The Sutton Arms

[Pathos]

Heads up, chaps. Go pay a visit to The Sutton Arms, Carthusian Street, EC1. A no nonsense gastro pub, devoid of pretension and frills. Run by Rosie Sykes (the Guardian’s Kitchen Doctor and notable chef in her own right). The staff of St. John eat there out of hours. Enough said. Dinner for 2 with wine is about £60. It only has a small dining room (probably only 30 covers upstairs) so you’ll need to book.

[Tonyfinch]

I would have thought the staff at St. John would have welcomed some pretension and frills after slaving for hours at their gaffe.

[Gavin Jones]

I had lunch there in the pub a couple of weeks ago.

Decent IPA and a good beef sandwich (marinated skirt or somesuch w. horseradish), generous plate of cheeses from Neal's Yard.

I'll likely try the dining room soon. Looked good menu - (modern traditional British).

[Gavin Jones]

Wanted to go to the pub for lunch today, but they barred the child in our party.

Ended up having Dim Sum at Gerrard's corner. The child put away a plate of prawn cheung fun but turned their nose up at tripe in black bean stew.

[Jon Tseng]

following my own advice - popped by this evening - half empty and no need to book!

very nice ham broth with mint and bits of chopped hardboiled egg in it, ok-ish pigeon breast (bit tough) on a bed of peas, spuds and whatnot. scrummy frozen meringue cake (parfait?) with rose petals and some exceptionally ripe berries.

25 quid the lot incl. service and water. very good to have a place like this in the back pocket - right round the corner from office. I'd go back.

cheerio

J

ps gav, how busy was it on the lunch? d'ya need to book or can you just rock up?

[Gavin Jones]

Not busy - but I'm going to have a proper go soon.

Seemed to me somewhere between Fergus H. & Jeremy Lee on the Modern British continuum.

[Kikujiro]

following my own advice - popped by this evening - half empty and no need to book!

very nice ham broth with mint and bits of chopped hardboiled egg in it, ok-ish pigeon breast (bit tough) on a bed of peas, spuds and whatnot. scrummy frozen meringue cake (parfait?) with rose petals and some exceptionally ripe berries.

Jon, I was there the same evening (got an 8.30 table for two a couple of hours in advance; when we were there there was one free table) and agree with you about the tough pigeon. In tribute to Cabrales, here's the menu in full.

Ham broth with mint, sherry and egg / 4.50

Panzanella / 4.50

Poached sea trout, samphire, hollandaise / 5.50

Grilled chicken livers with piquant sauce, flat bread / 5.00

Salt duck and melon / 5.00

Spinach & ricotta rotolo, sage butter and parmesan / 11.50

Veal chop, broad bean purée / 12.50

Grilled marinated chicken, fennel, orange & chicory salad / 12.50

Roast pigeon with peas, lettuce and jersey royals / 12.00

Plaice, chips & tartare sauce / 12.00

Spiced chocolate cake, ginger cream / 5.00

Greek yoghurt & honey, cardamom & pistachio wafers / 5.00

Gooseberry & crème fraiche tart / 5.00

Iced rose petal meringue, strawberries & raspberries / 5.00

Neals' Yard cheese, plum cheese, oatcakes & sesame biscuits / 6.00

The trout was slightly resilient but delicious, and its accompaniments were great. The chicken livers were very good based on a brief taste.

I didn't order the veal as upon inquiry (service extremely welcoming) I was told it was white, but my companion did, and it was one of the pinkest bits of white veal I've seen. Her puree was dynamite though. Neal's Yard cheeses, which we shared, were very nice (big surprise there) and served in some abundance. Ordering probably inappropriately from the high end of the wine list (which is mostly sub-20 pounds and doesn't reach 30) produced a pleasantish pinot noir that didn't seem to justify its relative expense. With water and coffee, this edged the bill to around 83 or so including service. Rather nice bread and butter, I thought, too.

[thomas jerome newton]

am dining at the sutton arms in the coming days...will report back soon...

[Gavin Jones]

Having had lunch in the pub I returned to the upstairs dining room.

Narrow room, large windows, church chairs & small tables, the sense of space increased by a big mirror one end - reminded me of the French House.

A given that you overlook the glamorous chamber of shipping rather than Dean street.

The menu had a variety of mains - veal escalope, grilled tongue, sea bass, a risotto - but what grabbed me was the set menu (£12-50 for 2 courses, 15-50 for 3) with Onglet,chips,aioli as a main - I have complete amnesia as to the other choice.

The menu also reminded me of the St. John/French House approach, without the complete lack of compromise that meant when you ordered roast pigeon, you got exactly that, no more & no less.

Anyhow having sat down & got a dry sherry (Lustau fino) an amuse turned up. It was roast red pepper and black olive lightly bound in an emulsion sitting in a bit of pancake.

Pleasant enough - but amuses bouches in a pub?

Gimme a pork scratching.

Starter was 'Salt duck & white bean bruschetta'. this was really good, a toasty olive oily bit of bread with a small mountain of cooked white beans squished with good quality olive oil & salt duck pieces sitting on top of some rocket.

The main was a lump of onglet cut into pieces to exhibit the exemplary purplish flesh, chips (slightly soggy) and a big lump of unctuous aioli.

A little bit of watercress acted dresswise as the thong on the onglet.

Outstanding beef - it was chewy but so tasty (and it was quite a thick cut of skirt).

Having had an excellent glass of Corbieres I had another & excused it with Manchego with rocket & toasted olive bread. The Manchego was relatively young. I might have preferred an older cheese with a bit of Membrillo, but having powered through the Aioli the thought of Eton Mess (the alternative pudding on the set menu) was too much.

A coffee washed down a third glass of Corbieres - and I walked out into a downpour.

There are around 30 covers and dinner would be best booked - Lunch seemed fairly quiet.

Service was friendly and good though not particularly pro.

I'm going back.

[thomas jerome newton]

dined at the sutton arms last week for supper with friends...

wow...FANTASTIC!...great little joint and good value me thinks ate many fine things the best of which was involtini of veal with roasted broccoli, breast of veal stuffed with capers, anchovies and parmesan...was a bit worried that the parmesan may overpower but the kitchen got the balance just right, the broccoli and accompanying potatoes were yummy, the best roasties i've eaten in many a time.

starter of pissaledier [excuse spelling] was fine, the base was crisp, and a generous topping, delicous, why don't you see this fine much maligned dish on more menus? tasted my friends bourride and was jealous....but the pudding...

deconstructed black forest gateaux!....fabulousa as julian and sandy would have it...rich, dark, light sponge, ripe sexy cherries...an overdue revival of a lost favourite....

bottle of red: picardy pinot noir, couple of coffee's...don't know how much it cost as wasn't paying....even better but with starters no more than £6 and mains no ore than £12..puds around £5...must have been good value...now my favourite place...equal firsts with st. john.

sykes is a fantastic chef in my opinion, haven't seen many reviews in the press other than matthew forts but i think the sutton deserves many plaudits.

[Simon Majumdar]

Robin and I tried the Sutton Arms this evening

First of all I was very impressed that they phoned my colleague who had been kind enough to call for my table to warn them that they had two big parties dining that evening. I was determined to try the place so it made no difference

After a number of exemplary cocktails at Sosho ( the new list from Dale De Groff is a real winner ) we turned up at the Sutton Arms at 8pm.

The service for the whole evening was outstanding. Two young women called, I believe Anna and Leanna who were over from New Zealand proved to be amongst the most common sense, caring and efficient servers I have ever had in London

The menu is compact to say the least but there did seem to be something on the to suit everybody

Amuse of cheese Beignet were superb and accompanied by two glasses of Lindauer at an unbelievable £3.00 a glass.

Starters were a salad of Cuttlefish and a Matualan Salad of Chicken with oranges and pine nuts. Both were clean and fresh and well composed and at £4.50 astonishing value

Mains were slightly less successful. An Involito of Veal was tasty but a little dry. It was however served with delicious potatoes which had been roasted in fat. My Lamb rump was a little over cooked but the meat ( sourced from Theobalds on Theobalds Lane ) was of great quality. We had this with a bottle of Palo Alto Cab Franc( £13.50) which was served slightly chilled as it should have been. At £12.50 a head. These were both very good value

Puddings were disappointing. A deconstructed Black Forest Gateaux was fine but lacked a good splosh of Kirsh and a Rasberry Gratin lacked some oomph ( technical term ) which could have come from a drop of something.

They aced the mint tea test and could not believe that other places could not and we also had a good drop of Calvados to finish.

Bill for the whole lot was £80 with us leaving a £12 tip,

Thanks for the tip everyone. This was a great addition to the neighbourhood and could possibly make a great venue for an Egullet get together.

And thanks again to Anna and Leanna for the best service I have experienced this year

S

[Kikujiro]

Just a note to say it's still very good. This evening skipped starter; had mackerel with spring onions, new potatoes and gremolata; strawberry and rhubarb gratin. Everything, from little polenta and basil amuses through bread, butter, mains, desert and coffee, was pretty much perfect, as was the service (a couple of minor errors corrected with great charm). Could get quite fond of the place.

[Bloated]

After failing to secure a booking before Christmas I managed to eat at Sutton Arms last night despite discovering on arrival that the booking had been wrongly made (not by me!) for the night before.

The dining room is upstairs from the bar- there were 2 tables of 4 and 6 of 2 laid out and a further table had a pile of voting forms for a category (I forget which) of a restaurant of the year competition.

dishes eaten at our table

baked eggs with leek and cep

grilled chicory and goats cheese salad

'pork, black pudding, chorizo and butter bean' stew with cornbread

ricotta pancakes with sprouting broccoli and butter

seville orange tart with cream

three types (one very good) of wholemeal bread were offered with good butter and salt

The dishes were simple but competently executed. I wouldn't say this place was worth crossing London for- in west London gastropubs such as the Anglesea Arms and Havelock Tavern are a notch better and if anything cheaper. An honest enough endeavour though.

There is food available in the bar area- I don't know if it is prepared by the same kitchen.

[Tonyfinch]

Lovely meal at The Sutton Arms last night with the Majumdar boys. To me the place encapsulates the words "Dining Room" as opposed to restaurant, with its slightly rough and ready furniture and informal, very friendly atmosphere. Anna must qualify as the friendliest and pleasantest server in London.

The place is "honest" in the sense that while it has no pretense towards gourmet fireworks it serves well cooked ,high quality ingredients at more than fair prices. The same goes for the wine list which has interesting selections, again at fair mark ups.

Skate in gram flour with cucumber relish, Baked Egg and Cep, Veal chop on mustardised lentils, Onglet and Chips , bitter orange tart and chocolate pudding (and that was just my meal) were all washed down a treat by glasses of Lindaeur and bottles of Lastours Corbieres and topped off by coffee and calva. A satisfying meal that reinforces eating out as THE way to spend the evening.

[Tonyfinch]

Blimey Bloated. We were there. I've just posted when I saw your post. We were the three guys (one bald) and the Asian woman on the corner table by the window. What time were you there?

[Simon Majumdar]

I was the other one there with Tone

I much prefer the cooking here to that at The AA's and The Havelock, but each to their own

I had a very good Skate cooked in Chickpea batter and a Veal chop, both excellent

Company was, as ever, excellent, and we drank far too much

S

[Kikujiro]

Was there tonight. Last couple of visits to the SA, there's been one thing out (a failed icecream; an oversalty salt cod starter). But tonight it was all on great form. Had, I just realised, exactly the same as Simon (well, the skate fried in chickpea batter, with a cucumber relish; veal chop with lentils and greens [and lots of butter, I think]). Got a table on wandering in; place only half full; staff (with whom my friend flirted) lovely; only one loud table; proud to have it as my local.

[Akiko]

I will go back because all of you have raved but I had a main course last week that tasted like I had been given a plate of salt.

Chris and I went for dinner, he had a lovely scallop appetizer (huge with the orange bit left on, scrummy) and a decent veal chop with anchovy gratin.

I had a huge portion of pork terrine for a starter and then the ricotta pancake with purple tipped broccoli in a butter sauce.... I don't know what happened here. Maybe they thought they were using unsalted butter and then doused the thing in salt afterwards to make up for it when actually they used salted butter and then accidentally the cap of the salt shaker came off and all of its contents went into my dish...

But I'll go back, because I want so badly for this to be as good as I've heard and it is such a lovely little room.

[Tonyfinch]

There tonight with the scallop dish and lovely chunks of calves liver. Friend had the chicken parfait and the veal chop. Dessert of steamed Seville orange pudding lacked the bitter bite I was looking for from Seville oranges.

We were the only customers on a Monday until Fergus Henderson and some staff from St John came in. Blagged on semi -drunkenly to Fergus about e gullet and he agreed that the suckling pig would only serve ten people with "normal" appetites.

[macrosan]

Blagged on semi -drunkenly to Fergus about e gullet and he agreed that the suckling pig would only serve ten people with "normal" appetites.

You see ? I knew Simon was bullshitting when he said Henderson knew him

[Andy Lynes]

I can ask Mr Henderson next week when I see him if you like

[Miss J]

While you're doing that Andy, can you find out what nights St John is most likely to have eccles cakes left after work? I popped by last night after a meeting in Farringdon, and they'd run out.

[Andy Lynes]

If there's a lull in the conversation, I can't think of a better subject to get things going again!

(I'm going to see him about the possibility of a Q and A in case you are wondering).

[Kikujiro]

I popped by last night after a meeting in Farringdon

You have your priorities upside down.

[Tonyfinch]

Just to say that after Monday's near total emptiness, The Sutton Arms was completely full last night (Thursday).

Edited February 21, 2003 by Tonyfinch (log)