Anchor and Hope

British gastropub goodness

I really am not a fan of queuing up for restaurants, it is just painfully annoying to wait and waste your time away. However if the food is really special and highly recommended, I would give it a try but would avoid peak time, and over the years it has worked out pretty nicely for me such as visiting early hours or on a Monday. The legendary Anchor and Hope pub in Waterloo is one of those places and a Monday visit resulted in a table right away but however I did have to share a table with others which is somewhat unheard of in the UK.

Anchor and Hope

potted shrimps

We were given some bread and water while browsing the menu. My starter, crab on toast was a lot heavier than I had expected, the richness was a little too much for a starter for me. The main of sliced onglet was beautifully cooked but lacked a little in seasoning, however the duck fat potato cake and house butter did match well in flavour and texture. The best dish on the day was the slow roast Tamworth pork loin, the meat was so moist and tender, it worked greatly with a bit of Greek influence from the chickpeas, harrisa and yoghurt. It was a pork dish at a tremendous level.

crab on toast 

sliced onglet

slow roast Tamworth pork loin

One thing that disappointed me a little was the lack of choices of beer, mainly mainstream brands with only two types of ales. As a gastropub I wished there were a much wider choice such as imported craft beer or more local ales. Service was decent enough as a pub, but it is all about the food here. Anchor and Hope's cooking is definitely better than your average pub and price wise is also very reasonable.  Located right next to a tube station, it's no wonder why it's so popular to both the locals and tourists. 

Food 5.5
Service 4
Ambience 3
Value 5

£30 per head with a beer 

36 The Cut, London SE1 8LP

http://www.anchorandhopepub.co.uk/