Well, that was jolly good. The Butcher’s Arms is a proper country pub, honest and comfy. I’m getting heartily sick of walking into gastropubs that turn out to belong to a boutique chain of identikit establishments, walls hung with photos of pheasants and foxhounds, deja vu menus of hand-dived scallops and sticky toffee pudding. So …
Category Archive: Pubs
Dining pubs, gastropubs
Review: Stravaigin, Glasgow
Sassenach bloggers and critics seem to only cross the border with their sights on Edinburgh, drawn by the passel of well known chefs doing their thing in Scotland’s capital. So in the spirit of adventure I thought I’d look for good eats in Scotland’s second city. Stravaigin is a bar and restaurant rambling over several …
Review: The Dysart Arms, Bunbury
The Dysart Arms is part of the Brunning & Price chain of pubs, one of those groups that has worked out the gastropub formula and is busily replicating it in 30+ places across the country. Normally I’d pick an independent instead, but Harden’s gave it a thumbs up and we were winding our way home …
Review: The Oak, Notting Hill
The Oak. It sounds like a pub, but it’s actually a casual Italian restaurant on Westbourne Park Road. Don’t come expecting sausage and mash or a pint of Guinness. Instead expect rustic stripped-back tables decked with candles packed into the shell of a handsome looking old boozer. The atmosphere even on a Tuesday in February …