The Horseshoe Pub, Hampstead

image: Tourbytransit.com

One of my favourite walks in London is to park the car near Kenwood House and walk from the house and it's ground into Hampstead Heath to admire the view then to drop down into Hampstead High Street for a spot of lunch.

I am always amazed that this very large piece of land remains free and open to the public so close to the centre of London but it does and we should all be very grateful. It really does feel like the lungs of London and the views across the city are breathtaking.

image - thewritingnut.com

Lunch is another matter of course and this time we opted for a table at The Horseshoe Pub. Well it's definitely a gastro-pub serving their own brewed ales and organically sourced meals so it's a move away from the traditional to serve it's Hampstead clientelle. You can even take a brewery tour if that's your thing.

The menu is a bit limited (it's a pub kitchen after all) but came across as modern, British and perfect for a lunchtime snack. According to Time Out you usually need to book (my fleet of foot husband leapt across the road when he saw a table become free through the window) as the lunchtime rush is good value for such good food.

I couldn't resist the venison scotch eggs with a celeriac salad. Not overpoweringly strong the meat was extremely tasty and the eggs really glowing in terms of the bright orange organic yolk. I would never have matched this with celeriac in a creamy mayonnaise sauce but the combination was brilliant!

My husband chose his favourite lunchtime dish, eggs benedict, which was an enormous portion (good job we had to walk back). For those of you who don't know what eggs benedict is, it's an American dish taken lovingly to the hearts of the British palette as it consists of two halves of an English muffin topped with ham, poached eggs and a freshly made Hollandaise sauce. Far too rich for me I confess but my husband adores it!

The decor is all stripped wood floor, large bench tables and a large bar running the length of the pub. A friendly atmosphere, superb food and right in the centre of Hampstead you should give it a try when next passing through.

The Horseshoe, 28 Heath St, London, Greater London NW3 6TE Call 020 7431 7206 to book.

The Grapes, Limehouse review

Meeting up with an old friend we decided to abandon the usual haunts of the West End, Southbank or Covent Garden and decided to broaden our horizons to Limehouse and The Grapes Public House and restaurant.

This narrow little building backs onto the Thames and is owned by Sir Ian McKellen and Evgeny Lebedev (owner of The Evening Standard) and has been a public house for 500 years. If you like to step back into history along with downing a pint while watching the boats go by then this really has be on your visit soon list.

Originally known as The Bunch of Grapes the official address is 76 Narrow Street, London E14 8BP.
Charles Dickens knew the area well - he visited his godfather in Limehouse in 1820, but the pub's history stretches further back. It will have been in existance when Queen Elizabeth 1 laid claim to a city that was the centre of world trade - her explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert lived in Limehouse. Sir Walter Raleight set sail on his third voyage to the New World from directly below the pub and in 1661 Samual Pepys' diary records his trip to the lime kilns at the jetty just along from The Grapes.

It is The Grapes which obviously inspires Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend 'A tavern of dropsical appearance...long settled down into a state of hale infirmity.'

Well things have improved somewhat in the last 200 years or so and this little pub is far from a state of infirmity. We had a drink out on the balcony and incredibly the sun shone, then it was in and up the narrow staircase to a room resembling a Captain's cabin for lunch. You have to book in advance - it was packed but they kept our table while we took in the scenery and our waitress was both efficient and attentive.

I agree with owner Ian McKellen who states that the pub feels like a local but welcomes visitors, not always the case with tiny little old pubs it has to be said.

The menu was fairly limited but with enough variety to make sure there was something for everyone. I couldn't resist the squid to start - I was expecting battered rings as would be the norm for standard pub food, but was delighted to find it was a whole, small squid which had been charcoal grilled and was beautifully fresh and served with a chilli dipping sauce. In terms of the the main course the rest of my party opted for steaks which looked very good indeed but I didn't regret my butternut squash rissotto which was full of flavour and the perfect portion size.

Desserts were traditionally British and there was a wide selection of ice-creams.

Here is the menu from The Grapes to whet your appetite.

The Dining Room
Starters
Soup of the Day	£4.95
Dressed Crab with Quail's Egg	£7.50
Traditional Deep-Fried Devilled Whitebait	£5.75
Crispy King Prawns with a chilli dipping sauce	£5.75
Lobster Bisque & Fresh Herbs	£5.75
The Grapes handmade Fish Cakes	£6.95
Main Courses
Scallops wrapped in bacon on bed of tomato	£12.95
Haddock Fillet, Grilled or Crispy Battered	£12.95
Wild Mushroom & Roasted Vegetable Risotto	£10.95
Rib Fillet Steak with Garlic Mash	£15.95
Slow Roasted Lamb Shank in Subtly Spiced Tomato sauce on a bed of garlic mash	£16.95
Sir Ian's Shepherd's Pie	£12.95
Whole Roasted Sea Bass with Lemon & Parsley Butter	£15.95
Side Orders
Potato Mash with Garlic	£2.95
Leaf Spinach with Olive Oil and Nutmeg	£2.95
Green Pea Mash	£2.95
Hand Cut Chips	£2.95
Vegetable of the day	£2.95
Green Salad / Mixed Salad	£2.95

And the bill? with drinks it came to £68 per couple including a tip.

The Beehive London W1

Just five minutes walk from Baker Street Station and on Crawford Street, The Beehive is a small pub that serves great food and seems to have a buzz (sorry couldn't resist that) that will make it a regular haunt.

I went on a Friday night and as there were 9 of us we had booked a table - I get the impression that it is busy at weekends so is worth booking. Clientelle were young professionals out after work and serving staff were efficient. The menu is wide enough and you can opt for a full three courses. We decided on just the one - I went for a homemade burger. To be honest I have found that a burger is a great measure of a place - if they can do a good burger made with good quality mince beef then they get a large tick. My burger was good and served with a fried egg on top and an extemely light and fluffy white bun. Accompanying chips were golden and chunky.

Here is their current menu.

Bar Bites

Salted Roasted Peanuts £1.10

Olives £2.90

*(V) Humous & Pita bread £5.90

(V) Meze platter £8.90

Potato & chorizo £6.60

Grilled prawns & chilli oil £6.90

Starters

(V) Soup of the day £4.90

(V) Grilled halloumi bruschetta £5.90

(V) Warm Goat’s cheese & beetroot salad £5.90

Grilled squid in a fresh tomato salsa £6.90

Confit pork belly & wild mushrooms £5.90

Fish cakes with dill hollandaise £6.90

Mains

10oz (280g) Aberdeen sirloin steak with Beefeater chips & béarnaise sauce £17.90

Roast lamb with parsnip puree, carrots, chestnuts & brussel sprouts £14.90

Stuffed Turkey breast with roast potatoes, chestnuts & brussel sprouts £14.90

Fish of the day with beetroot risotto & curly Kale £13.90

Free range chicken supreme with garlic mash, mange tout & wild mushroom £13.90

*Franconion Sausages & Mash with onion gravy £11.90

*Perth Beef burger with pancetta, cheddar cheese & fried egg with fries £10.90

* Haddock & chips served with salad & tartare sauce £10.90

*Aberdeen Steak sandwich & fries £9.90

(V) Wild mushroom risotto with poached egg £9.90

(V) Pasta of the day £9.90

Free range chicken, pancetta and cheddar cheese sandwich with fries £9.90

*(V) Organic Caesar Salad (chicken add a supp. of £2.10) £6.90

The Beehive,

126 Crawford Street, London, W1U 6BFt: (0207) 486 8037

Kye's - fantastic old pub gets a make-over in N14

Calling all those who live in our leafy part of North London - we visited Kye's on Southgate High Street twice in it's first week because it's so nice to see a landmark pub which has been shut for seven months reopen with a new lease of life - sadly a rare event these days....

This used to be the Woolpack and is an imposing Edwardian pub on Southgate High Street down from the college and towards the green. It's now reopened as Kye's (named after the owners son) and has had a complete overhaul to freshen things up a bit. Walls are a mix of white and cranberry, floors wood and polished, and there are large ornate gold mirrors and sparkly crystal chandeliers which is not the norm for pubs in this area which tend to be more traditional, all open fires and bookcases.

There's a nice private garden at the back away from the traffic which is a bonus on a busy road and although this is basically a bar with a kitchen the food is all freshly prepared on site - no microwaved meals like most pubs. Because of this its slightly more expensive (around £10 for a main course) with steaks being around £18. These are very good quality being sourced from one particular farm in Essex (I believe). I had a burger which was homemade from minced steak and was delicious and I have to say the home cooked chips were amongst the best I've had... My partner had pork loin with a crumb topping. This was a tiny bit dry but tasty all the same.

The homemade pate for starter was a triumph and I can see myself coming in just for that and a glass of wine of a lunchtime. Talking of lunches they also do a platter for about £13 where you can choose 6 things for your platter from a list of about 15 - things like salami's, olives etc.
We finished our meal by sharing an alcoholic knickerbockerglory which was yummy!

What makes this place stand out is the service and in particular manager Nick who gives a wonderfully warm welcome and has a sharp eye on checking everyone is well served. It was only our second visit and he had noticed we had drunk Sauvignon Blanc on our first - there was a bottle chilling before we even made it to the bar....
If you live in N14/N13 its worth checking out and I may well be making it my local because of the friendliness and attention to detail which is high for a pub..... oh and apparently they do a lovely roast beef Sunday lunch which I will have to try....

020 8882 8593

52 High Street, Southgate, London, Greater London N14 6EB