Plaquemine Lock, Islington, London Cajun and Creole pub review

Avoiding restaurants on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day and any other major celebration is one of the rules that I live by.

Dining out during a major festival brings a much higher risk of an overpriced set menu of sub-par food as the kitchen is stretched to its limits in a packed-out restaurant filled with lairy revellers, screaming children and soppy couples.

Why not visit a restaurant any other day of the year when these issues are much less likely to arise?

So, I must admit that I had palpitations when I realised that I'd booked a table at one of London's most acclaimed American restaurants on Thanksgiving. And my anxiety was made all the worse when I received a call to say that it was going to be very busy the night we were visiting #FirstWorldProblems.

Plaquemine Lock, a Cajun and Creole pub which is located on the banks of the Regents Canal in Islington, is owned by acclaimed chef Jacob Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo and Gelupo fame. It’s a love letter to his American ancestry as his grandparents were both integral to the construction of the eponymous Plaquemine Lock, which opened in Louisiana in 1909.

With its waterside setting and jovial atmosphere, Plaquemine Lock combines British pub vibes with American hospitality. There’s an excellent selection of craft beers from local London breweries like The Kernel and Hammerton, a range of cocktails that features Sazeracs and Mint Juleps and a Californian focused wine list. To add to the fun, they also host regular live jazz nights and have a cracking value happy hour from Monday to Friday.

Whilst I was worried that it was going to be elbow room only in Plaquemine Lock on Thanksgiving, in fact there was a lovely buzz of families and friends gathering to give thanks. I was thankful that Plaquemine Lock's regular bar and restaurant menus were both on offer and there was no special set menu to be seen.

With their killer bar menu offering up oysters rockefeller, po-boys and crawfish boils and their compact restaurant menu serving up dishes like gumbo and jambalaya, we danced between the two with the primary objective of ensuring we had room for dessert.

A pair of cocktails were both booze packed, in a good way. A rather grown-up Hurricane (£13) was neither too sweet nor too fruity and a fine margarita (£12) was made with smoky mezcal.

As we had a bit of a wait to place our order, we were offered a plate of complimentary cornbread (£4). Warm, sweet and soft of crumb, it was accompanied by an equal quantity of whipped salty butter. It was like eating sponge cake with salty buttercream icing and I was 100% down with it.

Fried green tomatoes (£5) were so good they deserve to have their own film named after them. The tender and meaty toms were coated in a rugged spiced crumb that would make the colonel jealous and served with a piquant remoulade that was the ideal dip.

A wedge salad (£6) was very much up my street because of the healthy ratio of greenery to unhealthy adornments. The crisp lettuce slice was drenched in a funky and creamy blue cheese dressing and topped with plentiful nuggets of crispy bacon.

I've been craving shrimp and grits since the days of Hang Fire and Plaquemine Lock's version (£10) was very good indeed. Creamy, slightly coarse grits were topped with sweet prawns and crisp salty bacon pieces in a whoppingly savoury and meaty gravy. It's proper comfort food.

Onto the mains, and we were somewhat restrained, just sharing a main and a couple of sides.

Eggs Sardou (£20) was a lovely brunch-style dish, which we happened to be eating at dinner. More of that excellent cornbread, this time crisped up on the griddle was sandwiched with perfectly runny poached eggs, tender artichoke hearts and dollops of thick creamed spinach. It was all brought together by a silky and buttery herby hollandaise sauce.

Sides were belters too. A bowl of dirty rice (£6) that was filthed up by the addition of minced pork and the richness of chicken liver.

Smothered okra (£6), with just the right amount of bite, was coated in a well spiced and buttery creole tomato sauce.

We made it to dessert with mission accomplished as we had just enough room to order one each.

Beignets (£6) lived up to the expectations of those I've seen so many times in the film Chef from Café Du Monde. Served hot from the fryer, they were impossibly light yet squidgy, liberally dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by a pot of compellingly toasty and slightly savoury hot chicory caramel.

A slice of pecan pie (£10) is probably the best I've eaten (except for Eira's from Inner City Pickle). Thin and crisp of crust, it was laden with crunchy nuts and dark sugared caramel. The kicker was a dollop of cockle warming bourbon whipped cream.

We had an excellent meal of well-priced Deep South cooking at Plaquemine Lock in a charming setting. I'll have to update my rules on eating out during major celebration days as I'd gladly go back to Plaquemine Lock for Thanksgiving any year.

The Details:

Address - Plaquemine Lock, 139 Graham Street, Islington, London N1 8LB

Web - https://plaqlock.com/

Telephone - 020 7688 1488

Silures, Roath, Cardiff Sunday lunch review

*This restaurant has now been rebranded as Bacchus*

On the Sunday after the onslaught of Storm Darragh, I thought it would be a fine opportunity to check out the Sunday lunch at Silures on Wellfield Road on my own.

Whilst this was partially under the guise of supporting local hospitality after taking yet another battering, it was primarily because I’m exceptionally greedy and Mrs G was busy working.

One of the few swanky restaurants on my side of Cardiff, Silures was beautifully decked out in its festive finery. Combined with the excellent front of house from familiar Cardiff hospitality faces Ollie and Andrew, a visit to Silures always feels a little bit special.  

Silures’ compact Sunday lunch menu offers a well-priced two courses for £30 or three courses for £35. There’s a choice of three starters, five mains (including roast pork, beef and chicken), and four desserts.

I’ve recently completed a wine course so in theory the quality of my wine tasting notes should move kick up a gear from abysmal to woeful. A large gluggable glass of Pays D’oc Merlot (£7) was packed with red fruit and had good acidity. Nope, same quality of commentary as usual then.

To start, silky smooth and thick chicken liver parfait was partnered with some excellent garnishes - sweet date chutney, crunchy candied walnuts and zippy pickled mushrooms.

It was cracking spread over a slice of lightly toasted brioche, which was served in a rather absurd bowl of grain. This was a classic dish executed with class.

A roast dinner is best judged in terms of its individual components and this basis, Silures’ pork belly and cauliflower cheese are two of the finest examples that I've eaten anywhere.

A plate length piece of pork was impeccably juicy and tender and topped with shatteringly light, thin and crisp crackling. Bag this crispy pork skin up and it would be the best pork scratching on offer in Cardiff. 

Silures have clearly taken all the key learnings from their excellent macaroni cheese and brought them to bear on the brassica. A bubbling cauldron of golden cheese was home to dinky cauliflower pieces that were well-coated in an ultra thick and cheesy sauce. 

I’ve never had a version like it, and it was far superior to other examples where massive bits of cauliflower are barely coated in an underpowered sauce.

A light and crisp Yorkshire pudding, roast heritage carrots, fruity braised red cabbage, and greens were all unfussy yet hit the mark. Tender roast potatoes could have been more assertively crisp, but really that’s my only criticism.

A jug of thick glossy gravy ensured that there was ample saucing on hand.

Stuffed, I thought I'd crack on with a light dessert, a whopping bowl of rice pudding. Thick and creamy with a warming winter spice of cinnamon and cardamom, it was adorned with toasty honeycomb pieces and a dollop of richness balancing dark berry compote.

I had a corker of a Sunday lunch at Silures and it’s definitely up there among the best I’ve eaten in Cardiff. Whichever part of the city you’re in, it’s worth a trip over to Wellfield Road for a little bit of luxury.

The Details:

Address - Silures, 55 Wellfield Road, Cardiff CF24 3PA
Web - https://www.silures-amh.com/
Telephone - 029 2280 6369