1 | Haggis Scotch Eggs @ Sargeant’s Mess
Sun’s out, school’s out, football’s over, tennis won’t exist again for another year… time for seeing some sights, or maybe just having a wander along the river. And it is refreshing to have a new culinary safe haven to feed you up once the heat starts to get to you – one that’s not a chain, and simply fits the bill. Tastily. Enter Mark Sargeant, who you may have heard of for his years as Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred top dog at Claridge’s, or for his own (highly lauded) seaside restaurant Rocksalt. But his new – and casual – Sargeant’s Mess can be found in the shadows of the Tower of London, serving all the comforting British classics that you’ll be craving after a day out in town.
And here is a lesson in how said ‘comfort food’ doesn’t have to denote hefty, stodgy, fill-you-up-till-you-burst dishes. These ones are lively, flavoursome, relatively simple and wondrously restoring: roast chicken served with salad leaves and big chips, toad in the hole made with Cumberland Sausage, fish and chips with mushy peas, poached salmon with buttery new potatoes – good, wholesome stuff, done well. The winner is the haggis Scotch egg. If you’re not simply sold by the name, then consider the tomato chutney that Sargeant has been perfecting: tangy, a bit sweet, a bit sour, totally charming. You won’t want to share.
Tower of London, The Wharf, St. Katharine’s & Wapping, London, EC3N 4AB; sargeantsmess.com
2 | Beers and ‘Babs @ St John at Hackney Brewery*
Time was, the archways beneath train tracks were reserved for iffy tyre garages, pigeons and fly tipping, but not in Hackney. In Hackney they’re home to boutique gyms, bouji soft drink companies and breweries. The latest to bubble into life is St John at Hackney, named after the parish church a few hundred yards away. One arch is dedicated to brewing and stuffed with the latest, shiniest kit, while the other hosts the kitchen and bar space, which has elegant wooden trusses spanning the ceiling from wall to wall – a modern church to the gods of good beer.
And good beer there is. When we stopped in they were running off pints of a particularly punchy, deeply golden pale ale that hit the spot on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and the extensive menu, which features other local brews, was a litany of weird and wonderful sours and porters and stouts and lagers, and plenty at strengths that would put a big cow on its knees. The food is overseen by Cypriot barbecueists Éla, who grill meat, veg and halloumi over charcoal, and do a mean kebab. Our tip would be to make a day of it and start at Five Points Brewery around the corner, then stop in at Pressure Drop before finishing up, boozily, at St John.
16 & 17 Bohemia Place, London, E8 1DU; stjohnathackneybrewery.com
3 | Fish Stew @ Cora Pearl
Mayfair’s Kitty Fisher’s has been enticing diners since 2014 with its wood panelled interiors and utterly delectable food, and now the team has opened a second site. Like the original, Cora Pearl is also named after a notable courtesan, but this one is from the nineteenth century (rather than eighteenth) and was based in Paris rather than London. So the resulting Covent Garden restaurant is a brighter and a little more chichi, with teal coloured velvet banquettes and golden lamps descending from the ceiling.
Start with a cocktail, then get down to business: the tomatoes with lovage and tart goat’s curd is light and fragrant, the antithesis to the cheese and ham toastie that is chef George Barson’s pride and joy: fingers of toasted ham hock sandwiches with a punchy Branston-style pickle on the side. Main courses are more delicate than their titles often suggest (I mean, who knows what you’re going to get with ‘pork and onions’ – can it really be as simple as all that? The answer is yes, but in sophisticated form. Worth a try.) but the real table-pleaser is the fish stew. It is a vibrant orange colour, filled with beautifully meaty seafood and the clincher is the croutons: two hulking planks of crispiness absolutely laden with grated cheese. Joyous.
30 Henrietta Street, London, WC2E 8NA; corapearl.co.uk
4 | Koeksisters @ bbar
It can’t have escaped your notice that this week marked the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. And, in celebration, Victoria’s bbar has a special menu on the go for the entire month of July, created in partnership with Mandela’s personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who worked for Madiba (as he was known) for 22 years after his release from prison in 1994.
This South African bar and restaurant is located within the family-run Rubens at the Palace hotel (it’s opposite Buckingham) and the Madiba Month menu includes a range of Mandela’s favourite dishes. So the butternut squash soup was what the former president had at his wedding to Graça Machel in 2013 and the spiced lamb stew (or ‘bredie’) was something smuggled into prison for him and his comrades by their lawyer, for example. Both are warming and satisfying, and go nicely with a glass of red. Then you get to the best of all: koeksisters. Pronounced ‘cook' sisters, they are a cross between doughnuts and baklava: fried dough doused in syrup until sticky and crunchy and succulent and oh-so sweet. Once you’ve tried them, there’s no going back.
Also, ordering a main, or a full three-course meal will mean a donation to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund UK.
Until 31st July
43 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0PP; bbarlondon.com
5 | Bottomless Mac ‘N’ Cheese @ Claw
Your Monday is about to get infinitely better. And the one afterwards. Because you’ve got two more weeks of Claw’s special offer, in which you can eat as much of their famed crab mac ‘n’ cheese as you can muster for just £15.
One goes to the Carnaby restaurant for its fishy KFC (Kimchi fried softshell crab), yes, and for the fish tacos, obviously. And who can turn down a lobster roll? But the crab mac and cheese reigns supreme. It is gooey and rich and literally overflowing with punchy Ogleshield, plus Bermondsey raclette. Plus Salcombe crab (can that bit count as health?). Who cares. Extra-large pots are served on Mondays until the end of July and, rather than restricting yourself to a polite portion as a side, allowing for everyone else to get their fix to, you can keep just go to town. Zero judgement.
21 Kingly Street, London, W1B 5QA; claw.co.uk
6 | More than *just* pressing for Champagne @ Bob Bob Ricard
You've seen the Instagram picture. You must have seen the Instagram picture. Any self-regarding London foodie has been to Bob Bob Ricard's in Soho where there is a 'press for Champagne' button that - low and behold - works as intended.
Whether they resist posting a picture or not depends on individual shamelessness, but in any case, Eric Chavot's legendary haunt is worth a visit because the food somehow seems to keep going from strength to strength, even after 10 years.
The Russian influenced comfort-rich dishes includes seemingly simple far like steak tartare, chicken kiev and beef wellington which are somehow rendered out of this world. His next step? Vegan options. Don't count against them being delicious, either.
7 | Gin Galore @ The Botanist Greenhouse, Rosewood Hotel
While the sunshine persists, take yourself down to the Holborn Dining Room at the Rosewood Hotel. Outside in their grand Edwardian courtyard, they erected a lushly decorated 'summer greenhouse' pop up dining space where a small but excellent menu of food is being served. Nothing overly fancy: just perfect steaks, mouthwatering burgers and some excellent oysters if the mood takes you.
The real reason to visit though is their gin cocktail menu, which is inspired by spirits from our friends north of the border. The devilish but delicious 'Loch Indaal' is a mixture of Botanist Gin with Octomore Whisky and salt solution, 'The Quest' is a refined blend of (yes) gin with Green Chartreuse, yuzu juice and angostura bitters while a good old gin and tonic is made memorable by being able to pick your own garnish from the live plants at your table.
252 High Holborn; rosewoodhotels.com
*St John at Hackney Brewery words by Charlie Teasdale, Rosewood Hotel and Bob Bib Ricard words by Sam Parker.
