Fox & Anchor (gastropub) – London, England (7.5/10)
May 5th, 2009 by admin
Background:
I was recently invited by gastropub Fox & Anchor to enjoy a complimentary dinner. Located opposite Smithfield Market, this traditional Victorian pub (with six bedrooms upstairs) has been serving customers for over a hundred years. It’s an intimate and narrow space, and you have to practically hold your breath in to squeeze past the drinkers standing at the bar. We headed towards the back of the pub, past various tables here and there, to find three wood-panelled snugs, two larger ones and one cosy one for two people. My brother and I spent the evening in comfortable armchairs in the smallest snug.
Menu:
The menu is simple, with Maldon oysters and prawns, plus a few starters including pressed ox tongue, celeriac remoulade and wild garlic. There are four options on toast, such as the ham toastie with fried duck egg and fish finger buttie. The mains include a choice of four types of pie, five specials and eight other dishes, plus the ‘carving trolley’ option. It’s a meat and fish-heavy menu, with rather limited options for vegetarians unfortunately. I was glad not to have to sit next to a grumpy vegetarian husband, but rather my brother, who eats anything and in vast quantities, or so I thought.
What we ordered:
- pint of prawns (£8.95) – I was looking forward to these, and they didn’t disappoint. When I was shown the pint tankard, I wasn’t sure a pint would be enough, but it’s more than plentiful for two. They were lovely and fresh and came with mayonnaise (which wasn’t needed)
- deep fried white bait, spicy mayonnaise (£6.20) – I don’t usually like fish deep fried, and the batter on these delicate little things overwhelmed them somewhat. However, we did manage to demolish the entire serving!
- Welsh rarebit (aka rabbit) (£4.95) – I only had a small bite of this, so I can’t really comment on it, but as with the other starters, it was consumed with relish
- Lancashire lamb hotpot, mash potato lid (£9.95) – this looked lovely, but the brother was surprisingly starting to flag at this point, and wasn’t able to finish it
- rabbit & cider pie with thyme and bacon dumplings (£13.50) – for me, the absolute star of the evening and highly recommended. The pie crust was thick but flaky and the rabbit was deliciously tender and flavoursome. I had to leave the dumplings though as I was also starting to flag by now
- goose fat chips (£3.00) – heavenly thick-cut chips! If I hadn’t been feeling so full, I would have eaten the entire portion
- duck fat roast potatoes (£3.00) – compared to the chips, these were a little disappointing and not as fluffy inside as they could have been
- lightly spiced plum fool (£5.50) – it was a struggle to get beyond the piece of plum on the top of the fool and I admitted defeat soon after…
The verdict:
Our extremely hearty meal was served by two very friendly waitresses, who stopped by our snug just enough times to serve us efficiently without being overly intrusive. I really enjoyed my evening at the Fox & Anchor, mostly because I was ensconced in our snug. Generally, I don’t like pubs much, whether normal or gastro. I hate to shout over my food and be surrounded by too much noise (and in the old days, sit in clouds of smoke!). So if you’re a delicate flower like me, ask for a snug when you reserve a table. I think they’re great for hanging out with friends and you still get some of the pub atmosphere without being overwhelmed by it.
Had we paid for this meal, it would have cost approximately £60.00 without service charge, tip or alcohol.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Fox & Anchor
115 Charterhouse Square
London EC1M 6AA
Tel: 020 7250 1300
www.foxandanchor.com
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
I was in the snug as well and really enjoyed the quiet meal as well, was so comfy I could fall asleep in it – especially when it was raining on my visit. I have to agree with the huge portions, loved the fat chips too – but I could not finish them or the roast potatoes when I ordered the roast chicken with all the trimmings
Yeah, its definitely a nice place to hang out – but I still prefer my local pub 
The rabbit pie sounds fantastic and so often a pint of prawns promises so much but delivers half frozen flavourless prawns so good to hear you were happy. Wonder how much your experience was affected by the fact that you were a guest of the Fox and Anchor (although I do like it that you always state that fact up front).
Hmm the food sounds lovely. Your review has convinced me to pester my husband to take me there to celebrate going on maternity leave!
Wow looks and sounds like an amazing meal, this will be in my to-eat list!
Goose fat chips and rabbit pie! **shivers with delight**
Sounds great!
Interested to note that the rarebit was “aka rabbit” – was there rabbit involved in it?
It sounds like my kind of place, nothing like it immediately comes to mind here in SF, but curling up in your own little nook or snug with some delicious food and good company sounds like just the thing.
The descriptions of the food was fantastic, and made me wish I could dash to London to check them out. The rabbit and cider pie sounds absolutely divine. I was curious about the goose fat chips. Here in the states, everyone seems to be making their chips or fries with duck fat, and to see you state that the duck fat potatoes fell short of the goose fat chips makes me curious indeed.
ok, call me slow, but is your brother London Eater?
Rabbit, lamb, goose and duck, all finished with a fool – sounds like dinner with Alice in Wonderland! How I’d love to try them all, especially the pressed ox tongue (I love any ‘lengua’ dishes).
kang – I’m not really one for pubs, but as pubs go, sitting in the snug was lovely. I felt bad not being able to finish all the food though!
Gourmet Chick – I don’t think it would have made much difference at the Fox & Anchor (whereas it has done in the other two places I’ve reviewed for the same PR company). The two waitresses were really friendly & helpful anyway and not putting it on just for us. I do think it’s important too to say if a meal was complimentary or not, as readers need to know!
mei – I suppose comfort food is key at this most important stage when you’re eating for two!
pigpigscorner – I hope you enjoy it! Loved your post about your wedding and all the related traditions by the way…
Jo (Laquet) – lovely hearty dishes! The rabbit pie was so gorgeous…
JimT – I say that because rarebit should actually be spelt ‘rabbit’ as per the traditional spelling, although there is no rabbit meat in it. I’ll explain it in a future post with a recipe for Welsh rarebit…
OysterCulture – no my brother is not London Eater (poor Kang!)! We just happened to review the same restaurants for the same PR company. I just think the outer part of the potato was slightly too hard while the inner part could have been fluffier. On the other hand, the chips were excellent.
Tangled Noodle – love that ‘dinner with Alice in Wonderland’! I suppose it was a bit like that! I did consider the pressed ox tongue actually. Next time…
Helen Yuet Ling
oops, my mistake – Tangled Noodle is my sis-in-law so having a relative as a fellow food blogger was no surprise to me. Sorry for the confusion =)
OysterCulture – no problems! I didn’t realise Tangled Noodle was your sister-in-law. How cool to have two food bloggers in the family. My brother loves to eat but he wouldn’t want to keep a record of it!
Helen Yuet Ling