Having spent much of last week changing our clothes from various baby vomits and the like, we were in no mood to get glammed up (yeah we do that from time to time) and infiltrate another Michelin starred joint pretending to understand why their wines are so dastardly expensive. However, we still have standards to maintain – we’re not talking greasy spoons here – we’ve clawed our way out of the gutter to become delightfully middle-class (that’s right – we own colourful suede loafers, chinos (several pairs) and try to eat sushi for lunch as often as possible). We can’t afford to throw it all away by wading into Wimpy the first time we get tired (though we do love Wimpy).
As such, we have decided to venture to our own greasy spoon – an expensive gastropub. In fact… some say the original gastropub – The Eagle in Farringdon. It sort of sounds like a black and white movie made at Ealing Studios but bear with us. The Eagle is somewhat unassuming – a tiny pub perched on a corner in the slightly darker, less active areas of Farringdon, somehow the Eagle has survived recessions galore due to its commitment to seasonal produce and fearless approach to cuisine. For instance – you could get a steak sandwich here one night, or a tagine the next. It is, in our opinion, perfectly representative of London – not too fancy and a variety of cultures. You can get most things here with the imaginative and variable kitchen. It’s no wonder that it’s often packed out with people – normally not just there for a drink but to sample the original gastropub foods. It doesn’t get much better than that – simple, tasty and not overly expensive. You can expect to get a decent dish here for under a tenner – the austerity team would cheer you eating here.
Piers' new uniform at RoF Towers was unusual but honest
The Eagle, for all its charms, is a gem on the edge of the city, but we wanted to venture slightly further afield this week and, somehow, ended up in Battersea (don’t worry, we went dressed ‘gangsta’ though with many locals banged up for rioting and looting, we needn’t have worried about crossing the great divide (the Thames)). There are (as we have often said) very few things that would encourage us to make that trip over Wandsworth Bridge, but the Santa Maria Del Sur is definitely one of them. They are an Argentinean Beef merchant (at which point we would normally say, ‘Argentinean Beef? Do you mean the Falklands?’ but our laughter track is worn out so we’ll just keep going) producing possibly the finest steaks in London. Gaucho Grill is great for impressing clients but true aficionados make the trip to SMDS for a fantastic (and fairly priced) meal of prime steak (we had sirloin as ever), amazing chips (they’re like gently wrapped in salty oil and crisped to perfection), slatherings of chimichurri and all washed down by perfectly recommended Argentinean red wine. It’s not all steak though as you can get other delicacies such as smoked sausages and black pudding (South American black pudding is a softer more flavoursome effort). You will not go hungry here (as long as you have your wallet).
Not just that – the staff are super friendly and enthusiastic about their product – their grill has been given heaps of praise and awards including in the F Word Restaurants of the year competition. However, despite that, there’s a reassuring humility about the place – they do simple stuff but do it extremely well. It’s dependable but, somehow, amazing at the same time.
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Did you know that Graham Norton was once a barman at The Eagle and also that the owner does not like the fact that it is called a gastropub!!