Tag Archives: beer

Brick Brewery, Peckham

Posted on by

Brick Brewery, Peckham

Brick Brewery was founded in Decem­ber 2013. The dynamic team brew a range of craft beers in the heart of Peck­ham Rye. As a micro­brew­ery they pro­duce just 5 brew­ers bar­rels or 1,000L of beer per brew. The artisan beers can be found in many South­east Lon­don out­lets, includ­ing pubs, bars, restau­rants, butch­ers and delis. This exclusive beer can also be sampled at the home of the brewery beneath the station in Peckham, where there is a welcoming outdoor seating area.

It was local Peck­ham Rye res­i­dent Ian Stew­art who founded the brew­ery in 2013 taking inspi­ra­tion from around the world to cre­ate a wide vari­ety of beer styles he now brings to the Lon­don scene.

The brew­ery tap room in Peckham is open Fri­day evening from 5pm to 9pm and again on Sat­ur­day 12 noon to 9pm where you can enjoy the core range of cask, keg or bot­tled beers but also small run exclu­sives avail­able only at the tap room. I enjoyed a lazy Saturday evening here last week with a group of friends and enjoyed the refreshing and tasty beers on offer. 

Find out more about the Brick Brewery beers here.

The Crown and Two Chairmen, Soho

Posted on by

There are a lot of loud people in the Crown & Two Chairmen pub. When we arrived I wondered where on earth we would sit, and indeed if they even served food. Centrally located on Dean Street in Soho, this rowdy inn has recently been refurbished and is busier than ever. Fighting our way through the crowd, we were led by the multi-tasking barman to a small table at the back as the restaurant area upstairs was booked out for a private party.

What I could see of the interior was warm and cosy, dark traditional colours and comfortable materials. The pub was full of pre-dinner and post-work drinkers, and around eight o’clock the venue began to calm. Although the atmosphere was jovial and pleasant for a friendly catch-up, we found ourselves shouting across the table to be heard by each other, within minutes my throat was sore.

The menu features well-loved pub dishes like fish and chips and burgers, and there are delicious craft beers and a carefully curated wine list to drink your way through. We began to feel more at home once our drinks arrived and we’d decided our dishes from the tempting options. Warmed hummous with bread and vegetables was a healthy and tasty platter to start the meal. The homemade hummous had a coarse texture with a hint of garlic and was particularly nice with the lovely sweet baby carrots. We also tried the Salt and pepper squid with spicy mayonnaise – the seafood pieces were fresh and soft but the coating could have been crispier and warmer.

The staff were extremely friendly throughout our meal, attending to our every need. After energetic gossiping we were ready for our main course. The fish cakes looked a bit sad on the plate, but were well seasoned and carefully cooked. They were served with a punchy lemon crème fraiche, paprika potato wedges and coleslaw. I opted for the 21 day aged rib-eye steak with fries, watercress and peppercorn sauce. It was a good but thin steak, lightly grilled to give a delicious chargrilled woody edge. The peppercorn sauce was very creamy with whole peppercorns adding spice and crunch.

Desserts rotate regularly and we weren’t over-excited with the options. Raspberry and peach crumble with apple sorbet was a strange dish. Presented flat in a bowl with an excess of crumble it was overpoweringly sweet and the sorbet had a slightly fake taste. I think we had bad luck as I’d spied some delicious sounding salted-caramel dishes on the pub’s website prior to visiting.

There is a surplus of pubs in Soho and The Crown & Two Chairmen is a rare venue which pairs a lively ambience and good food. This winning combination would explain why it was so busy when we visited.

More information here: www.thecrownandtwochairmenw1.co.uk

Pink Flamingo Pizzeria, Paris

Posted on by

I was instantly attracted to the Pink Flamingo brand: fun, fabulous, a must for foodie fanatics. This trendy Parisian pizza parlour could easily be overlooked as just a quirky fast food outlet but it offers something quite unique and totally addictive. Luckily, anything pink always catches my eye and I grabbed the opportunity to try this Parisian outlet while spending a weekend in the French capital. With limited seating area, the flamingo fans often spill out onto the street, and often you will see hungry couples gorging by the edge of the canal: a pink balloon in one hand, a slice of pizza in the other, all part of the jolly summer ‘pink-nik’.

Entrepreneurial gastronomic couple Jamie Young and Marie Ravel opened the original pizza joint on rue Bichat, keen to offer wacky pizzas using organic ingredients and inventive combinations. The huge popularity of this concept has led to outlets opening up in all the hip areas of Paris (Marais, Aligre, Montmatre) as well as Bordeaux, Valencia, downtown Berlin and now a new branch in Amsterdam. Walking through Paris in 36 degree heat, we were hungry and tired by the time we reached rue Bichat. Jamie and Marie were waiting smiling outside the restaurant, and enthusiastically explained the Pink Flamingo pizza revolution to us while we enjoyed a bottle of the PF branded beer.

The interior of the tiny restaurant is decorated with cool pictures and posters, neon pink lighting and vintage Grease-like leather stools. The scorching weather encouraged us to sit outside on the seats at the front, we could watch the world go by while munching.

Don’t expect to eat a standard Margarita at Pink Flamingo… the team here present weird and wonderful combinations, totally unconventional but utterly delicious. We tried two of the recommended favourites from the menu:

–          La Basquiat: gorgonzola, figs and parma ham (13 euros). This was an explosion of flavours, the tangy blue cheese, sweet figs and smoky ham working miraculously well together. I found the flavours rather rich and overpowering but my guest loved it.
–          L’Almodovar: ‘Pizza Paella’, chicken, shrimps, chorizo and peas. I chose this sans shrimps; it was absolutely delicious, a glorious mix of meats, the peas were a particularly innovative and successful addition.

Funnily enough the pizzas don’t taste as bizarre as they sound, the combinations work exceptionally well. Jamie also presents a pizza of the moment, using seasonal ingredients of the week. I was also very tempted to try the La Cantona which involves a staggering eight different cheeses. Bases are crisp and thin, but substantial and cheese is gooey and on the generous side. The smells that waft from this pizzeria must attract diners from streets away.

We wandered away from the Pink Flamingo, branded t-shirt and balloon in hand, with our tummies totally satisfied and minds captured by this characterful little eatery. I’m trying to persuade this pizza pair to bring the Pink Flamingo in London, where I know it would be a hit. Fingers crossed.

Pink Flamingo, 67 rue Bichat, Canal St-Martin, 75010 Paris.

More information here: http://www.pinkflamingopizza.com/