gastropubs and indian food!

[vox]

alright, folks.

planning a four day excursion in march...limited budget so i thought i'd go for gastropubs and indian food...

with one blowout meal...suggestions welcome. is ramsay all he's cracked up to be? any good chop houses?

if you had to list your top four in each category...what would they be? i've been scrolling through the best of 2004 thread...but they're not arranged by category so a lot of the names mean nothing to me...

thanks!

[Stigand]

No one's replied, so I thought I'd at least start the ball rolling so you wouldn't think we're rude or anything.

If you are on holiday, and want well executed food in stylish surroundings but at a sensible price, consider the set lunch at Orrery on Marylebone High Street. I had this yesterday and it was wonderful - a very classy game terrine (better than St John's terrine, I thought) followed by wonderful, sticky pig's cheeks and a cheeseboard that I think would stand up favourably anywhere (there was a fab Vacherin). And all for £25, with some good affordable French country wines on the list. The space is great - a first-floor room with huge windows looking out over Marylebone Churchyard. I'd be tempted to book late (say 2pm) and spend an hour or so wandering through Marylebone, ogling the cheese in La Fromagerie, the gore in the Ginger Pig, and the cookware in Divertimenti... but I'm getting carried away.

I had a wonderful lunch of small plates in St John Bread and Wine today as well, which would be a shame to miss - especially if you can combine it with a wander round Spitalfields/Brick Lane. There was an awesome slab of runny goat's cheese beginning with a W that was great; the duck's neck with salad was good too.

I'm conscious that I:

a) Haven't mentioned any gastropubs or Indian places (but do a search for New Tayyab - I think the thread may call it Tayyeb - which seems popular but I haven't been to);

b) Done anything except tell you about the things I ate this weekend.

Sorry for this...still, I hope it's a good start.

[Suzi Edwards]

I can recommend the following from personal experience.

Indian:

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia

Mela

Chowki

Gastropub:

Drapers Arms

The Ebury

There is a thread about the Gastro Pub survey that you might find useful.

[Matthew Grant]

I can recommend the following from personal experience.

Indian:

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia

Mela

Chowki

Gastropub:

Drapers Arms

The Ebury

There is a thread about the Gastro Pub survey that you might find useful.

←

WARNING - RASOI VINEET BHATIA is most definitely not a budget option, if you went here I would hazard a guess that this would be your blow-out meal!

[Suzi Edwards]

Yep, sorry, thought I'd said that but clearly fingers don't know what the mind is thinking today.

It is really, really, really good though. And certainly a cheaper option that Ramsey, for example. As meals go it could be a dual blow out/Indian option.

[Matthew Grant]

It is really, really, really good though. And certainly a cheaper option that Ramsey, for example. As meals go it could be a dual blow out/Indian option.

←

Agree with that.

[grahamR]

On an Indian theme: I'd second the food at Chowki, although service can be slow. Masala Zone is a nice budget option, the food is reliable and is worth trying once to see if you like their style. For about £22 a head you can have a vegetarian set meal at Rasa Samudra (5 Charlotte Street). We had a great time and some splendid food there last Sunday night.

[Bapi]

On an Indian theme: I'd second the food at Chowki, although service can be slow. Masala Zone is a nice budget option, the food is reliable and is worth trying once to see if you like their style. For about £22 a head you can have a vegetarian set meal at Rasa Samudra (5 Charlotte Street). We had a great time and some splendid food there last Sunday night.

←

Similarly I would agree that Chowki is good value and the food enjoyable. But if I were to have one meal Indian/ Pakistani meal in London, it would have to be New Tayyabs every time.

[vox]

thanks so much!

last question, are reservations recommended for gastropubs in general?

[Suzi Edwards]

I would book. Dinner at the Ebury the other week definitely needed as a reservation, as would the Drapers on a weekend. I think you could eat downstairs at either without a reservation, but you might find yourself waiting.

I'm a bit OCD about reservations - hence why I'll never eat at the Anchor and Hope in Waterloo, another gastro pub you might want to consider.

What's your list looking like at the moment?

[ludja]

Silly question:

Are there any 'gastropubs' that serve good Indian food?

[Suzi Edwards]

Not a silly question at all. I posted a link to the Gastro Pub thread that has some conversation about "what is a gastro pub" on it. There was some dissention, but I think it's fair to say that you wouldn't find a gastro pub serving Indian food. You won't really find a pub serving Indian food, unless it's a bright orange chicken tikka masala next to vegetable lasagne on the menu.

I have seen a growth in a slightly different sort of Indian restaurant, ones that tend to serve lighter, more regional food in a more cafe setting. Maybe the Masala Zones and Soho Spices of this world are a separate restaurant continuum, but challanging the same things as english gastropubs did with restaurants.

Am off to stab myself in the tongue for using the word continuum in an eGullet forum post.

[Stigand]

Silly question:

Are there any 'gastropubs' that serve good Indian food?

←

I can't think of any gastropubs that serve (good) Indian food, but I can think of lots of generic Indian restaurants that - sadly - turn into de facto pubs after closing time, and where the customers' consumption of chicken vindaloo is wholly incidental to their desire to have 3 more pints after closing time.

[endless autumn]

(Not a recommendation, but an observation)

There is one pub I know which sells Indian food: it's the slightly grim Fullers Pub to the North of Mohsen on Warwick Road.

The menu is very much from the 'luminous curry' school, but is purely 'Indian'.

[Matthew Grant]

I need to have a dig around but I'm pretty sure you can find some Gastro-Indian pubs in Southall. There was also an article on this in Restaurant magazine (I think) a few weeks ago.

[Carlovski]

Not any help re location,

But there is a Pub in Winchester (The Westgate) which does good indian food - it turned Gastropubby about 4/5 years ago (Typical 'Modern British'), but started to struggle.

So a local indian chef (Winner of the BBC cook of the year in about 1997 apparently!) took over the kitchen - pub runs the bar, he does the food. Seems like a reasonable arrangement. Does make you hungry if you just go in for a pint though...

[endless autumn]

Is the place in Southall The Glassy Junction?

I think it does Punjabi food and has some Indian beers on tap, but haven't been there myself. In fact, I haven't really heard anything about it good or bad.

[circeplum]

second the drapers arms. but went to an astonishingly good gastropub last night i want to share with everyone. (might even get 5 stars...)

called the greyhound, it's in battersea high st. not only is the cooking of first class resto standard, but the wine list would blow you away. it's a truly handsome space, too. 3 courses, 28 quid. not giveaway, but so so worth it.

(we had boudin noir with hazelnut crisp, chicken giblets and pancetta; slow roast beef 'carpaccio' with poached egg and wild rocket; splendid mutton with a kind of mutton kofta and red onion jam; monfish lyonnais with cipolline onions and tarragon emulsion; chocolate brownies with horseradish (!!) icecream - amazing; and glorious english cheese.)

go...

x

[Akiko]

I need to have a dig around but I'm pretty sure you can find some Gastro-Indian pubs in Southall. There was also an article on this in Restaurant magazine (I think) a few weeks ago.

I can't remember what it is called, but there is one on the corner where the street to the tube and the main high street (where the big grocery shops are) in Southall that is a good bet. The interior of the place has large brass elephants and is wonderfully over the top. There is also a sign that says they accept Rupees!

The drinks were good and although we didn't eat, there was a group of indian men eating what smelled like wonderful food. If we hadn't just had a huge meal at Gifto's, I would have ordered something.

[vox]

so far we're looking at one night at ramseys (if we can get in! *fingers crossed*), one night at st. john's, one night at new tayyab, and one night at either anchor and hope, the peasant, or drapers.

[Matthew Grant]

Is the place in Southall The Glassy Junction?

I think it does Punjabi food and has some Indian beers on tap, but haven't been there myself.  In fact, I haven't really heard anything about it good or bad.

←

Yep, that's the one. I haven't been so can't comment on it's quality.

Edited February 5, 2005 by Matthew Grant (log)

[Andy Lynes]

The Gun is very good indeed.

[magnolia]

Sorry I'm late to the party.

Vox, you requested a chop house - a very reasonable and very good m-eat-erie is Smith's of Smithfield, the 'middle' level (I think they call it the bistro) rather than the fine dining room - it's excellent value and usually has several steak options as well as pork belly or chops and other things.

I'm sure someone has mentioned but St John's is also quite pricey for dinner. Nothing like Ramsey's of course, but you'd save something - and have the same pretty much the same experience if you went for lunch and/or ate in the bar area rather than the dining room...