, offering such treats as roast guinea fowl with root vegetables and, dare I say, the dreaded word Beaujolais ‘Jus’ – though the menu as a whole featured it just once!
Vegetarian options are equally imaginative, no limp salad leaves here. The chick pea fritter braised with spring onions and celeriac puree was perfect.
The Prince Albert is one of London’s historic pubs and in keeping with it’s heritage it features a stunning range of great British beers and ales. Wells Bombader and Adnan’s Broadsie are both very popular according to Mano, the charming manager from Marche in Italy, who has been responsible for transforming what was a down-at-heel, backstreet local into the one of London’s finest gastro pubs.
The wine list features an excellent selection of wines from all over the world and the deserts are especially tempting. Sinful it might be, but the sticky toffee pudding oozing a hot toffee sauce offered the perfect comfort pud on a chilly night.
The poached pear with a melt in the mouth coconut ice cream was also better than you’d find in any ‘fine dining’ restaurant and at half the price.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, I highly recommend a visit to The Prince Albert – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The Prince Albert,
163 Royal College Street,
London, NW1 OSG
Tel: 0207 485 0270
Website
The Pineapple
The Pineapple is a community pub in every sense of the word. Since 1868, it’s been one of London’s most treasured watering holes and is as much loved today as it was in the 18th Century.
When it was threatened with closure a few year’s ago it’s customers sprung into action with military precision faster than it took to fly in a Marine’s batallion to Basra.
John Snow and Rufus Sewell led the campaign, which also included some high-profile locals including Channel 4 nwsreader John Snow, Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and then London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Sewell dashed back from a weekend in Wales to join the protest aginst the closure of his favourite pub, to make way for a block of upmarket flats.
“Within a day one of our regulars had organised a petition to challenge the planners. She also managed to get the pub listed on the same day. It was truly amazing,” said Simon, the manager.
Getting Listed status gave the campaigners more time to take on the developers and Camden planning. “It’s not like we need more yuppy apartments in Kentish Town,” says Simon.
The Pineapple was fortunate to have a very vocal articulate group of North London Luvvies at the helm, and fight on they did. Hardly a week went without the plight of The Pineapple featuring in the local news. It even made the Evening Standard.
Not every pub can count on Channel 4 news presenters and TV stars among its regulars. But that’s the kind of friendly local The Pineapple is. There’s always something going on. From quiz night to Easter bonnet competitions, judged this year by Only Fools and Horses star Roger Lloyd Platt.
It’s rustic with lots of wooden tables and a wood floor. A real fire provides a warm welcome. Since the changeover of ownership, The Pineapple serves Thai food but it’s of high quality and reasonably priced.
Main dishes of noodles served with chicked beef vegetables or pork are £5.50. There’s an extensive range of curries all at £6.45.
The Pineapple is the prototype for the perfect local pub. If I could change one thing it would be to feature live music, instead of the taped variety. This is Camden, after all, a hub of creative talent, from indie rock to folk, or poetry, and this would work so much better than taped music.
The Pineapple
51, Leverton St,
NW5 2NX
Tel: 0207 284 4631
The Duke of Wellington
If they were to make a film based on the life of Dickens, The Duke of Wellington would provide the perfect set. From the exterior, little has changed since 1832.
The pub is decked out in Wellington memoribilia which is appreciated by its well heeled regulars. A few months ago it underwent a makeover, but nothing too drastic… the welcoming fireplace and the 18th Century fixtures remain. It’s had a revamp of dark red paint with wooden tables, chandeliers and gilt mirrors.
Upstairs, meanwhile, a dining room has been added by the new owners of The Dog and Duck in Barnes. It’s a bright room, with linen tableclothes, a fireplace and framed letters written by the Duke. And there’s a wonderful view of an ancient domed church which gives the feeling you’re in Rome or Palermo.
The real revolution in the makeover, however, has happened in the kitchen with the introduction of Fred Smith, previously of Ransomes Dock and Galvins Bistro. Already winning rave reviews, including an inclusion in the Michelin guide, his cooking is sensational.
He excels at creating the best of English food in a light and flavoursome way. Never have I tasted such fresh sweet asparagus. The beetroot and sorrel soup was delicious, as was the quail with duck sasauge, the freshest peas puy lentils, onions and mint.
There is real artistry in the way he fuses different tastes to compliment each ingredient.
The menu is imaginative, too. Steamed mushroom with onion and thyme pudding in fondatu sauce. Wild Brill with lemon butter sauce, and shrimps, or lamb with courgette, tomato and roasted baby artichoke and olive sauce, all incorporate the freshest of seasonal produce and highlight Smith’s inventiveness in the kitchen.
Not only does he excel in starters and mains, but the deserts are to die for. I had Valrhona chocolate pannacotta with blood orange caramel. While the rice pudding with plums poached in lemon thyme syrup was delicious, and the best she had ever eaten, according to my friend.
The sticky toffee pudding was just the right side of sweetness, yummy without being cloying, while the vanilla ice cream was the perfect accompaniment. The apple and blueberry crumble with vanilla custard looked equally as delicious!
There’s an excellent selection of reasonably priced wines. We chose the Rioja and it was perfect, so smooth we thought it was organic.
Fred Smith is a young star in the ascendent. Watch out Gordon Ramsey! Fred will give you a run for your money before long.
The Duke of Wellington,
94a Crawford Street,
W1
Tel: 0207 723 2790
The Queen’s
We struck it lucky in having chosen a gloriously sunny spring day to have lunch at the Queen’s in Regent’s Park Road. The views over the park in the sunlight from the upstairs dining room are just stunning, possibly the best view from any pub in London.
Oak trees and miles of soft rolling parkland stretch for miles. You feel you are in the countryside if you happen to be dining at the table by the window. In the summer, the popular seats are on the balcony.
The downstairs bar was bustling, even at lunchtime. Though refurbished, there is a lovely rustic Victorian feel with the original fixtures and the open fire providing a welcoming atmosphere.
The Queens became infamous for it’s famous clientelle in the late 90’s when it became the Gallagher brothers favourite pub. I would not be surprised if it has not been imortalised in song on some Oasis album. Noel lived in Supernova Heights just down the road.
The pub is also a favourite haunt of Kate Moss and her pal Sadie Frost, though now that Kate has moved further north, to St John’s Wood, she has not been in so much – or so the lady at the next table told us.
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, who live directly opposite, dine there frequently, though, as do Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, who also live locally. This is Primrose Hill after all.
“We treat them just like regular customers, they don’t get special treatment,” said the friendly assistant manager, Jessica.
I was so enraptured with the stunning view that it took me some time to order. Primrose Hill has that country village feel. It’s off the beaten track and there are no buses or Tubes going there, so it’s like you’ve left London for the day.
The specials are chalked up on a blackboard. Soup of the day was Cream of Artichoke, which my friend said was delicious. I had the grilled mushrooms. My main course of Young’s beer battered haddock fillet with chips and mushy peas was perfect – the batter being lightly thin and crispy.
There are a good selection of wines, from New World, to classic French. Jessica recommended we share the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for desert, as the portions are large. It was delicious.
Prices are very reasonable, with starters from £3 and mains from £6. With its wooden floors and comfy sofas The Queen’s is a great local pub and the perfect spot to have a family lunch or dinner, or to celebrate a special occasion.
The Queen’s,
49, Regent’s Park Road,
London NW1
Tel: 0207 586 0408
St John’s
“Our dining room’s definititely got the wow factor,” claims Stuart, manager of St John’s.
Stuart loves to see the expression of customers as they enter the magnificent room with it’s high ceiling, walls lined with artwork, crystal chandelier and blazing fire. Like some grand Irish Georgian mansion in Co. Wicklow, snapped up by Daniel-Day Lewis or Ronnie Wood, it’s hard to believe from the low-key exterior of this Archway pub the theatricality and magnificence of the dining room within. Formerly an Irish ballroom and theatre, the room retains the sense of theatricality.
St. John’s is one of London’s oldest gastro pubs and it stocks a variety of excellent beers and ales, including Grand Union Bitter and an excellent wine list. The daily specials are chalked up on the blackboard just above the fireplace.
We flopped down on the cosy chesterfield in front of the blazing fire and decided what we would eat.
You could spend your evening admiring the paintings by owner Nick Sharp. It’s the food, however, which is the real star here. When the Michelin Guide decides to include an award for pub food, St John’s would be a strong contender.
There was Parsnip soup, mercifully free of cream! What is it with British chef’s obsession with cream? Little wonder we have the highest rates of coronaries in Europe!
The hake steak served on a bed of spinach and mash was light, fluffy and delicious, while the wild garlic and parmesan risotto was cooked to perfection, better than any I’ve eaten in an Italian restaurant. My friend said the mussels with chorizo chilli and spring onion was just sublime.
For desert, I chose rhubarb – large chunks, which tasted as fresh as though it had been plucked that afternoon. So absorbed were we in this feast that before we knew it, the room was packed and more were queuing at the bar waiting for a free table.
It is advisable to book ahead at the very delightfully bohemian St John’s. I cannot think of a cosier place to spend a late spring evening.
St. John’s Tavern,
91, Junction Road
London, N19 5QU
Tel: 0207 1587
The Duke of Cambridge
I really wanted to like The Duke of Cambridge. How many London pubs can say they have won the approval of both the Soil Association and the Marine Stewardship Council and can claim to be ‘Britain’s first and only organic pub’?
The setting is perfect, in a light sunny conservatory in a back room of the pub, in one of Islington’s prettiest little streets. The staff are very friendly and all around there are indications of the pub’s organic credentials.
Downstairs next to the toilets there’s a large blackboard which lists all the pub’s very ethical credentials. ‘Britain’s first and only Organic pub’. ‘Achieved Soil Assoc. Accreditation ‘. Monitoring food miles’. ‘Eco bulbs’. ‘Ethically responsible employment policy’ etc.
However, when it came to where it mattters most – i.e. the food – we were really disappointed.
The mackrel, one of the daily specials, was greasy and tasteless, served on a tiny portion of spicy lentils. We did, however, enjoy the fresh crusty bread and the soup, which was very tasty and filling. The portion is enormous unless you order a small bowl.
Apart from a couple of elderly ladies, we were the only diners in the conservatory dining room on Friday at lunchtime. It was pleasant, the sun beamed in through the glass roof, but we could not hear ourselves speak from the crashing din that emanated from the noisy kitchen.
We were seated in front of the open kitchen window and staff shouting across to each other and crashing cutlery and saucepans around completely killed off the chance of having a conversation.
There is a long list of organic wines and beers. Wine can be ordered by the glass. On the back of a card placed on our table was the inscription.
‘If business comes with no moral sympathy or honourable code of behaviour, God help us all”… Antia Roddick.
All very worthy stuff indeed, but how about steering the business where it matters most, the kitchen? By improving the food and asking the kitchen staff to pipe down so customers can hear themselves think above the din.
The Duke of Cambridge,
30, St. Peter’s St.
London N1
Tel. 0207 359 3066