Review: The Salt House
I think ‘gastropub’ is a terrible label. It immediately conjures an image of a place which is neither as sleek as a restaurant, nor as relaxed as a pub. It serves both drinks and food, of course, but neither to a deeply satisfying degree. And the menus are normally ghastly laminated affairs.
A good old pub with good old grub is hard to find. Unless – as I have recently discovered – you venture to north London.
The Salt House is positioned on famous Abbey Road, home of the recording studio and location of that Beetles cover, and has quietly been making its own sweet music in the kitchen for a while. From the outside it elegant but unassuming: awning stretches out onto the pavement, with foliage and soft lamps drip-dropping underneath. Inside is just as understated, with wooden floors (just the right amount of scuffed) topped with heavy wooden tables, a solid bar, antique-looking mirrors and chintzy glassware. The effect is warm and welcoming and more than a little bit cool.
But what about the food? To fit in with the balmy evening, my friend and I ordered light starters of asparagus panna cotta and goat’s curd salad. The former was very cheffy and impressive (not to mention tasty) while the latter was a testament to the power of fresh ingredients. Top marks so far.
The selection of mains is decent but no so big as to make deciding impossible. With the delicious sounding courgette pithivier and vegetable and parmesan pavé on offer, vegetarian options are given just as much limelight as their meaty counterparts too (a rarity in many restaurants, let alone pubs). In the end, however, we decided on the steak and fish. The rib eye was a little on the chewy end of the scale, but when eaten with the nutmeg-y creamed spinach, it went down very nicely indeed. The succulent fish was presented on a bed of hearty bollotti beans, resulting in a decadent-tasting dish which was actually marvellously healthy.
The cheese board featured only two types of cheese (we were told the chef deemed the third not good enough for consumption) but in plentiful portions, though this paled in comparison to the bitter chocolate tart. Incredibly rich, dark and dense, it’s the sort of pudding which demands to be savoured.
Dinner here can be enjoyed in the cosy dining room or out on the covered patio area. The vibe is very relaxed, and there were many a table lingering over a bottle of wine when we left. If the pub atmosphere is more you’re thing, simply climb the two steps into the bar area, which is an authentic a drinking hole as you’ll find anywhere.
What’s more, whether pulling pints or delivering desserts, the staff and constantly smiling (incidentally, they also all pull off the casual chic way of dressing with aplomb, which only adds to the cool factor). I still think ‘gastropub’ is a terrible label. Let’s just call The Salt House my new favourite pub-and-restaurant combo instead. Catchy, hey?
http://www.metropolitanpubcompany.com/our-pubs/the-salt-house/
A good old pub with good old grub is hard to find. Unless – as I have recently discovered – you venture to north London.
The Salt House is positioned on famous Abbey Road, home of the recording studio and location of that Beetles cover, and has quietly been making its own sweet music in the kitchen for a while. From the outside it elegant but unassuming: awning stretches out onto the pavement, with foliage and soft lamps drip-dropping underneath. Inside is just as understated, with wooden floors (just the right amount of scuffed) topped with heavy wooden tables, a solid bar, antique-looking mirrors and chintzy glassware. The effect is warm and welcoming and more than a little bit cool.
But what about the food? To fit in with the balmy evening, my friend and I ordered light starters of asparagus panna cotta and goat’s curd salad. The former was very cheffy and impressive (not to mention tasty) while the latter was a testament to the power of fresh ingredients. Top marks so far.
The selection of mains is decent but no so big as to make deciding impossible. With the delicious sounding courgette pithivier and vegetable and parmesan pavé on offer, vegetarian options are given just as much limelight as their meaty counterparts too (a rarity in many restaurants, let alone pubs). In the end, however, we decided on the steak and fish. The rib eye was a little on the chewy end of the scale, but when eaten with the nutmeg-y creamed spinach, it went down very nicely indeed. The succulent fish was presented on a bed of hearty bollotti beans, resulting in a decadent-tasting dish which was actually marvellously healthy.
The cheese board featured only two types of cheese (we were told the chef deemed the third not good enough for consumption) but in plentiful portions, though this paled in comparison to the bitter chocolate tart. Incredibly rich, dark and dense, it’s the sort of pudding which demands to be savoured.
Dinner here can be enjoyed in the cosy dining room or out on the covered patio area. The vibe is very relaxed, and there were many a table lingering over a bottle of wine when we left. If the pub atmosphere is more you’re thing, simply climb the two steps into the bar area, which is an authentic a drinking hole as you’ll find anywhere.
What’s more, whether pulling pints or delivering desserts, the staff and constantly smiling (incidentally, they also all pull off the casual chic way of dressing with aplomb, which only adds to the cool factor). I still think ‘gastropub’ is a terrible label. Let’s just call The Salt House my new favourite pub-and-restaurant combo instead. Catchy, hey?
http://www.metropolitanpubcompany.com/our-pubs/the-salt-house/