Uh, I'm supposed to be writing about the other American snacks I bought from Dallas, but I will continue that after this post. I must share this!
Miss Pinky and I rarely go up the north side of London, and yesterday we were supposed to go laptop shopping for Miss Pinky, but that didn't happen as we ended up buying things in TIGER in Wood Green, and then we got lost trying to find this place the Hunter S pub. It was a trek and a half, as we thought it was around Southgate Tube Station... It's not!! ¬,¬" Miss Pinky, I thought you knew where Southgate Road was...!
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| Outside Hunter S |
The reason why we wanted to specifically go here was because they served beef wellington, which is an English traditional dish. Yes, England has other dishes other than fish and chips! Miss Pinky has been wanting this for a few months now... (and I had to do all the research because Miss Pinky is lazy :P). Other places serve this dish in posh places like in Chelsea and other expensive places. I have searched high and low on the Internet, just to find a place that still serves this one dish in a not too poshy area! And Hunter S was just right... Posh but not too over the top posh for the average Londoner...
I haven't seen many bloggers blogging about this place. Those that have blogged about it have blogged more about the beers and the decoration, and not much about the food. And those who have blogged about the food haven't given much insight... What's wrong with it? I don't know really!
So as a newbie to this pub, and a person coming from South London heading to North London, I will give a different insight (this will be more about the food and the decoration than the drinks)...
Firstly the decoration is actually stunning! For anyone who loves pubs or bars will find this place a bit of a shock. And if you're a real animal lover, it's best not to stare too much at the decoration. It's mostly full of deer heads, bear skin and birds - are they real or fake? I'm not sure.
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| Inside Hunter S |
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| Deer's Heads |
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| Beautiful chandelier! |
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| The Bar |
For people needing to go to the toilet, you will get a shock of your life. Well not that much of a shock, but it's different to a normal pub's toilet!! It's a wacky toilet!! You must observe the pictures...
Now onto the food!! ^_^ There's one page of it, and I took a picture of the menu (but I'm afraid it's a bit blurred) because I couldn't find it on the Internet. I guess it changes from time to time (or maybe not).
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| One page food menu - sorry it's blurred!! |
Miss Pinky and I wanted different starters to try out, so we ordered the Asparagus soup (forgot the full name). It has quail eggs in it. And the corn bread with beef brisket (also forgot the full name)...
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| Our starters |
The Asparagus soup tasted creamy but it was a little salty for my tastebuds. It was something that Miss Pinky enjoyed, and it was a small portion. She had most of this!
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| Asparagus soup and crusty bread |
The Corn bread and Beef brisket was delicious for me. It was rich in taste and sweet enough. I think I have more of a sweet tooth than a salty one! The goats cheese blended in well as it took away the sweetness. :D This dish actually reminded me of being in Dallas - because of the beef brisket!! Miss Pinky said the starters were definitely teasers before the main dish came out...
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| Corn bread and beef brisket |
It was a bit of a wait in between the starters and our main course. But it was worth it!! Every minute of it. The beef wellington comes with salad, seasonal vegetables and a red wine jus (gravy) plus a bowl of chunky chips. This dish costs £35 for two people. So if you're going out to try this, make sure you have someone coming with you to share it!!
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| Beef wellington, chunky chips, seasonal vegetables, salad and red wine jus |
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| From a different angle |
So there were two pieces of the beef wellington, one piece was smaller than the other - I was going to take the smaller piece, but took the bigger piece in case Miss Pinky couldn't finish it. I could see Miss Pinky wanting that bigger piece, but she ended up being full from her smaller piece, and had a bit more beef steak from mine. Well, the beef was definitely seasoned well, the pastry unfortunately came off too easily. Is that supposed to happen? The salad was ok, but I think I liked the broccoli sticks more as they were crunchy. I'm not sure if I tasted much of the red wine jus (I think I was enjoying the beef to notice the taste really), but I definitely did pour a lot of the gravy onto the beef wellington...
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| The bigger piece of the beef wellington |
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| My plate ^_^ |
It was worth coming to Hunter S. It felt more like a restaurant than a pub from the inside, but this is a gastro-pub, and so this is what you should expect! I think I need to trek up to North London more often. The drinks are slightly cheaper than those in Central and South London. There seems to be a whole street in Shoreditch that is dedicated to Vietnamese food - I must have a taste at one those places!!
So total cost came to £61.65 which included four drinks! Just over £30 per person. That isn't bad considering that beef wellington is hardly cooked and sold in many pubs in London...
My geeky rating: 5/5 (for the funkiness between modern and old decor to the food!)
Good points:
- Funky modern and old decor
- Food was filling
- Although a bit expensive, it was definitely worth it!
- Drinks are cheapish (better than Central London prices!!)
Bad points:
- None really, but their website needs a big update! There are no links, no menus to browse at and no pictures to see... Have to rely on the public more for information!
Address: 194 Southgate Road, Dalston, London, N1 3HT
Telephone: 020 7249 7191
Nearest Station: Dalston Kingsland OR Dalston Junction Overground Station
Buses: 21, 141 (stop at Southgate Road)
Website: http://thehunter-s.co.uk/
