Anchor & Hope

I'm just going to put it out there, I love this place!

SPECIALISING in big meaty mains and seasonal sides just like your mum used to make, The Anchor & Hope is a gastropub with clout. 

Serving large cuts of red meats for all to share, it was almost impossible to get a seat when we turned up one February evening.  But you can't blame the boisterous after work crowd apparently drawn here every night, for they distinguish The Anchor and Hope from fine dining and a real pub grub experience. 

This was ale-house dining with a difference.

A chalk board menu offered starters such as; smoked sprats; nettle soup with foie gras and warm snail and bacon salad.  We dived straight in with the mains, and when I say dive, the bar was so busy with people pleading for tables that we had to launch ourselves to the front with some force.

We ate a huge slow cooked shoulder of lamb for four with a generous side of gratin dauphenoise.  Everything was brought out in dishes straight from the oven and the serve-yourself-ethos was very much encouraged.

And boy do they know how to cook meat. 

A soon as I put the lamb into my mouth it had already melted into my tongue.  The dauphenoise weren't bad either; creamy, crispy and soft with a bit of bite in all the right places.

Located in Southwark, just minutes from the Young Vic, The Anchor & Hope with it's simple, slightly shabby interior provides a very lively dining experience.  If you're looking for a gastropub I hasten to say you won't get better. 

However if you're looking for a restaurant I'd suggest looking elsewhere.  The noise levels made it difficult to hear my friends at times and the service is limited to what you would expect from a pub, i.e. they carry your food over and offer condiments.  The rest is down to you.