The Tamil Crown, Islington, London desi pub review

I've said it before but I’m a huge fan of desi pubs. After all, delicious Indian food and well-kept beers are a match made in heaven.

Tap and Tandoor in Solihull and the Soho Tavern in Gateshead are both places where we've eaten and drunk very well on our travels. 

On our most recent trip to London, we managed to squeeze in a visit to The Tamil Crown in Islington. Whilst it stretches the definition of a pub as most of its space dedicated to restaurant dining, there’s still room for a few people at the bar to enjoy a pint alongside an onion bhaji or two.

Owned by former Roti King executive chef Prince Durairaj and ex-Market Halls general manager Glen Leeson, the Tamil Crown is currently ranked as the 35th best gastropub in the UK in the ever reliable Top 50 Gastropubs list. Alongside its stablemates The Tamil Prince and Tamila, the Tamil Crown leans towards Southern Indian cooking, as that’s where Durairaj hails from.

We weren't drinking after a craft beer holiday in Tallinn but I think it’s fair to say that the Tamil Crown’s beer selection isn’t the most inspiring, especially when there are London breweries on its doorstep like The Kernel and Pressure Drop. Harbour’s Beach Party Pale Ale (£8 a pint) and Purity Session IPA (£8) are about as exciting as it gets. Instead, I enjoyed a bready alcohol free Lucky Saint lager (£6.50) and Mrs G saw off a fruity and fragrant Desi Spritz alcohol free cocktail (£11.50).

Snacks kicked off the meal, and okra fries (£9) were probably the best I've ever eaten. Hyper crisp and grease free, their potently spiced batter surrounded thin fronds of vegetable.

Beef masala uttapam (£12.50) was the standout dish of the meal. A light and crisp rice flour pancake was topped with slow-cooked, headily spiced shreds of beef which had been fried to a golden crisp on their surface. It was joined by a creamy and fiery coconut chutney.

Finally, a gorgeously juicy and crisp-skinned lime leaf scented chicken thigh (£13.50) was delicious dunked in a pot of fresh and fruity pineapple chutney. It had lux Greggs mango chicken oval bite vibes, and I was fully sold.

Onto mains, and the other standout dish of the meal was a corker of an aubergine curry (£13.50) with soft and sticky chunks of the meaty vegetable and long cooked sweet onions. It was a rich, deeply spiced and decadent curry.

A Chettinad lamb curry (£16) had a well-spiced and meaty gravy and a decent amount of soft and tender pieces of meat. But it was no better than similar dishes I’ve eaten at Cardiff’s myriad excellent southern Indian restaurants.

On the carb front, coconut cream was stirred through pilau rice (£6.50) to give it a sticky rice-like decadence. Its creaminess also worked exceptionally well to balance the punchy spicing of the other dishes.

A good roti (£4.50) was light and elastic, but it didn’t quite live up to the exemplars at Roti King – it just wasn’t as flaky or crisp.

With its combination of big-flavoured southern Indian cooking in a laid-back pub setting, we had an excellent meal at the Tamil Crown. I can see why it’s a contemporary London desi pub success story. 

The Details:

Address - The Tamil Crown, 16 Elia Street, London N1 8DE

Web - https://www.thetamilcrown.com/

Telephone - 020 3342 0709

The Pig and Swill, Cardiff pub review

A few of our mates who live in Cardiff’s Victoria Park say that it’s an area which has been crying out for somewhere decent to drink.

So, Andy Aston and Lewis Dwyer, the duo behind the excellent Hiraeth, have hopped to the rescue with the recent opening of the Pig and Swill, a modern pub located on the corner of Victoria Park.

They have 11 taps of craft beer on offer and on the day we visited, four of them were from Bristol’s Lost & Grounded as well as single taps from Flowerhorn, Anspach & Hobday and Nirvana Alcohol Free. It’ll be interesting to see how the selection evolves and if Lost & Grounded’s dominance is a permanent fixture.

I knocked back halves of Lost & Grounded's delicious Wanna Go to the Sun juicy pale ale and Saison Dupont-esque Saison D’Avon. 

If craft beer isn’t your thing, then there’s a selection of 17 wines by the glass and a handful of cocktails available too. Mrs G particularly enjoyed a bright and summery glass of Las Lilas Vinho Verde.

We visited the Pig & Swill on their second Saturday lunchtime and according to Andy they’d had a very busy first week with a few locals already making multiple visits to show their support.

As expected from the pair behind Hiraeth, the Pig and Swill's menu of nibbles and small plates is much more involved than your typical pub grub. However, if you're concerned that things might be a bit too fancy, I can reassure you that there are plenty of deep-fried things, stuff on toast, and even a bowl of chips on offer to soak up all that booze.

During our visit, an issue with the new till system meant we had to order and pay for drinks at the bar whilst food was ordered and paid for at the table. I've been reassured that this is going to be resolved soon so that if you're eating you'll be able to order a drink at the table as well. More casual drinkers will still be able to prop up the bar. 

Going forward, it’ll also be interesting to see how they manage the balance between people just drinking and those wanting food, as it’s currently walk-ins only in a relatively small space. 

There wasn’t a long wait for our food, and when it arrived, everything came out at the same time. This was fine as we’re champion speed-eaters but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re ordering plenty and concerned that your food is going to get cold whilst you’re picking at it.

We focused on one dish at a time and a pair of beautifully meaty and oily mackerel fillets (£10) with nicely torched skin drew our attention first. They were sat on giant couscous-like fregola pasta that were coated in a rich savoury stock imbued with the fiery and porky heat of ‘nduja.

Crab rarebit (£9) was the second dish we got stuck into and coincidentally, it was the second time in just over a month that I’ve eaten this same dish at different restaurants. Here, a thin slice of toasted Pettigrew sourdough was topped with a melted cheese sauce that delivered a wallop of earthy crustacean. It was a very good riff on the classic dish.

We both agreed that a chicken schnitzel (£10) was our favourite plate of the meal. Juicy chicken breast coated in crisp breadcrumbs and a golden yolked fried egg were bang on. But, it was a café de Paris sauce that turbocharged the dish. Rich and buttery with a warming hit of curry and the zip of briny capers, it was one hell of a sauce.

Our other fried treat was slow-cooked beef cromesqui (£8). Crisp panko crumbs cocooned shreds and nuggets of tender beef in a gorgeously thick gravy. Slices of pickled onion, a dusting of parmesan, and bacon frazzle shards brought complexity, crunch and MSG to the party. On the side, a carrot puree added some sweetness to the plate, but it was the one element of the meal which had turned tepid by the time we turned our attention to it.

Tender charred carrots (£7) were sat on a bed of earthy and warming spiced morcilla puree and topped with a good handful of toasted almonds. I’ve come to the realisation that my favourite kind of veg dishes are the ones which are at least 30% meat. This very much fit the mould.

In the absence of any dessert options, I decided to round off the meal with a sausage roll (£8). Golden flaky pastry was wrapped around dense and juicy well-seasoned minced pork. On the side, a blob of fruity and not too sweet homemade ketchup almost had a bloody Mary kind of thing going on. 

We really liked the Pig and Swill and their extensive booze selection and well-priced elevated pub grub is sure to be a big asset to Victoria Park. After lunch, I felt as happy as a pig in mud as we strolled back to the other side of Cardiff. 

The Details

Address - The Pig and Swill, 1 Victoria Park Road West, Cardiff, CF5 1EZ

Web - https://www.instagram.com/thepigandswill/

The Charlton Arms, Ludlow gastropub review

A few weeks ago, we went to Cedric Bosi's restaurant.

No, I haven't just had a brain fart, and I didn't mean to write Claude Bosi's restaurant.

Cedric is Claude's younger brother and a very successful chef in his own right with two gastropubs in the Shopshire town of Ludlow. He's just that little bit less famous than his older sibling.

Whilst Claude has two Michelin stars for his restaurant Brooklands in London, Cedric only has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a top 100 Gastropub ranking for The Charlton Arms in Ludlow.

 

Having originally moved to Ludlow in the early noughties to work alongside Claude at the legendary Hibiscus, Cedric’s culinary travels took him around Ireland and England before he returned to Ludlow in 2014 with his family to open The Charlton Arms.

Located on the banks of the River Teme, it’s a handsome building with a riverside terrace, 12 rooms and a massive dining space with views out over the water.

When it comes to the food, the starter and dessert sections of the menu were jampacked with captivating dishes like pork and rabbit pie; fish soup; pork and tarragon scotch egg; wintry summer pudding; and sticky toffee pudding. In comparison, the mains mostly sounded rather staid, and almost everyone around us ordered either the burger or bavette steak.

It’s also worth flagging just how reasonable the prices at The Charlton Arms are, with starters from £5.95, mains from £12.95, and desserts from £5. You’d be lucky to find those price points in a microwave reliant chain pub let alone an acclaimed gastropub.

To drink, I kicked off with a malty half of Ludlow Gold (£2.25) whilst Mrs G enjoyed a good glass of Bernard Remy Champagne (£13.95). We then moved onto super gluggable glasses of Terre du Soleil Merlot (£6.10) and I rounded off the meal with an excellent glass of Morande late harvest Sauvignon Blanc (£4.95) with plenty of peaches and honey. 

Mrs G's twice baked cheese souffle (£7) was the winner of the two starters we ordered. With its golden caramelised edges, soft texture and drenching of silky cheese sauce, it was an indulgent way to kick off the meal.

I ordered the oxtail vol au vent (£9.95) because I almost never see one on restaurant menus and I love a bit of retro cooking. The crisp pastry was good, and I enjoyed the deeply savoury oxtail ragu filling which was dusted with savoury cheese. But it felt more like a mini puff pastry tart than a vol au vent due to its low sides. So, it didn’t quite feel like the 1970s dinner party experience I was looking for.

Things ratcheted up a few notches with mains.

Hake Kiev (£24) was a feat of engineering and deliciousness. A golden crumbed meaty hake fillet was the sarcophagus for a judicious quantity of garlic butter flecked with potent brown shrimp. On the side was a blob of thick and roasty cauliflower puree.

I opted for the pork chop (£15.50), and it was an absolute behemoth. Beautifully juicy, it was bathed in a rich cream sauce with a richness balancing cider fruitiness and pieces of tangy apple.

The standout dish of the entire meal was a side of French onion Mac and cheese (£4.95). Long cooked sweet, golden and umami rich caramelised onions were flecked through a thick and uber cheesy macaroni cheese with a golden crust. I can’t believe that I’ve never come across it before - it really should be on every restaurant menu up and down the country.

Assertively garlicky baby mushrooms (£3.95) were excellent.

Roasted carrots (£3.95), seasoned with a lick of chilli oil, were just the right side of al dente for me but Mrs G thought they were a touch under.

After much deliberation over the impressive dessert selection, I settled on the coconut liqueur panna cotta (£5.95). It really should have been called Nice biscuit panna cotta, such was its uncanny likeness in flavour to the well-known biscuit. Whilst it was a smidgen overset, it was lovely paired with sharp and fragrant poached rhubarb and rhubarb puree.

We had a delicious meal of remarkably well-priced pub cooking at The Charlton Arms. Whilst Cedric Bosi isn’t quite as much of a household name as his brother, he’s clearly a huge talent and his Ludlow gastropub very much deserves to be on your radar.

The Details:

Address - The Charlton Arms, Ludlow Bridge, Lower Broad Street, Ludlow, SY8 1PJ

Web - https://www.thecharltonarms.co.uk/
Telephone - 01584 872 813

The Devonshire, Soho, London pub review

 

Is there a more hyped pub in the UK at the moment than the Devonshire?

Co-owned by landlord extraordinaire Oisin Rogers, Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll, and the former head chef of The Fat Duck, Ashley Palmer-Watts, it’s received rave reviews from national critics and food bloggers alike since opening in 2023. 

Pop stars galore like Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi have all played intimate gigs in their invitation only Green Room.

And judging by the perennial crowds of people drinking on the street, I can see why they’re widely touted as serving the best (and most) Guinness in London.  

If all these plaudits weren’t enough to get you frothing at the mouth, then just the other week they were handed the top spot in the well regarded Top 50 Gastropubs list. 

When I rocked up for my solo Friday lunch, I spotted Oisin Rogers checking in with the team at the front desk. Whilst he didn’t pull me a pint of Guinness, it was good to see one of top dogs putting in an appearance. 

With dining rooms spread across multiple floors, private rooms in an adjacent building and a roof terrace, The Devonshire must turn over a ton of covers a day. I was sat in a gorgeous claret coloured upstairs dining room with contemporary art bedecked walls. With its relaxed yet stylish vibe and friendly yet slick front of house team, it’s the kind of place where billionaire bankers and penny-pinching solo diners would feel equally at home. 

Whilst the Devonshire’s a la carte reads remarkably well with dishes like iberico pork ribs (£15), brawn toast (£12) and beef cheek suet pudding (£26), I couldn’t look past their no choice set menu, which offers three courses for £29. 

To drink, it could only have been a pint of Guinness (£7.20). Don’t get me wrong, it was very good but ultimately, it was still just a pint of Guinness and I didn't clock the higher nitrogen-to-carbon dioxide ratio they use that's supposed to make it a smoother pint. 

But now, the superlatives are going to start and won't let up.

A golden capped, salt dusted, soft and sweet crumbed warm white roll was carbohydrate royalty. I regretted having to say no to offer of a second as I had a busy day of eating ahead.

I’d expect a prawn cocktail on a bargain‑basement set menu to mean a mountain of lettuce and a token amount of crustacean. However, this was all thriller and no filler and in fact, there was only a scant sprinkling of crisp greenery. A partially shelled langoustine crowned the pile of small sweet-fleshed prawns coated in a tangy Marie Rose sauce. 

My skirt steak arrived quick smart from its brush with the Devonshire’s custom oak ember grill. 

Crimson fleshed with a wisp of smoke on its exterior and with a light chew and excellent beefiness, this was as good if not better than many more expensive cuts that I’ve eaten at lesser restaurants. 

Sides were bob on too. A thick and rich bearnaise had a compelling anise twang.

And duck fat chips were every bit as good as you’d expect from a chef who spent 20 years at the restaurant which invented the triple cooked chip. Compellingly ragged, golden and crisp with fluffy centres and a meaty twang, they were everything I want from a spud.

We’re long past the point of this blog post sounding a bit effusive, but a slab of sticky toffee pudding was an absolute bobby dazzler too.

Light, soft and squidgy with a lift of lemon zest, it was drenched in toasty toffee sauce. A dense scoop of vanilla ice cream was the ideal accompaniment... I’m sure the cream or custard that I was offered would have been too.

I had a brilliant lunch at the Devonshire and it fully deserves the hype. Their set menu is one of the best deals I’ve ever come across in the UK let alone London. It's just as well they're not based in Cardiff as you’d be rather bored of me reviewing the same three courses every week.

The Details:

Address - The Devonshire, 17 Denman Street, Soho, London W1D 7HW
Web - https://www.devonshiresoho.co.uk/

The Heathcock, Llandaff, Cardiff bar menu review

“Use it or lose it”

It’s such a well-worn cliché that’s trotted out by sanctimonious bloggers like me that it’s lost most of its impact.

But, as I was stood at the bar at the Heathcock in Llandaff and told that their sister pub the Clifton in Bristol had closed the previous week, it really hammered home that nowhere is safe from the chill winds that are blowing through the hospitality industry.

The Clifton, much like its siblings the excellent Heathcock and Hare and Hounds, had received glowing reviews in the national press, and all are / were holders of Michelin Bib Gourmands, an award for excellent cooking at a reasonable price. Even still, it wasn’t enough for the Clifton.

In light of this bleak news, it was fitting that I was back at the Heathcock to spend some money after far too long an absence.

On a lovely summer’s eve, we basked in the sunshine of the Heathcock’s beautiful garden, and I knocked a very enjoyable pint of Arbor’s American pale ale on cask before moving onto a bottle of crisp Conde Valdemar white rioja (£39).

Whilst the Heathcock’s main restaurant now serves a saver menu (£30 for three courses), a set menu (£49 for three courses) and tasting menu (£50 for seven courses), their extensive bar menu offers a selection of small plates, snacks, mains and desserts that are ideal for grazing whilst you’re boozing. It was difficult to pass up lamb sweetbreads with smoked bacon (£11) or house sausage and ketchup (£5). But, there’s only so much food that a man can eat.

On the snack front, a quartet of crispy lamb belly pieces (£7) looked like meaty fish fingers. The soft and tender, fat-seamed pieces of meat were coated in a crisp golden crumb and accompanied by a pot of honkingly potent garlic aioli.

A textbook Welsh rarebit (£4) comprised of a doorstop of toasted sourdough topped with a super savoury golden concoction of pokey cheese and warming mustard.

Onto my main course, and a lovely hanger steak (£16) was served a pleasing rare. With a good flavour, light chew and scattering of sea salt, it was a lovely piece of meat. And all the better for its accompaniments, a thick, spicy and sweet romesco sauce, charred spring onion and the best version of the Heathcock’s confit potatoes that I’ve eaten – the pressed tender potato slices were deep fried to a ridiculous golden crunch.

For the purposes of completeness, I ordered a dessert. A beautifully wobbly buttermilk pudding (£9) was reminiscent of a panna cotta but with a richness balancing yoghurty tang. Toasty pieces of honeycomb and fragrant strawberries were bang on garnishes.

I had an excellent meal at the Heathcock and judging by the feedback from others sat with me, they did do. There’s no doubt this is one of, if not, Cardiff’s very best gastropub. If it’s been a while since you last visited then it’s most definitely worth a return trip soon. 

The Details:

Address - The Heathcock, 58-60 Bridge St, Cardiff CF5 2EN
Web - https://heathcockcardiff.com/
Telephone - 029 2115 2290