Islington Brewhouse & Kitchen - Wild Game Co. - Talented Mr Fox - Experimental Cocktail Club

Tuesday 21st October - London may well have 70+ breweries operating at the moment, but there is only a handful of good brewpubs.  

To that short list, we can now add Brewhouse & Kitchen, who have just set up shop in Islington following success with their pubs in Portsmouth and Dorchester.  Another branch will also open soon a couple of miles away in Highbury.

My immediate impression was that it looked like a pretty standard pub, but there are some lovely design touches on closer inspection, including cheeky beer quotes, hidden hop drawers and arty beer bottles.  Then of course there's the fully operational brewing equipment rescued from the sadly extinct Lamb & Botanist brewpubs, not hidden behind glass but sitting proudly in the pub right next to the punters. Look out for friendly Head Brewer Pete Hughes patrolling the area.

I tasted 6 of Pete's launch beers on my visit, but here is the full list including some seasonal Autumn & Winter specials 

Arc Angel – ordinary bitter, 3.6% (traditional, caramel, bitter) 

Spandau B – session IPA, 4% (light, bitter, hoppy) 

Myddleton – blonde ale, 4.5% (simple, balanced, refreshing) 

Britton – American brown ale, 5% (dark, complex, hoppy) 

Watchmaker – strong bitter, 5.5% (traditional, balanced, bitter) 

Chaplin – IPA, 6% (intense, bitter, hoppy) 

Autumn & Winter specials: 

Suffragette Ninja – milk stout, 4% (rich, sweet, roast)

Triple A – rye ale, 5% (dry, spicy, floral) 

Vlad – winter warmer, 5.5% (fruity, spicy, malty) 

Raleigh – smoked porter, 5.5% (smoked, roast, chocolate)

The darker beers were particularly successful, and I also went back for a second go at the 6% Chaplin IPA.  There's plenty here to keep beer lovers happy, especially as there are many more draught and bottled options in reserve.  If you really fall for a particular beer, you can take home a 5 litre mini keg of the stuff too.

5 Litre Mini Kegs

I worked my way through some canapés (e.g. lamb koftas, pork belly in cider, mini fish & chips with mushy peas) but a return visit for the eye-catching beer-can chicken might be in order.  Food & beer pairing is strongly encouraged with third pint glasses available and a host of tempting mains from £10 on the menu.

Beer Can Chicken

If you really want to get your hands dirty, sign up for a £99 Brewing Experience Day which gets you 5 hours of learning, brewing, beer banter, a hearty lunch and 5 litre minikeg to take home.  

Also coming soon on Tuesday 25 November will be the first in a series of beer & food matching events at Brewhouse & Kitchen Islington.  This one will be with Don Parkin and Phil Harding who will bring their Honkytonk beer trolley for an expert fun guide through of seven courses of beer & food matches.  Tickets will cost just £25 - Book via phone 0207 837 9421 or email islington@brewhouseandkitchen.com

Islington Brewhouse & Kitchen is a welcome addition to an area that isn't short on top boozers.  Why not make a day of it with the likes of Three Johns, Craft Beer Co, Charles Lamb, Earl of Essex and North Pole round the corner.

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Wednesday 22nd October - Fitzrovia is about to be overrun by lobster restaurants, but street food veterans Wild Game Co. have arrived first on Charlotte Street to keep those crustaceans at bay. There's no need to look it up on Google Maps, just keep walking until you see a giant stag...

All the meat at Wild Game Co. comes from owner Andy Waugh's family business in the Highlands, Ardgay Game.  On the launch menu there are burgers (from £6), salads, bargain steak frites (only £12.50), and heart-warming stovies (£3.50).  Expect the likes of partridge, pigeon and rabbit to make an appearance on a specials board soon too.

We went straight for The Veni-moo (£8.50), a venison burger & a Highland beef burger, with double cheese and beef bacon, and home-made bearnaise sauce, with some beef dripping fries (£2.50) on the side.  It was a joy to eat, and a cut above anything I had at posh burger joint Bobo Social down the road.

"Steak & Chips!" from the new @WildGameCo 65 Charlotte St Fitzrovia (site formally Double J's) http://t.co/Vbs4gNEuZ5 pic.twitter.com/gil2jSXibA
— Wilkes McDermid (@wilkes888) October 21, 2014

The building sadly doesn't allow for an alcohol license, so there's more Irn Bru than Innis & Gunn, but home-made root beer and more will soon make an appearance.  

Wild Game Co. is bound to be very popular as there isn't too much else in this area like it. Pleasantly low prices and speedy service (not to mention delicious food) will appeal to students and the lunch crowd in particular.  Andy, still in street food mode, was chatting away to all the customers, and I can imagine you would feel like a regular here in no time.  A very promising start - I'll check back again soon. 

Keep an eye out for Wild Game Co.'s special events around town such as their 8-course game extravaganza, Struie Road, at Workshop Coffee.  

It's also worth perusing their excellent website - www.wildgameco.co.uk - which has all sorts of enticing recipes and more information on their meat.

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I'm delighted to announce that the Talented Mr Fox pop-up is back in residence at One Leicester Street.  The permanent Peg + Patriot in Bethnal Green helped to fill the temporary void, but it's great to have Matt Whiley, Ally Martin & co. back in business in Central London.

Natalie and I popped in after dinner at Wild Game Co.. I'll keep it brief as you can read my original write-up here.  Unsurprisingly there's a cracking new cocktail menu, plus a subtle TMF paintjob to boot.

Male & Female toilets or Mr.Fox?

Highlights include:

Princess Consuela (Banana, Cognac, Bitters, Absinthe Rinse) - £11

Green House (Chlorophyll Dogs Nose Gin, Kummel, Lemon, Tomato Vine) - £11

Young Cuban (Bacardi, Tio Pepe, Orgeat, Lemon, Dill) - £9

Kummel On My Face (Tequila, Apricot, Lime, Black Salt, Fig Leaf Soda) - £10

French Flip (Croissant Cognac, Egg Yolk, Port) - £10

We also had a sneak peek at an off menu Tunnocks Tea Cake Martini which could become a permanent fixture if it proves to be popular.

Princess Consuela

French Flip from above

French Flip and Tunnocks Tea Cake Martini

Kummel On My Face

Young Cuban

It's hard to order a bad drink at Talented Mr Fox, there is almost always space without reserving ahead, and you get a show when you sit at the bar.  For those reasons and more, TMF comfortably sits on my list of Best Cocktail Bars in London.  Get over there before it disappears again!

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Another contender for that list is Experimental Cocktail Club, just round the corner on Gerrard Street. I'm a huge fan of the original outpost in Paris, but talk of it being difficult to get in has led me to take my business elsewhere thus far.

But it was early-ish on a Wednesday evening, and Natalie was keen to get another point on the leaderboard, so we tidied up our hair, tucked in our shirts, and tied our shoelaces before greeting the bouncer outside ECC Chinatown.  

"How many?"

"Two."

"OK"

Well, that wasn't very hard.  Up the stairs we went...

I feel a fool for not dropping in before.  ECC Chinatown is a stunning candlelit cocktail bar spread over two floors, with a DJ spinning funky takes on 20s swing.  For a Wednesday night, the atmosphere was phenomenal - tables were packed and the bar was buzzing.  We loved the layout that allows you to peer down to tables below through the middle of the stairs, as well as the mirrors above the bar on the first floor.  

All of this fun comes at a cost of course, with drinks around the £12 mark.  There's also a cover charge of £5 after 11pm, but there won't be many better bars that stay open til 3am in London.  If you really want to splash the cash, order one of their Vintage Cocktails that start at £120.

Birds eye view from second floor

Bartenders were working double time trying to keep up with all the orders, and our drinks were worth the wait:

Popeye's Better Half - Plantation Original Dark Rum, spinach syrup, lemon juice, virgin olive oil, egg white and soda - £12.50

La Medicación - Ocho Blanco tequila, Ramazzotti, St Elizabeth Allspice Dram, agave nectar, ginger syrup, lime syrup & Del Maguey Vida Mezcal Mist - £12

And there's plenty more where that came from, if you can afford it.

We were really impressed with our first visit to ECC, and with Talented Mr Fox and Opium a stone's throw away, Chinatown is bizarrely a real destination for cocktail lovers.  It will take all of your willpower not to stop off somewhere for Chinese food afterwards...

Pelt Trader - Hack & Hop - Craft Beer Co - Earl Derby - Rose Public House

Time for a much needed pub round up.  If you don't like beer, I would stop here. Maybe read a nice post on Polpetto or Bermondsey Street instead?

We were spoiled with openings towards the end of 2013 with the likes of Brewdog Shepherd's Bush and King's Arms in Shoreditch laying on more high quality beer for thirsty Londoners.  Here are 5 more (fairly) new boozers:

Tuesday 10th December - Pelt Trader opened up round the corner from Cannon Street Station back in March and sat atop my craft beer bar wishlist for many months before I finally made it in December.  With more than 16 exciting beers on tap at once, discerning City drinkers (they exist) finally have somewhere to go for a good pint.

The range of beer is superb and well priced.  We stuck to halves to get through the likes of Moor Raw, Weird Beard Hive Mind, Lagunitas IPA, Tiny Rebel Zool, and To Øl Frostbite from Denmark.  There's normally a German lager, a cider, a wheat beer and a fruit beer of some kind to keep everyone happy (plus wine, spirits etc for kids).  On the food front, there are Ray's enormous 18" pizzas and £4 Mountain Meat boards.

Pelt Trader beer wall near Cannon Street

Despite wearing a hoodie whilst surrounded by suits, I felt very at home in Pelt Trader.  It's a cosy little underground beer den - well worth a trip across London for.  Make sure it is open however - Captain Mark currently only opens up Mon-Fri noon-11pm.  If you are desperate for a weekend pint at Pelt Trader then you can hire the whole place out - fire off an email to mark@pelttrader.com

Our second pub stop of the evening was Hack & Hop, just off Fleet Street near the wonderful City of London Distillery Bar.  Hack & Hop is the third pub from Pubs of Distinction, following on from the excellent Old Red Cow near Barbican, and The Dean Swift near Tower Bridge.  They all have great beer and above average pub food (Hot Cheese in a Box for two!), but are slightly lacking in the warm & inviting pub décor department.

No matter, anywhere with a beer board gets extra points from me.  I occasionally get caught out by some outrageous prices (over £6 for a pint of Moor Nor'Hop in The Dean Swift once), but if I had bankers walking in and ordering blindly every day, I'd probably do the same.  

Hack & Hop near Fleet Street

I am pleased to see more sites behaving like pubs rather than beer bars. Both Hack & Hop and The Dean Swift regularly show sport.  The Draft House chain also deserve praise for this, even if it does get a bit hectic in them sometimes.  Football & rugby fans like good beer too, you know.

Monday 16th December - A cancelled game of 5-a-side left me without much to do on a Monday night. Instead of going for a run to make up for the lack of exercise, I decided to go to Craft Beer Co.'s latest pub near Clapham Common for a beer (or two) and a burger.

Unlike Pubs of Distinction / Draft House, every Craft Beer Co. site has a different feel, and the Clapham branch (with its 30+ taps) has a much more traditional pub atmosphere than say their "beer bar" in Brixton. Personally, I love them both!  Locals seem to know how lucky they are as it was incredibly busy for a Monday night.  

With 400+ bottles, and constantly rotating kegs, Craft are basically hosting a never ending beer festival, but they still find time to run tastings, tap takeovers, meet the brewer events and much more.  If you are feeling adventurous, order one of Evil Twin's amusingly named bottles - do you want Even More Jesus, Monk Suffers Serious Sugar Rush on Barbados, or Justin Blåbær?

Craft Beer Co. Clapham

Then there is the added bonus of Forty Burgers with their delicious burgers (try the Elvis - signature patty smothered in smooth peanut butter topped with crispy bacon and fried bananas!) and chips covered in "bacon dust" - bonkers.

Bacon Dust Chips from Forty Burgers at Craft Beer Co. Clapham

With top beer, carefully chosen spirits, tasty food, a beer garden, a great atmosphere and board games (Totopoly is a game about Toto, right?), the Clapham Craft might just be my favourite branch yet.

Tuesday 17th December - The Earl Derby opened on Kilburn High Road before Christmas.  It's ever so slightly out of my way, but the orange line came to the rescue as usual.  It's not trying to compete with the likes of Pelt Trader and Craft, but there were several interesting beers on tap including Innis & Gunn's Toasted Oak IPA and a Charles Wells & Dogfish Head collaboration called DNA.

There are plenty of reasons to pop in with a daily changing food menu, Tuesday music quiz (8pm), Thursday beer & burger night, Sunday records and roasts, and board games & lego ready to go.

The Earl Derby in Kilburn

The food was tempting but we couldn't resist popping round the corner to Spicy Basil, a Kilburn institution. Expect to queue to get in to this cheap and cheerful Thai joint.  It's been decorated with items from poundland, portions are enormous and noone speaks any English - I can't recommend it highly enough. 

Last but not least is The Rose Public House, a hidden gem tucked away between Bermondsey Street and London Bridge, near The Miller.  It used to be an absolute dive, but it has been royally refurbished. Pennies line the floor on the way to the toilets, barrel aged cocktails sit on the back bar, and the food menu prefers to be called a Bill of Fare.  

The Rose Public House in London Bridge

They have occasional guest beers on draught, but the regular Red Squirrel beers are fantastic (go for the Redwood American IPA) as are the OWL beers (Overly Wise Lager - brewed exclusively for The Rose by Red Squirrel).  The bottled beer & cider list is short but sweet with interesting offerings from the likes of Weird Beard and Compass.  The food isn't half bad either.  Hopefully everyone has stopped reading already, and I can keep this pub all to myself!

OWL Beers brewed exclusively for The Rose Public House