The Royal Oak 73 Columbia Road London E2 7RG
(020 7729 2220; www.royaloaklondon.com)
Right by the Columbia Road flower market in the heart of the old East End of
London, the Royal Oak is a fine place in which to refresh yourself after a
hard session among the blooms. Formerly a celebrated gay hang-out, this
venerable boozer on a cobbled street with a classic tiled exterior has been
reinvented as a gastropub, but one that leans more towards the pub than the
gastro. An inventive menu includes such creations as oysters in cider,
there’s a big list of wines chalked up on the wooden beams, and the beers
are from the reliable hands of Timothy Taylor and Adnams.
Queen’s Head & Artichoke 30-32 Albany Street,
London NW1 4EA (020 7916 6206; www.theartichoke.net)
Tucked away just behind the roaring steel canyon of Euston Road, and only a
short post-prandial stroll from the leafy delights of Regent’s Park, the
Queen’s Head & Artichoke is one of those pubs you congratulate
yourself on finding, and could happily think is all yours. Fine varnished
wooden panelling and leather sofas set the right backdrop for very good food
that includes cheap snacks on toast and tapas galore. The beers come
courtesy of Adnams and Marston’s, but the wise diner would do better to
engage with the wine list, which is long, varied and interesting, with a
welcome emphasis on the Spanish.
Marquess Tavern 32 Canonbury Street London N1 2TB
(020 7354 2975; www.marquesstavern.co.uk)
The recently refurbished Marquess in the back streets of Islington has set a
new standard in combining the pub with the grub. Lovely plush leather sofas,
white walls, chandeliers and lots of dark wood set the scene for great food
using ingredients sourced from the remarkable suppliers nearby, including
the Ginger Pig butchery of Borough Market and Marylebone, Steve Hatt the
fishmonger around the corner on Essex Road, and La Fromagerie in Highbury.
Then they go and top that with a superb range of more than 40 bottled beers
and 50 malt whiskies. Deservedly Time Out magazine’s Gastropub of the Year
for 2006.
Brew Wharf Brew Wharf Yard Stoney Street London SE1 9AD
(020 7378 6601; www.brewwharf.com)
Being part of the Vinopolis wine adventure park at Southwark might not sound
like the most promising beginning for a beer and food house, but Brew Wharf
works remarkably well. Its position under huge Victorian railway arches
helps, creating a lively, spacious atmosphere augmented by the bar’s own
brewery, busy turning out a variety of decent ales which, along with a good
range of quality imported bottles, could keep the serious beerspotter busy
all day. For the rest of us, the food’s good, the beers are good, and it’s
just a very nice place to hang out.
The Devonshire House 126 Devonshire Road London W4 2JJ
(020 8987 2626; www.thedevonshirehouse.com)
The Devonshire House is one gastropub that could be safely accused of erring
slightly on the side of the gastro, if only because it was set up by Peter
Refell, who for 10 years had the character-forming pleasure of being
executive head chef for Marco Pierre White’s restaurant group. The interior
is a little more restauranty than many gastropubs, featuring giant candles
and a touch of Thai style, but then loads of light, a splendid blonde wood
floor and old tea chests serving as coffee tables keep things nice and easy.
The food is, as you might expect, very good, there’s Fuller’s London Pride
on tap and plenty of wines from an impressive list are available by the
glass.
The Tuckers Arms Dalwood, Axminster, Devon EX13 7EG
(01404 881 342; www.tuckersarms.co.uk)
If you were a wandering foreigner seeking the classic English pub in all its
glory, the Tuckers Arms would hit it right on the nail. On the outside it’s
a lovely 12th-century whitewashed building nestling under a thatched roof.
On the inside it features flagstone floors, low-beamed ceilings and glorious
inglenook fireplace for curling up next to until springtime. Plenty of pubs
with those kind of advantages would let the food slip because the punters
will come anyway, but not the Tuckers. The cuisine makes as much of the
local environment as the building does, featuring plenty of locally caught
game, fish, crab and lobster, and with local cheeses and clotted cream a
speciality.
The Boat Gravel Path, George Street, Berkhamsted,
Hertfordshire, HP4 2EF (01442 877 152)
If mucking about in boats is the thing for you, then the Boat is the gastropub
for you. Right up against the Grand Union Canal, it’s a great place from
which to watch the alternative universe of the waterborne drift mellowly by.
The pub also makes the most of local boy Graham Greene, with a wall of
photos of the writer in various modes, providing something else to entertain
you while you get into the good food and work your way through the range of
fine Fuller’s beers.
Plough Inn Church Street West Hanney Wantage, Oxfordshire
(01235 868 674; www.ploughwesthanney.co.uk)
Carefully sourced food and drinks are at the heart of the appeal of the
Plough. The landlord is a genuine beer enthusiast who keeps an ever-changing
range of four real ales on draught from all kinds of good breweries of the
calibre of Bateman’s, Brakspear and Exmoor, to name a few. But he also takes
pains to provide good, locally sourced food. Together with a setting in a
fine 16th-century thatched pub and a nice, family-friendly atmosphere, it’s
a combination that’s hard to ignore.
The Eagle and Child Bispham Green, Nr Parbold, Ormskirk,
Lancashire, L40 3SG (01257 462 297; www.ainscoughs.co.uk)
Set in a gorgeous rural Lancashire location, the Eagle and Child has a
headstart on most other pubs. It has its own bowling green, with superb
views over the surrounding countryside, and if you get bored with those
there’s a nice view of the village green at the front, while the inside is
all antique furniture and stone-flagged floors. On top of these natural
advantages, the pub provides food that brings the punters from far and wide
and offers beers from the splendid 200-year-old Thwaites brewery of
Blackburn, plus guest ales. To top it off, there’s a beer festival here in
May.
The Duke of Portland Penny’s Lane Lach Dennis, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7SY. Phone: (01606 46264; www.dukeofportland.com)
The Duke of Portland would probably be pootling along as an average local in a
quiet village had it not been taken over two years ago by the Mooney family,
who have for the last 30 years been running the award-winning Belle Epoque
restaurant in Knutsford. Since then they have turned the pub into a local
culinary beacon with more rustic versions of the cuisine they’ve been
preparing for decades. It’s generally hearty fare with a touch of the
Mediterranean thrown in, and the fish and chips are particularly renowned.
Beers from the local Weetwood brewery, as well as from Thwaites, complete a
very pretty picture.
you should try The Nobody Inn in Devon, knocks spots off some of the ones you've listed here, both in terms of atmosphere, welcome and of course, food!
cass, london,