The Victoria, 4th September

One of the closest pubs to my Flat in Mile End was/is The Victoria. But we rarely went in there, because it never really looked open, and the couple of times we did venture in, it was dark and devoid of atmosphere. So it was with interest I noted it had closed and was being taken over by the Yummy Pub Co, the team behind Somerstown Coffee House. I immediately found them on Twitter and was chuffed to be invited to their opening.

We were given the grand tour and treated to some food and some cocktails and other drinks. And yes, the word ‘grand’ is appropriate in this instance because they have turned the reborn Victoria into quite the large, smorgasbord of a pub. We’ll start at the front shall we?

Firstly there’s a little ‘cage’ that opens in the morning to serve the locals coffee and pastries. Then later in the day the pub proper opens, a warm and welcoming large area, with access to the beer garden where they have installed little cabanas and a caravan – Charlie’s cocktail caravan in fact, in homage to the first owner, boxer Charlie Magri. You can hire this out and get it stocked with any kind of booze you want!

We then went upstairs to be introduced to the Board Room, a private dining area that can also be used to host meetings and events. From there we went to The Lodge, one of my favourite spaces – a mini country retreat that can be used for all sorts of things – the other Sunday they made it a child-free haven for enjoying one of their roasts. From there we went into another dining area, this one with full view of the kitchen, and we sampled some of their ‘British tapas’. The expected scotch eggs, honey and mustard sausages etc were on offer as well as some interesting vegetarian items which I thought were particularly nice, in particular some fritters and some goat’s cheese ‘dumplings’ which had just the right amount of goaty tang. I must confess, I didn’t try the scotch eggs as they didn’t look that tempting, and when Stephen was brave enough to try the cod and mushy pea version, he was less than enthusiastic about it. But the rest of it seemed pretty good and they also do plenty of big plate food to choose from, and of course roasts on a Sunday.

From there we were shown the rooftops where the plan is to use the flat roofs to grow herbs and veg, and even keep chickens! All for use down in the pub.

We went back inside and were treated to several cocktails made with the bartender’s own infusions, such as whiskey with orange and cinnamon, and one of the nicest gin and tonics I’ve had – though served in a ‘beer mug’ that was a little too big for a cocktail!

The Vic as she is affectionately known also keeps a little secret, a devious side which I am loathe to reveal, but let’s just say downstairs is not all that it seems. I wouldn’t linger over your reflection too much when you enter or leave the bathroom…

They have a good selection of beers and wines – I was very pleased to see a white rioja on the list,  as well as malbec and picpoul to have by the glass (or you can even treat yourself to some chateauneuf du pape!). We spent another couple of hours in there - the place was busy but not crowded, it felt comfortable, just the sort of ambiance you want from a pub mid-week. 

This feels like a very ambitious project for the Yummy Pub co – in one pub they have channeled all their interests – cooking, drinking, cocktails and coffee and it could go horribly wrong.  However, they seem like the kind of people who like to rise to a challenge – who get a thrill out of pushing their boundaries, and so far it all looks and sounds amazing. I really liked the place and have already been back for a quiet Sunday night wine or two. I hope to be there more frequently and see if they make a success of it. Apparently the last place wasn’t very popular and the local residents didn’t want the pub to reopen so they are having to go out of their way to win over the neighbours and the result is a pub that is a cut above the norm. For Yummy Pub’s sake, and the fact I want a decent local to go to, I wish them luck. 

The Culpeper, 7th August

After our lovely drink at The Discount Suit Co we went to the newly opened Culpeper (where the Princess Alice once was, on Commercial Street). Their USP is having a garden on the roof from which some of your dish might be made but other than that they’re basically a pub in the front and a gastropub in the back and I’d read really good things about the place. 

For some reason it wasn't quite as satisfying as I'd hoped. Perhaps our choices didn’t give them a chance to show off their flair, but when it came to choosing, there weren’t that many items on the menu I was particularly taken with. Fish and chips seemed a little too boring (and didn’t look anything special when I saw someone get them). The pie looked quite good but I don’t like mushrooms, and it was one of those where you only get a pie topping, not the whole pastry shebang. I don’t like sardines. And I don’t really like mustard either but I thought ‘how mustardy can they really make potatoes?’ so ordered the pork chop. Stephen had the sardines.

To start we got some of the porkcorn. This was good if slightly chewy but basically just tasted of pork scratchings. I'd like to fool myself that it was healthier than actual pork scratchings though. 

Stephen got the anchovy salad and I had the artichoke with crab butter because it sounded the most interesting.This dish is not made for one person to eat. It is basically liquefied butter with crab meat in it and is one of the richest things I’ve ever eaten. It tastes good with the artichoke leaves but they don’t provide enough ballast to counter the grease and I began to feel a bit queasy as I neared the end. I more than encouraged Stephen to tuck in and have his fill as well. What we really could have done with was some house bread to dip in it, and fill my stomach so that all that butter wasn't sloshing around in there - but if I wanted bread I had to pay for it. Why don't we get free bread anymore? When did it become a 'starter' or part of a 'cover charge'? It's only flour and water. (Ok, ok, oftentimes a sourdough starter as well.) I feel this is stingy on the part of restaurants these days. While I’m at it, I kind of feel the porkcorn could have been a freebie too – such gestures are appreciated!

Anyway, Stephen was more than happy to give me a hand with this as his was a little underwhelming. He described it as a caesar salad without the good bits. I’m sure that all the ingredients were of the highest quality and fresh as a daisy, but I guess we’re just the kind of people for whom quality isn’t the thing that makes you say ‘wow’ when you’re eating a salad (unlike a steak, say, where quality is everything) - we want some more interesting ingredients as well.

So, our mains. My pork was cooked to almost rare in some places, which was a touch underdone for my liking. I know the trend is to cook it pink these days, and I’m pretty okay with that, but towards the bone it seemed to get a bit mushy and hard to cut and it didn't look that appetising. I am happy to report I didn’t suffer any side effects from this though! The potatoes were pretty full-on when it came to the mustard. They were thickly coated in a mustard sauce, rather than a mustardy vinaigrette as I’d expected. I could bear with them with the rest of the meal but couldn’t eat any of it on its on its own. Even Stephen, who loves mustard found them a tad overwhelming. 

Stephen’s sardines were fresh and cheeky-looking. But, in a similar vein to the pork, they were a little underdone - there was some blood towards the spine, and apparently one or two of them didn't seem to be properly gutted. He also didn't like the romesco it came with, which he thought was too sweet but I thought it was really good and kept nicking it to dilute the mustardiness of my potatoes. He got some chips on the side and of course I had to have one or two but I can't remember much about them. They definitely weren't bad but they weren't stand-out either.

We weren't even tempted to have a dessert, instead deciding to head over to the Peg and Patrio to finish the night. 

I've been back to the Culpeper since for a drink mid-week and enjoyed the light and airy space, with only a few people having a quiet drink. This in contrast to the Thursday evening we went when it was so busy, with people dribbling out to the pavement outside, that we were quite lucky to get a table (it doesn't take reservations). It doesn't exactly feel like a proper (read - old man's) pub, but nor does it seem to be just a restaurant with a bar attached. It's two very separate spaces and I would happily go back to share another bottle sitting in the window, but am in no hurry to get back to the other side for food. 

Find restaurant information on Zomato

The Eagle's Steak Sandwich, 5th July

The ‘eagle-eyed’ amongst you (geddit) may have noticed that the Eagle pub features on my Food List and not my Drink List. It is on my Food List for one reason alone – the Bife Ana, or steak sandwich, as recommended by Time Out’s 1000 Things to Do in London. It was on my List when I read it, and then I went to the Eagle and saw someone order it and knew it belonged on my List.

So yes, I had actually been to the Eagle once before, but was either a) trying to save money, b) trying to lose weight or c) going to the gym which has the added benefit of achieving both a and b. This meant I only had one drink and no food. But I had seen the steak sandwich, couldn’t get it out of my mind in fact, and was glad when we needed to kill some time last night before the Shard laser show as it gave me the chance to finally try it.

The Eagle itself is a rather shabby looking pub on Farringdon Road. It is credited with being the first ‘gastropub’ in that it started serving decent food, but was also a pub. By today’s definition of gastropub (all big fireplaces, kitchen and restaurant in the back, brass fittings) it wouldn’t really deserve such a title. It’s affiliated with Great Queen Street and the Anchor and Hope, which I hear are very good (and may need to go on the List) and their ex-cook has gone on to work at the Canton Arms which I know first-hand is fabulous. So it has a high food pedigree.

When you go in, you see that half the bar is converted into a cooking area. Fresh bread is cut on the bar, and vegetables to be used in the dishes sit on top of it. The menu is chalked onto boards above this area, and you order and pay for the food at the adjacent part of the bar where you also get your drinks served. Normally when I eat somewhere, I try to have something different to everyone else so that we all try as much as possible. Not this time. Two steak sandwiches were ordered and I handed over my £20 (they’re £10 each). We already had a couple of drinks on the go which we finished off while waiting for the food. Very, very reasonable prices in here. My wine was actually less expensive than Stephen’s lager, which is almost unheard of in pubs these days. Granted, it was a medium (175 ml) glass but I think my point still stands.

As Stephen was waiting at the bar to order another round, the waiter came over and plonked our behemoth sandwiches down. He then noticed Stephen waiting and told him he would bring our drinks over as the food was served and clearly it wouldn’t do to let it get cold. I thought that was very thoughtful of him. Because there’s really only half a bar in this pub, any more than a few people waiting and it takes quite a long time to get served. Stephen asked about mustard but we were firmly told that we didn’t need any of that.

I think they were right. This is the best steak sandwich I’ve had in a long time. I can’t really think of a better one. I’m not saying it’s the best steak I’ve ever had, don’t get me wrong. But it’s the best way steak can be served in this form. It is sliced and cooked probably medium well. It comes in a crusty Portuguese-style (or so I think) roll and sits on a few large, robust lettuce leaves and is all doused in chimichurri sauce (again, I think), which gave it a very Latin American taste. It also made it quite slippery and difficult to eat, and you can tell that a firmer bread is necessary, as even with this one, by the end, the upper half was getting soggy.

It was actually bigger than I remembered. I took the approach of cutting it into three and then picking it up with my hands. Stephen’s method was a little more avant garde, deconstructing it and building it again in smaller pieces to eat his. I enjoyed every bite of mine. Before attempting my last third I asked Stephen if he would like some of it, but my greed got the better of me and I finished the whole thing. The only downside was that the crusty bread did cut my mouth a little. Maybe I have supersoft gums.

I’m not sure how crazy I am about the pub in general. There’s a wide range of people there – people having a drink after work, young girls sharing bottles of wine and bread and olives, and even families. It was all a bit chaotic and incredibly noisy. Not the place to go for a romantic drink, and I think if a drink is all I want I’d probably go to other places in the area. But it wasn’t a drink I was after, it was a steak sandwich and I was very much more than pleased with mine.

NB. The Shard laser show was a bit crap, but what did you expect? It was only the completion of a building, not the Queen's Jubilee or anything.

Tower Hill memorial, 14th February

Nothing says romance like reminding yourself of all the poor souls who gave their lives for the war effort.

Admittedly, it wasn't our first choice of plans. We were supposed to go to the Tower of London, but after an extended and slightly boozy lunch at the Bull and Last, we didn't get there until 4, which is exactly when they stop letting anyone in. What a ridiculous closing time! Fortunately, I remembered I had wanted to take a peek at this memorial, and it was just over the road.

The memorial is to commemorate those sailors of ships and fishing vessels that lost their lives at sea during the war, ending in a watery grave. It is actually two memorials- one for WW1 and another behind it for WW2.

The one for the First World War looks a bit like a crypt. It has a long corridor and all the walls and pillars are engraved with the names of the dead sailors.

The second one is more like a little garden, again the walls are inscribed with the names of those lost, but interspersed with reliefs of mythical sea dwelling creatures. It's very pretty, and quite a nice place to stop for a moment if you're that way inclined.

I had passed the memorial countless times, but its quite unobtrusive and you are naturally drawn to look at the Tower, which overshadows it. Next time you're in the area, give it some attention.

Now, I know the Bull and Last isn't on my List, but while I'm here I might as well say a few words about it. 

It is superb. A gastropub in the true sense of the word, in that it feels like a proper pub, and serves stupendous food. We outdid ourselves in our gluttony. We shared the best charcuterie board, ever. It consisted of: duck rillette, duck prosciutto, chicken liver pate, hamhock terrine, and pig's head. All this was accompanied by cornichons, pickled grapes, some lovely toasted bread, tartar sauce, onion chutney and kumquat chutney! We left nary a crumb.

For the main meal I had wagyu beef pie with the butteriest mashed potato you ever did see. Literally had a pool of butter on the top. Stephen had the ox cheek and lentils. The ox cheek required no more than the side of a fork to cut it.

And also, I'm almost ashamed to admit, we got a side of chips. We'd heard they rivalled those at the Fat Duck and as we're not going there any time soon thought we'd better try these. They're ridiculous. Each chip is about a quarter of a potato, but they've managed to make them both crispy and soft inside. Well, for the most part. We did find one that was a little undercooked.

We wanted to get dessert as well, but what with the alcohol (ringwood ale for him, deliciously cloying saam cabernet sauvignon for me) there just wasn't any room. Very sad.