As summer is finally upon us – barring the inevitable June, July and August showers that seem part and parcel of the great British sunshine experience – many people will want a change from formal fine dining and members’ clubs, and what better place to enjoy some high-class seasonal cuisine than that most English of institutions, the gastropub? Here are a few of our favourites, which combine excellent food with a great atmosphere.
The Prince Of Wales
You reach The Prince Of Wales in Putney along an unprepossessing street, riddled with chain establishments and weary-looking banks (of the financial rather than the river variety). From the outset, this looks like nothing more than a neighbourhood drinks saloon, and one might wonder why this enjoys the exalted reputation it currently has from foodies in the know. Heading through to the skylit back dining room, it soon becomes clear.
Under the care of Dom Robinson and his head chef Mick Goeman (ex-Harwood Arms), the first indication that things are going to be a bit different here are the oysters – served with passion fruit, rather than the usual Tabasco or lemon. And so the innovation continues throughout the menu, with every dish having an unusual twist or quirk, from confit duck and white bean croquettes served with garlic mayonnaise to loin of lamb with chickpea and pistachio salad.
It’s exemplary cooking, and worthy of comparison to its sister establishment, the Bull & Last in Highgate (and, whisper it, it might be even better here.) A copious and well-chosen wine list includes a particularly delectable Weingut Steininger Gruner Veltliner.
138 Upper Richmond Road, Putney SW15. www.princeofwalesputney.co.uk
Paradise By Way Of Kensal Green
If gastropubs could be judged by their names alone, Paradise (named after GK Chesterton’s poem ‘The Rolling English Road’) would surely be a winner. Located in the increasingly salubrious area of Kensal Green, and reached, on a fine day, after a good walk from central London along the Regent’s Canal, it offers a range of rooms under its roof, ranging from a traditional bar to a nightclub.
However, it is the culinary side that concerns us, found in the back dining room, and thankfully it’s extremely good indeed. A recent Sunday lunch offered a few surprises to begin, with a starter of smoked salmon coming served in a Kilner jar and the bread being toasted raisin and walnut rather than the usual wan white.
Main courses of pork belly and Trough of Lowland rib of beef are exemplary, more than living up to Paradise’s claim to do the best roast in the West, and were beautifully complimented by a lovely bottle of a 2000 Beaune from Burgundy. ‘I wish I was joining you in a glass of that’, sighed our waiter. Desserts of an eclectic plate of cheese and perfectly cooked rhubarb crumble round off an excellent repast, and then a walk back along the canal will leave you feeling less guilty than you otherwise might.
19 Kilburn Lane, W10. www.theparadise.co.uk
The Fishes
Central Oxford is disappointingly short on really good places to eat. (Drinking, on the other hand, is catered for brilliantly, by an apparently endless series of medieval taverns that look unchanged for centuries.) However there’s Le Manoir up the road for Michelin dining, and, if you head a couple of miles out of the centre to the village of North Hinksey, you’ll find The Fishes, possibly the city’s most pleasant place to while away a warm summer evening.
If you’re lucky enough to get a seat in the conservatory when the weather’s warm, then you’ll enjoy both excellent views over the nearby countryside and finely judged contemporary British cooking. One of the substantial ‘deli boards’ acts as either a light meal in itself or a substantial starter to share – the ‘favourites board’ offers treats such as honey & mustard-roast ham, toasted rustic bread and biggarossa tomatoes, and a cheeky addition of mini roast chorizos was a highlight. Main courses offer quiet innovation with local ingredients, and the brave might share the ‘trio of lamb’ that offers rack, liver and shoulder on a board. A selection of cheese rounds off a splendid and relaxing experience. The short but well-chosen wine list offers an especially nice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from Tumils Flat.
North Hinksey Village, Oxford OX2 www.fishesoxford.co.uk
