Anchor and Hope, Waterloo
Anchor and Hope
36 The Cut
London SE1 8LE
Tel: 020 7928 9898
The Anchor and Hope falls into the class of resurgent British cooking exemplified by St John, and indeed it was started by ex-St John and Eagle-ites. They have even poached the Food&Life team's friendly St John barman Alex recently, as I was surprised to see when I went last night.
The food was last night every bit as good as it was before I went to the States last year. I do wish that it wasn't quite so similar to the St John menu (although it goes a little more European than St J) but quality-wise, there is much to praise and the value is excellent. The boy and I had four dishes between us to share, a carafe and a glass of wine and coffee, for £42.50 which is pretty fantastic for central London. We could have had only one dish each from the more substantial portion of the menu and gotten out paying even less.
The menu includes new British staples such as a whole crab and mayonnaise, cured sea trout with pickled cucumber and dill, and of course much meat - foie gras, cured beef and celeraic, and the St John-style larger meat dishes for 2-4 people. Last night we were sticking to fish as I am so deprived of piscine pleasure in the States, and our dishes were precisely executed and varied - from the smoked sprats with horseradish through to a very good cuttlefish risotto - the pieces of cuttlefish melting and not at all chewy, and the risotto very well balanced between crunch and mush, as it should be.
Wine-wise we had a little bit of experimentation as we wanted white (very unusual for me) and so we had a testing glass of a Basque white (bright and a little fizzy) which was good, but we decided we couldn't drink a whole bottle of it, and then a carafe of Verdicchio. The wine mark-ups are very reasonable and for once, tap water is offered rather than requiring a special request.
The A&H has its idiosyncracies - no bookings, little Duralex glasses for both wine and water, and the service is not always the speediest. It is a pub with a room for the restaurant, so don't go expecting tablecloths and you may be asked to share a table, as it is invariably busy. But for the kind of food I like to eat - unpretentious, precise but characterful, and understatedly sophisticated - it is perfect and great for an area which can be a bit patchy food-wise.
The score:
Food: Unpretentious modern British. I would go back happily all the time.
Wine: Varied and characterful, mostly European wines from non-standard areas (ie not all claret and chardonnay).
Veggie friendly:A weak point - less veggie friendly than St John, I would say. But good fish/shellfish.
Atmosphere: I would like to be taken here for a relaxed first date, if I were still in the dating game - its lively enough that silences wouldn't be awkward, the food gives you plenty to talk about. But not somewhere to take someone who like starched cloths and hovering waiters. And they have real beer in the bar. No booking means it's probably not a great choice for a party.
Value: Good. Dishes are around £4-£20, rising to £30-45 for 2-3 person dishes. You can get away with paying pretty little and fill up on the good bread.
Top tip: Go early-ish because of the no booking rule, and have a pint at the bar while you wait, accompanied by the very good tapas-style nibbles they sell.
[Ben’s extra tip: if you can’t wait for a seat in the restaurant bit ask to eat in the pub bit or even at the bar. I’ve never managed to get a seat in the restaurant bit but have had fabulous meals in the pub bit. They may have changed this rule but it’s worth asking]
36 The Cut
London SE1 8LE
Tel: 020 7928 9898
The Anchor and Hope falls into the class of resurgent British cooking exemplified by St John, and indeed it was started by ex-St John and Eagle-ites. They have even poached the Food&Life team's friendly St John barman Alex recently, as I was surprised to see when I went last night.
The food was last night every bit as good as it was before I went to the States last year. I do wish that it wasn't quite so similar to the St John menu (although it goes a little more European than St J) but quality-wise, there is much to praise and the value is excellent. The boy and I had four dishes between us to share, a carafe and a glass of wine and coffee, for £42.50 which is pretty fantastic for central London. We could have had only one dish each from the more substantial portion of the menu and gotten out paying even less.
The menu includes new British staples such as a whole crab and mayonnaise, cured sea trout with pickled cucumber and dill, and of course much meat - foie gras, cured beef and celeraic, and the St John-style larger meat dishes for 2-4 people. Last night we were sticking to fish as I am so deprived of piscine pleasure in the States, and our dishes were precisely executed and varied - from the smoked sprats with horseradish through to a very good cuttlefish risotto - the pieces of cuttlefish melting and not at all chewy, and the risotto very well balanced between crunch and mush, as it should be.
Wine-wise we had a little bit of experimentation as we wanted white (very unusual for me) and so we had a testing glass of a Basque white (bright and a little fizzy) which was good, but we decided we couldn't drink a whole bottle of it, and then a carafe of Verdicchio. The wine mark-ups are very reasonable and for once, tap water is offered rather than requiring a special request.
The A&H has its idiosyncracies - no bookings, little Duralex glasses for both wine and water, and the service is not always the speediest. It is a pub with a room for the restaurant, so don't go expecting tablecloths and you may be asked to share a table, as it is invariably busy. But for the kind of food I like to eat - unpretentious, precise but characterful, and understatedly sophisticated - it is perfect and great for an area which can be a bit patchy food-wise.
The score:
Food: Unpretentious modern British. I would go back happily all the time.
Wine: Varied and characterful, mostly European wines from non-standard areas (ie not all claret and chardonnay).
Veggie friendly:A weak point - less veggie friendly than St John, I would say. But good fish/shellfish.
Atmosphere: I would like to be taken here for a relaxed first date, if I were still in the dating game - its lively enough that silences wouldn't be awkward, the food gives you plenty to talk about. But not somewhere to take someone who like starched cloths and hovering waiters. And they have real beer in the bar. No booking means it's probably not a great choice for a party.
Value: Good. Dishes are around £4-£20, rising to £30-45 for 2-3 person dishes. You can get away with paying pretty little and fill up on the good bread.
Top tip: Go early-ish because of the no booking rule, and have a pint at the bar while you wait, accompanied by the very good tapas-style nibbles they sell.
[Ben’s extra tip: if you can’t wait for a seat in the restaurant bit ask to eat in the pub bit or even at the bar. I’ve never managed to get a seat in the restaurant bit but have had fabulous meals in the pub bit. They may have changed this rule but it’s worth asking]
posted by Hana Loftus at 4:43 PM
2 Comments:
I only recently visited the Anchor (despite having tried to get a table quite a few times) and would mostly agree with your review -although my food wasn't as good as I was hoping...A snail and bacon salad was a bit greasy, but a shoulder of lamb (shared between a few of us) was fantastic. Service was okay, but it's a "pub with a room for the restaurant" so you shouldn't expect too much...I'll definitely return though!
I have been there a few times and the food is great, the staff were very friendly under pressure and as went twice in two weeks they remembered us. Would go again and again.
Crelli.
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