The gastropub trend is one that has grown from strength-to-strength over the last decade. Increasing numbers of pubs are being gentrified – whilst retaining their traditional English character – and serve moderately priced European dishes with a modern twist to a hip, foodie crowd that appreciates a good plate of grub at a much higher standard than you’d expect from your typical pub.
And these are the glory years for such types of establishment. The Duke of Cambridge in Islington opened in 1998 and, as far as I know, is still the UK’s first and only gastro-pub to be certified by the Soil Association for its use of organic produce. The Anchor & Hope in Waterloo opened in autumn 2003 and is another gastro-grouped public house that regularly nestles neatly at the top of yearly ‘Pub of the Year’ classifications.
Gastropubs have come a long way on their culinary journey from their humble London beginnings – this year no less than 10 gastropubs around the UK were awarded Michelin stars and everyone, it seems, wants to get in on the party.
Celebrity chefs, such as Anthony Worrall Thompson who owns The Lamb in Henley-on-Thames, have bolstered their empires with gastropub investments while the love for the cosy traditional boozer that serves good quality food has also broken English shores – The Spotted Pig, New York’s first gastropub opened back in 2004.
Gimmicky, individual and slightly quirky, gastropubs have traditionally been the domain of independent publicans striving for freedom over their choice of beverages, their dining menus and interior décor. They have been things of unique brand identity and their uniqueness has been part of their success.
Now however, the number of group-owned gastropubs in London has increased with players like Geronimo Inns trying to emulate that individuality by operating under the ethos that each of their pubs is uniquely tailored to the locality in which it is based. Where possible they use local butchers, bakers, garden designers and artists to make sure that their pubs retain the original character from the day they opened.
The East Hill pub is one particular Geronimo Inn that achieves this particularly well.
Sat in the heart of south west London, on the fringe of the fashionable Tonsleys, the East Hill invites a relaxed crowd with its distressed Chesterfield sofas, walls lined with bookcases, wooden scrubbed floors, cottage style tables with mismatched chairs and a rustic ‘chandelier’ fashioned from a suspended Sheila Maid and old tin watering cans.
The pub is a perfect location for lazy Sunday’s that involve hearty roast dinners, cuddles in deep armchairs and a wide selection of good wines and real ales to whet the whistle of the most particular punter. The pub even hosts is own quiz on a Sunday so arrive by mid-afternoon if you want a table!
The menu is inspired by true country farmhouse style with rustic dishes like hogget, leek & Cornish potato stew; and cold Ox tongue with pickled baby beets, mixed leaves & horseradish cream alongside more gamey and classic favourites such as salad of seared rabbit loin, confit leg with bacon & pine nuts; or pea, broad bean and asparagus risotto.
Slabs of steak are served thick on wooden chopping boards, pints of prawns are available in the summer months as well as golden breadcrumby Scotch eggs… oh, the scotch eggs! Traditional mustards, piccalillis and pork pies sit at the end of the bar as part of the chalkboard bar snacks menu – and did I mention the Scotch eggs…?!
Not only is the pub reasonably priced (a meal for two with a bottle of wine comes in at around £45) but the East Hill’s success lies in the clever straddling act it does between being a good ‘local’ pub for the Wandsworth locale and a gastro-treat for foodies from further afield.
Whilst occupying the same room, the dining area is loosely separated from the rest of the pub meaning that whether you are eating supper or just enjoying an evening pint none of the atmosphere around you is compromised. Local drinkers watch weekend rugby matches with seemingly unaffected diners enjoying the symphony of an occasional whoop or cheer mixed with the bustle of a busy kitchen.
It all very much feels like home.
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