Whenever I travel the first thing I think about is what I’m going to eat at my destination. You may assume that beer comes before that, but you’d be wrong. Good food excites me just as much as beer and eating isn’t cheating in this town.
A recent trip to Leeds provided me with a good example of this. I’m always excited about an opportunity to dine at one of my favourite UK restaurants, Bundobust. Quite often I’ll head straight to this Yorkshire mainstay the moment I alight at the station, such is the joy I take from an opportunity to eat there.
At Bundobust they serve immaculate Gujurati-style Indian food. Think chaat with layers of crisp pastry interwoven with rich yogurt, and sharp, tangy tamarind relish, endorphin-triggeringly spiced bhajis and grilled-to-perfection paneer and mushroom kebabs dressed in chilli sauce and spinach chutney. I can’t get enough, but don’t just take my word for it—food critic Jay Rayner gushed about the chain when he visited its Manchester branch back in 2017.
As is often the case with the beer I drink, my enthusiasm for restaurants like Bundobust that are ever-so-slightly out of everyday reach makes them all the more appealing. This doesn’t give me the opportunity to take them for granted in the same way as I might with a preferred spot at home in London.
I also know that visiting London can be a minefield of choice for out-of-towners. There’s so much to see and do here, finding a spot to relax and refuel with some great food can all too often be an afterthought.
With this in mind I’ve put together a shortlist of some of my favourite places to eat that I think beer lovers will enjoy. Places that—importantly in this context—aren’t pubs. We know pubs are great and often their food can be too! However, there are some stunning restaurants in this town that are increasingly dedicated towards ensuring that their beer offering is on par with the dishes they serve. And these are some of the best.
Beer and Burger/Bleecker Burger
The easiest way to judge the food in any city is by the quality of its burger. Sadly in London, most burgers are trash and you’d honestly be better off hitting McDonald’s. Thankfully however, things are changing somewhat.
In fact they’re changing so much that I can’t pick between my two favourite burger purveyors in town. They both offer a slightly different experience, with an incredibly delicious burger at the focal point of this.
Bleecker has evolved from a simple burger van to having a few locations around town. My favourite of which is a toss up between the bustling counter at Spitalfields Market or the relative peace found at its restaurant just outside Victoria station. You need to order the double cheeseburger (because the greater the surface area of meat, the greater the deliciousness) and a side of angry fries. A pint of Kernel or Brew By Numbers IPA on tap is the perfect accompaniment. Do not speak to anyone or look at your phone while you enjoy this moment.
Beer and Burger have created an environment that should be all the more familiar to beer fans: a multi-tap wall, booth seating and plenty of neon. They’ve recently followed up their original Willesden and Dalston locations with a much larger and more ambitious project in Kings Cross. Where at Bleecker the burger is all about the patty, here it’s about sauce and meat juices oozing down your wrists as you eat the generously sized portion as quickly as humanly possible. Animal style, you might say. And as for beer, they’ve got 20 taps and about 150 bottles and cans, so take your pick, I’m not your mum.
Smoking Goat
What’s better than Thai food? The kind that’s cooked over hot coals, and is so well-spiced that it makes your eyeballs sweat while simultaneously leaving you in raptures. And that’s the kind of food you can expect at Shoreditch’s Smoking Goat.
I’m talking deep fried chicken wings coated in an almost resinous helping of umami-rich fish sauce and chargrilled mussels the size of your fist dripping in a hot lemongrass, coconut and chilli broth. The kind of broth that hurts but tastes so good you won’t care. And there’s great beer to drink if you can make it past the well thought out list of wines and cocktails. Beavertown Neck Oil will do, but you’re probably better off taking a friend and splitting a bottle of Burning Sky Cuvée.
Blacklock
Once described to me as a “Hawksmoor for everyday,” Blacklock is a meat-lovers paradise. And one that won’t break the bank. At each of this small chain’s three locations they specialise in pork and lamb chops along with various cuts of beef. I recommend going “all-in” where they serve you all of these atop flatbreads on a massive platter. The highlight being enjoying the dripping soaked bread washed down with a beer or two.
Your choice of beer at Blacklock should be a simple-ish one too. It’s a bit of a secret that these lucky devils have first dibs on pours from Harbour’s Hinterlands wild and sour beer project, headed up by former Redchurch Urban Farmhouse brewer James Rylance. Trust me when I say the cherry sour provides you with a harmonious combination of tart and salt when paired with the pigs head on toast.
Four Hundred Rabbits
Let’s not beat around the bush here, pizza is the food of the gods themselves. This is my guide to pairing beer with pizza: 1) get a pizza, 2) get a beer. Congratulations you are now a beer and food pairing genius and your book deal with Penguin is in the post.
But seriously, 400 Rabbits gets beer and pizza spot on. From beautifully simple toppings, to more adventurous slices like chipotle rolled goats cheese, rhubarb and piquillo peppers, they have a range to satisfy almost anyone. The beer follows suit, with a rotating menu made up of delicious beers like Lost and Grounded Keller Pils and DEYA Steady Rolling Man. A visit is the perfect excuse to begin your exploration of South London’s booming beer scene.
[Disclosure: I hosted a beer and food pairing event with Four Hundred Rabbits on behalf of Good Beer Hunting last year.]
