Gordon Ramsay’s Three Pubs
One of the reasons I chose Gordon’s Great British Pub Food book for this project is that I absolutely love pubs. Living in London we are spoiled for choice when it comes to great boozers packed with history and character. I guess it is part of what makes the capital such a special place to both live in and to visit – pubs seem literally to be on every street corner. Check out this map of my own neighbourhood and it will give you an idea of the difficult choice I have to make every time I find myself in need of a certain type of refreshment. Bear in mind that all of these places are within a five minute walk of my front door!
Whilst they have always been a great place for a pint with friends, traditionally a lot of the food served up in London pubs was something of a joke. That has changed quite a bit in recent years to the point that now it can seem like every other pub considers itself a “gastro pub”. I’m not sure why pubs can’t stay as “proper” pubs and just serve decent food, but more often than not an investment in the food offering leads to a pub losing most of its soul. Stripped wood, wonky mix ‘n’ match chairs, sprawling, open dining areas and brisk table service tend to give off a vibe more akin to a French bistro than a traditional British watering hole.
That said, there are plenty of places that do manage to get the mix of food and beer right (see my earlier post from the coach and horses as a good example). As part of my cook through project I will be visiting all three of Gordon Ramsay’s pubs in London, not only to see how the food measures up, but also to see if Gordon has managed to keep the three pubs feeling like real boozers and not just offshoots of his Michelin starred empire. I live in hope!
Click on the links below for more details of each of the pubs I will be checking out.
