Bermondsey Street and the newly opened Draft House - Aug 2010

Where: Bermondsey Street followed by The Draft House,Tower Bridge Road

With who: My inner devil and Mrs Jones
How much: With a couple of beers and a cheeky 50% discount on the food we spent £20 a head in The Draft House. 


Cool Japanese clothing designers reading Huffington on their iPads sat in organic cafes selling artisan coffee and cake. Yank bankers in civvies, park Porsches with expensive baby seats and small dogs alongside asymmetric art students.
Quirky coffee houses with regulation Gaggia (Gaggi for the plural?) that roll into cool West Village style bars in the evening. Estate agents hunting in packs and florists by the (obviously organic) bakers dozen. Old churches, old factories, Zandra Rhode's Textile Museum and the throwback of Al's, a proper working man's cafe. A strong sense of renewal.
It could have been Hoxton, but things are moving south. Bermondsey is well and truly reborn. 

It might just be the perfect street to take a stroll on a Saturday, and is a great one to introduce out of towners put off by Brick Lane's bustle. If you can't find enough to occupy you at nearby Borough Market, then take a stroll down Tooley Street. A host of people have hit up Zucca with reviews, mostly positive, describing it as a near perfect local Italian with a modern twist and praising its emphasis on fresh ingredients. Village East was stylishly ripped (deliberately) from the area of Manhattan giving it the name and among the coffee bars, the Bermondsey Street Cafe is a perfect spot to people watch over an organic soya latte (or a double espresso - whatever floats your boat). 
On Bermondsey Street, pubs like the Woolpack and The Garrison have given up on their working class roots and now sell upmarket (with prices to match) gastro vibe with (that word again) artisan brews on tap. They've got some serious competition now with the arrival just round the corner of another of Draft House pub from Charlie McVeigh. While 'chain' can be a dirty word in the restaurant world, and 'concept' a filthier one, every now and then you find someone who makes it work. On the evidence of the three Draft Houses he now has, it could very well be that McVeigh is one of those. 


It's not really fair to review so quickly after opening, the place is in soft launch as highlighted by still unfinished corners and a 50% discount on food, but then I'm not really a reviewer so I doubt I'm breaking a code or will cause too many sleepless nights for the team there.

The space is interesting. By which I mean odd. It grew on me after a while, though that may have been the excellent Kiwi Macs Gold lager I was sipping so easily. Decor as standard for refurbished 'rescue' pub, Farrow & Ball shades of grey and a beautiful restored bar packed with pumps (twenty four draft beers and ales on tap, each with their own glass, it's a sight to behold). Oddly though, they've channeled New York Diner for the tables, chairs and artwork. It feels slightly disingenuous but by no means bad. I quickly got used to the lime splash of the banquettes and focussed on the beer in hand. Once it's packed with people, it'll make little difference anyway. I'm not sure whether they have a no music policy, or if it's one of the bits they're still waiting on, but I did feel the lack of music, could have done with something in the background to cover mine and Mrs Jones inane chatter.


The menu is classic, competent gastro pub. 8 mains, a handful of snacks / starters and pates, burgers and steak. I don't think there was a dish on there I wouldn't eat, and I'll certainly be back for a go on a rolled rabbit, mint and lentil starter (not yet ready to roll sadly) and a plate of Lincolnshire belly pork with a black pudding hash. As it was, we went for the red blooded option. Mrs Jones had a perfectly cooked ribeye packed with flavour and I went for a steak tartare. Sadly, it was 'pre-mixed', something I've never been a fan of. One of the best things about tartare for me is being able to chose the ratio of herbs, onion and particularly tabasco that flavours the raw steak. There's also something pleasingly visceral about breaking the egg into the blood red mince. On a positive note, the steak was beautiful and for my palate, the chef got the flavours absolutely spot on, though I'm someone who likes a strong tabasco kick and this might have proved too much for others. I don't know I was overly keen on the chips or the bearnaise either. Neither was bad, but the chips wilted a little and the sauce was too thick. There are however, strong signs of a real quality in the ingredients and my starter of buttered brown shrimps on crostini was among the nicest versions of this particular dish I've ever had. rich nutty shellfish cut through with a hint of citrus in the sauce. 


I love the fact that the beers can be served in 1/3 pint glasses, giving you chance to try some really interesting brews. The wonderfully helpful chap behind the bar was very happy to chat through the list, pulling us a taste of an intriguing Schlenkerla Rauchbier, a 5% beauty that tastes of smoked ham. I couldn't manage a pint (and they don't sell it by the pint) but it's good to see that they're going for flavour. It's a bit too far away for a regular post work pint, but is a great go to option when in the area, and I'll be making a few trips just to work through that beer list.