Lucky Fried Chicken at The Grafton Arms

Lucky Fried Chicken is a pop up above a pub in Kentish Town. It is so on trend and encapsulates everything current in London food that it is almost a caricature of itself. Rumours were that it might be around for a while, but it now seems as if it’ll only last a few weeks (at The Grafton Arms at least).

Perhaps the margins in half-decently sourced chicken are tight compared to burgers, which seem to be coming. Mixing pubby furniture with a few booths, and surrounded by beautiful tiling which could have been pilfered from the Northern line station up the road, it’s a lovely space. There is draft beer upstairs (take note Disco Bistro!) and plenty of space.

The board is a pastiche of a generic chicken shop menu, but the cheekiest touch is the familiar face on the chicken buckets, which I imagine itself won’t survive too long before the letters arrive. Nonetheless I think the Colonel would be proud. The chicken is well seasoned (there is no discernible single flavour, it is just ‘seasoning’) and absolutely piping hot. Freshness is great, but we couldn’t eat for about 5 minutes and even then had to use cutlery. However it was juicy grub, with even boneless pieces very moist.

And grub this is. There is no semblance of provenance (being communicated clearly at least) here – no-one is telling you about the farm or the ingredients or the culinary process.  And the crowd didn’t seem to care. It’s unadulterated junk with no loftiness, emulating fast food outlets in a way that no burger places have quite dared to do without a huge improvement in product. 

Our table was debilitated – the chicken burger was a soggy, delicious mess not unlike many I've had at 3am, but the mash and gravy a nice homage to KFC across the pond as more canon accompaniments. The much-lauded cherry pie was overcooked, with a rock-solid base.

Fantastic fun but I doubt I’d return. If you took Kentish Town’s Chicken Cottage, kicked out everyone brown, served Camden lager, doubled the prices and played some 80s tunes, the food wouldn’t be a huge step change upwards. Nicer tiles though. And marginally fewer nutters. You get the gist... go if this sounds all appealing, but don’t expect to feel any more sprightly or wholesome afterwards. 

Food – 7/10 
Drink – 8/10 
Service - 7/10 
Value – 7/10 
Tap water tales – 3/10 
Staff Hotness – 7/10

 

Chicken Shop / Dirty Burger

The Soho House Group have been busy bees this past few years, both with their clubs/hotels and also in food-led offerings, principally through Pizza East. The lucky denizens of Kentish Town were probably rather surprised not only to be receiving the third Pizza East, but also to be the blessed guinea pigs for two new ideas, premiering at the location. These are Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger.

Despite the fuss, and the potential for commercialism backlash, I have to say, they are both bloody good. Chicken Shop is focused on rotisserie rather than fried chicken, and does it extremely well. No bookings and a very dark space welcome those who descend the stairs. Service is attentive and positively brisk in a welcome way (we were ravenous) and so the rotisserie chicken sure enough appears instantly.

A nostalgic highlight among the sides are the crinkle cut chips (although these are bettered at Dirty Burger) but the chicken really is the star. It’s served in pieces unlike that impaled, under-seasoned bird at Tramshed – and is seasoned and charred in spots to give it a true grilled taste. Supermarket spit chicken this is not, but at £14.50 for a whole one, it’s a bargain.

My one gripe about Chicken Shop is quite specific – the house prosecco is £37 a bottle which is too steep for this venue. Other booze is well priced in comparison, so stick to that. So beyond that trifling lesson learned, it’s a great new concept and I’ll no doubt darken their stairwell for such a simple, satisfying feed.

Another star mention goes to the apple pie - homemade and apportioned to your table. The waitress let us have the biggest slice, easily good for two to share, and it was phenomenal even if my pic suggests otherwise:

Dirty Burger is round the back, in the car park. I’m impressed with the creative kit-out and branding of what is basically a burger van cocooned by corrugated iron. I’m sharply told that burgers come medium well, when I protested the lady very pleasantly explained that they would be so juicy, it didn’t matter. And whilst she was right, I’d still rather have had it a touch pinker. 

 

It is a great burger for the price point (sub £6), and I understand the assembly line uniformity keeps the prices simple and the slinging quick, but if Shake Shack and others of the ilk they’re aspiring to can cook to order within certain constraints, they should be able to equally. Another angle here is the confidence in meat quality and how that’s reflected in a venue’s willingness to go rare.

But that aside, for a quick burger experience I rate it highly. It was juicy and tender to the point where it probably could have been mawed.

Special mention, above and beyond the crinkle cut fries (which beyond the novelty shape aren’t amazing fries), are the onion fries. These are short strips of onion, battered and fried to create chips, with incredible flavour. Debatably the most memorable thing here. I could have happily devoured another serving while finishing up my pints of Camden Pale, but the queue was too long to hop up again.

Selfishly, I’m hoping for a similar theme park of comfort food to open closer to my house. These guys genuinely do have some great businesses here and I bet we’ll be seeing a lot more of them. 

Food – 9/10

Drink – 8/10

Service - 8/10 (quick and keen)

Value – 9/10 (excellent, if you skip the prosecco)

Tap water tales – 9/10 (tap offered in Chicken Shop immediately)

Staff Hotness – 8/10 (well selected, with something for everyone to enjoy)

The Old White Bear

Dropped into The Old White Bear after a bracing walk on the Heath, including this spot which spookily reminded me of the lake and abandoned sewer building in the It film:

they all float down here...

This used to be a traditional boozer, but was tarted up as I think, is every old boozer’s fate in this area. Foreign monied incomers MUST feel comfortable in pubs! So now the actual pub area is a tragic little gathering of three tables and some stools sandwiched in between two dining areas. But outside of main dining hours, you can seemingly sit anywhere and the staff were very friendly so it’s not too restaurant-y, like The Freemasons for example. It's the same team behind The Oak in Notting Hill - another pub turned eatery.

I had beef, the king of roasts, and was heartened to ask how I’d like it. It wasn’t actually as medium rare as requested, but was pink enough to be tender. Generous too. At £17.50 it’s really at the peak of what a pub roast should cost, but I did leave debilitated, which is the point I suppose.

The Yorkshire pudding was very dense and heavy, which I enjoyed as sometimes they get too soggy from the gravy. And said gravy certainly would normally disintegrate any other yorkie – it was incredibly watery and lacked flavour. Although it was reddish in hue of which I generally approve (because either red wine or tomato paste are worthy additions) and it also implies it’s not pre-made. Still rubbish sadly.

Roasties were good – oval shaped so not too gargantuan. Veggies were parsnips and carrots only, nothing green which I think detracts from the perception of a proper Sunday roast plate. Some green beans or broccoli would give the impression of a more complete plate. And perhaps might have made it feel less stodgy.

My dining companion had the veggie mezze or similar; quite a meagre dish when contrasted with the roast, yet punchy at about £10. It was over very quickly, and quite oily throughout.

The wine list was impressive, and plenty by the glass although they're served in 125ml and 175ml so watch out for the 'large' pricing. 

I’d return to try the regular menu as it did have few intriguing things on there. I also liked the warm, fresh bread selection which was served with room temperature, seemingly house-made butter. So extra points there, and for good service. But weak gravy from a lofty kitchen is a cardinal sin on a Sunday, and for £17.50, quite a let-down. 

Food – 7/10

Drink – 8/10

Service - 8/10

Value – 7/10

Tap water tales – 7/10

Staff Hotness – 6/10

 

BrewDog (Camden)

BrewDog have opened a bar in Camden. For those unaware, they are Scotland’s rebel craft brewers, largely renowned for being the whippersnapper antagonists of CAMRA and the purveyors of 41% IPA ‘Sink The Bismarck!’ which had the Daily Mail in a flutter for about 24 hours.

The bar, in an old pub behind the high street, has an equally irreverent air. In fact, when I visited at about 2pm on a Saturday, it was already debauched to the point of Bacchanalian (as opposed to Dionysian at 10 Greek Street, of course).

A beer gig like this can often be hellish, like some sort of Earl's Court convention. Fat, flatulent blokes scratching their beards, sipping at third-pint taster glasses and then sweating it all out.

But not at BrewDog, where skinny trussed-up blokes scratch their beards, sip third-pint tasters and try to out-craft-speak one another. Herein lies the difference.

I guess the BrewDog crowd appreciate bold typography, social media and mantras about PUNKS! whereas the CAMRA types prefer 3.2% milds with twee illustrations of Cornish steam trains. Guess which side of the fence I’m on…

My one gripe is obvious if you go; that BrewDog is a victim of its own success. They’re making an effort in terms of lots of (clued-up) staff, but the place is too small for the demand. I think people actually queue up before opening time.

In terms of the food, it’s basically to soak up the beer. But some thought has gone into the burgers and pizzas, which have crazy ingredients and hipster place names like Los Feliz and Williamsburg. My burger (about £5-6) was the archetype of a ‘dirty burger’ but well executed – oozing cheap cheese, medium rare patty, relish and some cursory veg. Perfect. One red flag was the bun which was a bit hard, and probably from the freezer. Looks pretty anaemic now.

The beer is great of course, but I’m stumped if I could tell you what I had. I know the 5am Saint and Punk IPA made appearances, as well as a 4/3 tasting flight of various things between 7 and 10%. BrewDog sell other breweries’ beers which I thought deserved some credit. No Camden, Meantime or Kernel wares unsurprisingly, but there were some Anchor Steam and Goose Island brews among the lesser known brewers.

Their current collaboration with Danish Gods of craft beer, Mikkeller, meant that a head to head showdown was taking place (with the whole bar in raptures voting for each beer) and it led to this rather snazzy looking fridge of beers.

The fantastically designed Mikkeller range

In summary: arrive early, drink lots, get hungry, eat dirty burger, leave drunk anyway. Brilliant.

Food – 8/10

Drink – 10/10

Service - 8/10

Value – 7/10 (beer 6, food 9)

Tap water tales – 2/10 (don't dare ask!)

Staff Hotness – 7/10 (grizzly hipsters, very well versed though)
 

The Wells Tavern

The Wells Tavern is among my favourite pubs in Hampstead. Certainly for food anyway. It’s not really a boozers’ pub like The Garden Gate, or an atmospheric old place like The Hollybush, but the cooking is great.

It’s pubby enough to do a legendary burger (with cheese and bacon – about £12), but on this occasion – bloggers’ worst nightmare – both of us wanted the same dish. It was a lamb rump, with fondant potato, carrot puree, green beans and in a nice jus, at around £16.

And what a thoroughly satisfying dish. The lamb was well-cooked; nicely tender and pink (cautiously yet also assertively so) and generous in proportion. The jus was delicious – very bold and wine-drenched and thick too. Carrot puree and green beans gave the dish a Sunday lunch worthiness, it all felt very wholesome and a true ‘square meal’ in the most old-fashioned sense.

Suffice to say the rosé was also a hit. The vibe was a little bizarre. As mentioned, this is more of a foodie pub, but the upstairs goes even further, acting as a full service restaurant. It did feel a little polished and weddingy up there, but I’ve been to so many boring weddings with boring food, I’d be mighty pleased with this. Service was good too.

more of the same...

Hampstead is a great place, and whilst upmarket and wavering between twee and chic in varying proportions, it doesn’t seem to have the urbaneness in its hospitality and dining options of comparable places. Who would have thought they would found in a backstreet pub, but it certainly is some of NW3’s best food.

Food – 8/10

Drink – 9/10

Service - 8/10

Value – 8/10

Tap water tales – 9/10 (iced jug brought and topped up)

Staff Hotness – 7/10