Every six months or so, a London neighbourhood seems to have a flurry of new restaurant openings that puts it in the foodie spotlight. It’s the sort of thing that gets estate agents excited – Phil and Kirstie would approve. Right now, it’s all about Clerkenwell and Farringdon. That pocket of London sandwiched between Holborn and the City. Famous for Smithfield Market, which is soon to move, and, of course, St John – one of the OGs as they say these days – Fergus Henderson’s mecca that has spawned many a chef to go and open their own pared-back restaurant.
But for a long time this area of London has lacked choice. Yes, there is the brilliant Brutto for £5 negronis and ‘cuddles’, Henry Harris’s Bouchon Racine, and Ibai for the best Galician steak in town, but otherwise it has just been easier to hop on the Elizabeth Line into the West End to go for dinner. But that’s all changed in the past few months – Jackson Boxer has opened Vesper in Exmouth Market, the team behind Camille will open a B. Penhale, a British and Irish restaurant on the former Club Gascon site, and The Poet, from Sune in Hackney, will set out its stall later this year.
And for us locals, it’s only getting better as the hottest pub group in London has just opened its doors this week in Clerkenwell. The Public House group, with pubs such as The Pelican in Notting Hill and The Bull in Charlbury, has ventured east for the first time to open The Horses. Located just off the Farringdon Road, this is the group’s sixth pub and has a seafood focus. With a similar lay out to The Hero in Maida Vale – the ground floor is the boozer with the upper floors serving as the restaurant – the pub has subtle nods to the food with different items of seafood etched on tiles around the room. It’s the classic Public House interior, easily identifiable on social media.
The first-floor restaurant has a curved seafood counter to sit at – think Maison Premiere in Brooklyn – with oysters, crab and lobster all on the cold section of the menu. Upstairs houses more seating along a counter and a large, raised table, ideal for a bigger group. Both the mackerel and cod’s roe from the smoked section should be ordered. For those more inclined to eat from the land than the sea, there is still plenty of choice. A ham hock terrine, tomatoes (from the group’s farm in the Cotswolds) and goat’s curd from the starters. There’s a pork chop, a chicken dish and an onglet on the mains but it seemed only apt to order more seafood. A starter of cockles and clams was at a level of deliciousness to convert even the most fussy of seafood eaters. For fish mains there is John Dory, hake, monkfish and Dover Sole for a very attractive £47. But it was the fish pie for two that we opted for. It was everything you hope a fish pie to be – flaky chunks of fish with a buttery lid of piped potatoes. Warm, comforting and hearty.
Glasses of wine start at £9 and there’s enough choice of bottles starting under £40 to make dining here with some wine accessible. As a proper pub should be. Of course there are proper pints too.
The food at Public House Group goes from strength to strength under executive chef Doug Sims. Last year, both the Pelican and The Bull were in Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs, and rightly so. The Horses has only just opened but you could be forgiven for thinking that the latest iteration of this pub has been open for much longer. The buzz, the quality of the food and the attention to detail from service. Lucky Clerkenwell.
