Restaurant Review: Ravensbourne Arms

I've reviewed a fair few Antic pubs for my South London Press column before, and they're reliably good if not hugely exciting. The Ravensbourne Arms has something a bit special, though. Worth heading to Lewisham, even...

New pub openings get a hard time sometimes, especially if the word ‘gastropub’ comes into play. But the response to the transformation of old boozer The Coach & Horses into this smarter, food-led pub has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents and local bloggers alike can be heard singing its praises, grateful of a much needed safe, decent pub in a largely bereft area of Lewisham.

Ravensbourne Arms is the latest opening from the Antic group, a growing collection of pubs around south east London which are individual in style but reliable in standard. Previous successes in the area include Brockley’s Jam Circus and The Royal Albert in New Cross, and anyone familiar with these venues will quickly spot the resemblance.

Shabby, reclaimed furniture, wooden floor and an abundance of nic-nacs has become a calling card for the pub group, and pretty much sums up the styling here, too. There’s a large bar area for drinkers and a rotating selection of ales, whilst the menu hovers somewhere between homely comfort food and ever-so-slightly poshed up pub grub. 

Restaurant Review: The Three Stags

The Three Stags is one of one of my favourite local pubs in good ol' Kennington. I have a few. This is my review for South London Press.

Kennington isn’t an area short of pubs, and certainly not pubs of the modern, gastro variety. The Tommyfield and The Old Red Lion are a couple of them which have been reviewed and very positively rated in this paper over the last year. The sense of community at The Three Stags blows the competition out of the water, though. It’s tangible from the moment of stepping inside; this is no dining room with a bit of space for people to drink, rather this is a proper pub that just happens to serve food.

Restaurant Review: The Compass

Just the right amount of gastro at this friendly Rotherhithe pub which I've reviewed for my column in South London Press.

The gastropub continues to be a growing phenomenon. Almost every week a slightly grim old boozer will get a lick of paint, some eclectic retro furniture and a good floorboard polishing before re-opening with a full menu and another ale or two on offer.

Of course, this is no bad thing, but there’s always a downside. These pubs all too often lack the character and personal touch of a more old-fashioned establishment, and what’s created instead is row after row of almost identical yet indefinable pub-bistro-cafe-wine bar-restaurant hybrids.

Restaurant Review: The Stonhouse

Here's my review of The Stonhouse, part of the Renaissance Pubs group, written for my South London Press column.

The Stonhouse has held pride of place on a tucked away Clapham backstreet since 2006. Old boozer The Windsor Arms was bought by locals Mark Reynolds, Tom Peake and Nick Fox and transformed into the trendy venue that The Stonhouse now is. It occupies a space somewhere between gastropub and restaurant, not at all dissimilar to The Avalon, The Bolingbroke and The Abbeville establishments nearby which are owned by the same entrepreneurial trio.

Inside, The Stonhouse is light and bright, but just a bit cosy, too. During the summer, doors open into a picturesque walled beer garden, but there’s a fireplace ready to take centre-stage again come winter.

Restaurant Review: The Antelope

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column, and an impressive gastropub dining destination in Tooting that's well worth remembering if in the area.

Heading to SW17 to review a “foodie pub” I wasn’t sure what to expect. So little is heard of the dining scene in Tooting that it doesn’t foster high expectations. There’s a couple of good boozers, The Antelope being one of them, but even in the age of the gastro, pub food can be hit and miss to say the least.

Set on Mitcham Road not far from Tooting Broadway tube station, you can spot Antelope a mile off. It looks all a pub should be – warm, welcoming and - even-midweek – it’s bustling. This atmosphere continues inside, but it’s once I’ve walked past the heaving bar, through an archway and into the “dining room” that things get exciting. This isn’t tables in a pub, this is a separate enclave and entering feels like being let in on a well kept secret. That said, it’s fairly full so it’s obviously not that well kept.

Restaurant Review: Zeitgeist

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column. Zeitgeist is pretty much my local pub and I'm definitely a regular, though for me it's usually more about the beers than the food.

You can count London’s German restaurants on one hand. There’s The Hop Exchange German bar on Southwark Street, Stein’s in Richmond (which claims to be the very first), The Fest in Fulham (which keeps Octoberfest running all year round) and the only one of the lot that’s particularly well-known, The Bavarian Beerhouse on City Road. As the names of all of these places suggest, food isn’t really the main focus – it’s all about the beers. The almost unheard of Zeitgeist is one to add to the list, and it may be the place to break the mould.

Hidden inside The Jolly Gardener’s pub on Black Prince Road, Zeitgeist is mere minutes from the Albert Embankment and Vauxhall station, but could take a long time to find. You most likely would come across it having given up and gone in for a drink instead.

Restaurant Review: The Thatched House

Here's a post originally written for www.londonist.com, as part of their Dining Beyond Zone 1 series of restaurant reviews. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.



The Thatched House sits conspicuously on a busy road junction close to Ravenscourt Park. The fact that it’s a largely residential area is reflected in the laid-back, homely nature of this Young’s pub that feels like a proper, old-school local.

That said, a few deliberately quirky design touches hint that The Thatched House is aiming to go beyond being just a nice pub for those who live nearby. A vast wine list sitting on the table is confirmation that there’s gastro aspirations afoot.

Restaurant Review: The White Swan

Here's a restaurant review originally written for www.londonist.com. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.



If you’ve ever worked in the vicinity, The White Swan on Fetter Lane will no doubt be known to you as a good place for a post work pint or two. Indeed, walking in on a Friday evening, it was just as rammed and rowdy as a City pub should rightfully be at the onset of the weekend.

The White Swan isn’t just about boozing, though. The overly large wine list might be a hint that there’s more to the place, or failing such intuition, the fact that the sign clearly reads ‘pub and dining room’. They don’t mean that gastropub deal of being a pub but serving some decentish grub, either. Downstairs is the pub, and two flights up is the dining room. They’re separated by toilets and (maybe) soundproofed walls, and never the twain shall meet.