London in the summer is a double-edged sword: whilst you can sit out at restaurants and bars on the streets until late and laze in the shade of the parks, sample some of the city's finest lidos and summer events, you also have to manoeuvre the tube and throngs of tourists in 30 degree heat, which leads to a combination of grouchy commuters and a distinct lingering smell of sweat. Not so pleasant...
Anyway, after I was finished racing around the city for the day, I met a friend in Clapham for dinner and drinks.
We began with cocktails in one of the many bars that line the high street.
It also happened to be the start of the world cup so there were even more people than usual out and about enjoying the last of the sun.
After several rounds of cocktails we started to feel somewhat peckish and headed to our dinner reservation.
The Stonehouse is only 5 minutes from Clapham Common high street but on the short walk there you are transported a million miles away from the hubbub of a busy London street. The restaurant is tucked away at the end of a quiet and peaceful residential area lined with leafy trees.
The pub is modern, light and spacious, with an outside garden.
The Stonehouse is part of Renaissance Pubs; a small collection of South London pubs run by three local boys, Tom Peake, Mark Reynolds and Nick Fox. In addition to two locations in Clapham, they have pubs in Battersea, Dulwich and Kennington.
The menu at The Stonehouse is modern European brasserie style, best known for its steaks which are aged in-house.
The restaurant is linked to Locks Drove Farm in Hampshire and all of the free-range chicken, pork and lamb on the menu comes from there. The pigs are a mixture of Gloucester Old Sport and Saddleback Cross pigs and are allowed to freely roam the surrounding woods, fed on organic fruit and vegetables. All their fish is sustainably sourced from English boats on the south coast. 
To start with we ordered a vegetarian and a meat mezze to share.
The meat board was laden with a range of cured meats, a homemade bright yellow mango chutney and foccacia bread.
The vegetarian mezze included homemade hummus, foccacia, roasted vegetables, feta, piquillo peppers, olives and lentil croquettes- which were mouthwateringly tasty, crispy on the outside and filled with a flavoursome soft lentil filling.
As you can see we demolished both boards pretty quickly.
For the main course my friend went for the 10oz beef burger with cheddar and bacon. The burger was huge and you could certainly tell it had been lovingly handcrafted as it didn't exactly look like your average burger patty.
I fancied seafood and chose the seared Shetland scallops with crispy sage and pancetta, a truffle oil, served on a broad bean puree. The scallops were superbly cooked and really meaty, wrapped in crisp, sweet pancetta and you could really taste the truffle.
The menu is simple, featuring several pub classics, but the food is really exceptional.
In fact, this is the nicest meal I've had out for ages. Not only can you choose from burgers, ribs and steaks, but if you fancy more of a fine dining experience they have dishes such as duck, pork belly and seafood risotto.
Definitely worth a visit, I'll certainly be back soon: http://www.thestonhouse.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment