The Angel & Crown
58 St Martins Lane
London
WC2N 4EA
http://www.theangelandcrown.com/
First things first. I had been in this pub before, to see Germany thrash England 4-1 in the World Cup. Thankfully, the pub has been taken over, or at least the decor and layout have been improved massively, but the Angel and Crown looks a lot nicer on the eye now.
Secondly, if 118 118 don't actually know your pub exists, in the heart of 'Theatre Land', then you might want to do a bit more marketing. Alternatively, as they thought there were only two pubs in London with the word 'Angel' in the name, the fault is probably with those moustached muppets.
Right, on to the pub. Initial signs were good: as I said, the decor is know a lot classier - dark blues, heavy woods, with a good finish, and the barman wore an apron to give the air of quality. The barman recommended the guest ale and it was a good recommendation. However, things went downhill when we were informed that the upstairs dining room was not yet open, despite it being half 1, and the pub's website says lunch is served from 12pm-3pm. We asked if they could recommend somewhere else, or if another ETM pub was serving food. That appeared to kick them up the rear and we were told food would be available in half an hour.
After that minor shambles, we went upstairs. The dining room is on the small side but as no one else was there we were served promptly. Water, wine, and bread were brought to the table while we settled on our choices.
Rob and I plumped for the Kiln roast salmon, beetroot, caper, horseradish crème fraîche and an Essex ham hock and cornichon terrine. The food was very well prepared and very tasty. For main, Rob plumped for the Yorkshire venison and bone marrow pie with creamed mashed potato. The only issue was that a large residual of liquid collected at the bottom of the bowl the pie came in, which was a little disconcerting. Rob was also disappointed that the pastry only covered the top of the pie, rather than encompassing all of the venison.
I selected the chargrilled Middlewhite pork T-bone, Savoy cabbage and turnips with scrumpy sauce, and it was two big thumbs up for me. The mains were sizeable, and we settled down to a fine lunch. Rob was stuffed/had to go to another dinner, so I was the only one to plump for a dessert - banoffe pie. It was a nice end to the meal although not the best banoffee I have ever had.
My rating: 7.5
Mills:
Overall rating:
Friday, 19 October 2012
The Goat, Clapham Junction
The Goat
66A Battersea Rise
Clapham
London
SW11 1EQ
http://www.thegoatpub.com/
The sun bristled in the London sky, kissing the skin of the lunchtime crowds infesting the streets of Clapham (good start Mills?). Anyway, a fullsome fivesome of the team met for another edition of the lunch club. The Goat is a literal five minute walk from Clapham Junction station, on the Northcote crossroads. We tasted a beer by the open bay windows, but retreated into the bowels of the pub for the food. No one else was there - were they forewarned of our attendance? - and we enjoyed the full attention of the staff.
The layout is the classic modern take on quasi-trendy gastro eaterie, and if you don't know what that means then this is probably not the place for you. It's very much young professional territory, at least for food. Exposed wood tables, leather clad benches, pictures on the wall, stylistic light shades and mirrors give some character to a pretty interesting setup. The entrance has room for a couple of high tables, then you descend down some steep stairs that would test any drunk, to the bar and a low ceiling. Then towards the back light floods in from a ceiling window. It feels like the lower deck of a Victorian ship.
We had our pick of the tables, which made the booking a pointless, but its nice to give the chef a heads up. Starters included Chorizo, whitebait, scotch egg - we shared the dishes around and although the chorizo lacked a little kick our initial impressions were good. Rob was on wine duty as per usual, and we were dumbfounded to find the bottle he had chosen happened to be the second cheapest on the list. Every time this happens, amazing.
For the main, the Pork and Chorizo burger was the favourite choice of the table, but the chips were a disappointment and the cheese and bacon burger was too dry. It was felt the plates were not well proportioned, and the lamb chops were small and light on meat (even for lamb chops). The garnish worked well though. Overall, however, the mains were a bit of a let down - acceptable for the price but you do hope for more. I suppose it made more room for wine, which is never a bad thing (although the patrons at the pubs we visited afterwards might disagree).
Onto desserts - 4 of the table went for sticky toffee pudding with vanilla pod ice cream, however the pudding was a touch heavy - always an issue when the chef tries to impress on the eye without putting enough ice cream on the plate. The sweet caramel and chocolate tart tingled on the tongue.
The wine was fine, and as stated we were served promptly because no one else was there, but overall something was missing for the meal, and that probably explained why no one else was there. It may be different for sunday lunch or an after-work meal, but as the grounding for a day in town, it lacked the delicacy or the quantity one would desire.
My review: 7
Mills: 7
Pat: 6
Bell: 6
Colin: 6.5 (there is always one)
Overall rating: 32.5/5 = 6.5
66A Battersea Rise
Clapham
London
SW11 1EQ
http://www.thegoatpub.com/
The sun bristled in the London sky, kissing the skin of the lunchtime crowds infesting the streets of Clapham (good start Mills?). Anyway, a fullsome fivesome of the team met for another edition of the lunch club. The Goat is a literal five minute walk from Clapham Junction station, on the Northcote crossroads. We tasted a beer by the open bay windows, but retreated into the bowels of the pub for the food. No one else was there - were they forewarned of our attendance? - and we enjoyed the full attention of the staff.
The layout is the classic modern take on quasi-trendy gastro eaterie, and if you don't know what that means then this is probably not the place for you. It's very much young professional territory, at least for food. Exposed wood tables, leather clad benches, pictures on the wall, stylistic light shades and mirrors give some character to a pretty interesting setup. The entrance has room for a couple of high tables, then you descend down some steep stairs that would test any drunk, to the bar and a low ceiling. Then towards the back light floods in from a ceiling window. It feels like the lower deck of a Victorian ship.
We had our pick of the tables, which made the booking a pointless, but its nice to give the chef a heads up. Starters included Chorizo, whitebait, scotch egg - we shared the dishes around and although the chorizo lacked a little kick our initial impressions were good. Rob was on wine duty as per usual, and we were dumbfounded to find the bottle he had chosen happened to be the second cheapest on the list. Every time this happens, amazing.
For the main, the Pork and Chorizo burger was the favourite choice of the table, but the chips were a disappointment and the cheese and bacon burger was too dry. It was felt the plates were not well proportioned, and the lamb chops were small and light on meat (even for lamb chops). The garnish worked well though. Overall, however, the mains were a bit of a let down - acceptable for the price but you do hope for more. I suppose it made more room for wine, which is never a bad thing (although the patrons at the pubs we visited afterwards might disagree).
Onto desserts - 4 of the table went for sticky toffee pudding with vanilla pod ice cream, however the pudding was a touch heavy - always an issue when the chef tries to impress on the eye without putting enough ice cream on the plate. The sweet caramel and chocolate tart tingled on the tongue.
The wine was fine, and as stated we were served promptly because no one else was there, but overall something was missing for the meal, and that probably explained why no one else was there. It may be different for sunday lunch or an after-work meal, but as the grounding for a day in town, it lacked the delicacy or the quantity one would desire.
My review: 7
Mills: 7
Pat: 6
Bell: 6
Colin: 6.5 (there is always one)
Overall rating: 32.5/5 = 6.5
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