Gastropub

• The Clarence Tavern to reopen in Stoke Newington from the people behind The Anchor & Hope and The Canton Arms

  The people behind the Anchor and Hope are taking over classic Stoke Newington pub, The Clarence Tavern. Food will be as important as the booze and they're bringing an ex Great Queen Street chef to head up the kitchen. 

• Highgate's The Bull and Last reopens after a major makeover

  

  Eighteen months ago, popular North London gastropub, The Bull and Last, closed for what would be the mother of all makeovers. The whole pub was getting a fresh look and they were adding six new bedrooms for bed and breakfast.

  Well now the wait for Highgate pub, which regularly featured on the top 50 gastropubs list, is over. It reopens tonight.

  "We’ll be dinner only," they told Hot Dinners, "with lunch services starting

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• Test Driving The Harwood Arms for their 10th anniversary

  

  It's ten years old and still the only Michelin starred pub in London. We visited the Harwood Arms to try its special anniversary menu.

• The Palmerston in East Dulwich is closing after its lease wasn't renewed

  

  It's not easy finding the perfect local in London. You have to kiss a lot of frogs (or drink a lot of duff pints) before you discover the one for you. So imagine the dismay for South Londoners to read yesterday that one of their favourite pubs is closing.

  The Palmerston in East Dulwich took everyone by surprise when it posted on Instagram to say that they'd be closing up shop in June.

  "It is with a heavy heart to all our customers friends and supporters

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• Camden's Golden Lion pub gets an ex Drapers Arms chef in the kitchen

  

  Who doesn't like a David against Goliath story? And you couldn't find a better one than the one featuring the indie Camden pub The Golden Lion up against the evil pub closing developer - as so brilliantly chronicled in long form by the Guardian here. 

  Now, several years on from winning their

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• A model makeover - we Test Drive The Cleveland Arms in Paddington

  It's always nice when an overhaul of a lovely old pub manages to retain its character while bringing new talents to the table - we went to check out The Cleveland Arms in Paddington.

• Test Driving The Red Lion and Sun in Highgate - a gastropub with a cracking wine list

  Up in Highgate there's a gastropub with a serious wine list that you need to put on your must-try list

• Test Driving The Coach: Henry Harris's triumphant return to London

  A historic London pub has been reinvigorated with the arrival of top chef Henry Harris. We went to check out the new look Coach

• Test Driving The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny - Shaun Hill's inn lives up to high expectations

  Shaun Hill's Abergavenny inn is THE place to visit if you're in the area - so we popped along to check it out.

• The Truscott Arms returns with Racine’s Henry Harris leading the kitchen

  It was a tragic day when The Truscott Arms was forced to close, and not just for lovers of its famous roasts. Now, the upmarket boozer is back to great fanfare, and not least of all because the former head chef of top Kensington French restaurant Racine will be leading the charge…

• The George & Dragon in Fitzrovia brings The Truscott Arms' chef Aidan McGee back to the kitchen

  Irish chef who made a name for himself at the late lamented Truscott Arms is back cooking at another London pub

• The Eagle lands back in Notting Hill

  

  What: The Eagle

  In a nutshell: Traditional beer and British-Bavarian pub food in Notting Hill

  Summing it all up: Notting Hill’s newest refurbished pub will have unpasteurised beer served straight from the tank, and a menu packed with Bavarian dishes which should go down a treat with the intense flavours of the beer.

• Deptford gets a new gastropub The Brookmill

  

  Down in Deptford the food scene is going great guns - and now there's a cracking new gastropub to entice locals. The Brookmill, which opens just after the August bank holiday, is the sister pub to The Great North Wood.

  For a gastropub its foodie credentials are impeccable with the kitchen headed up by chef Olly Marlowe who was previously sous chef at the Michelin-starred The Glasshouse and Chez Bruce.

  Olly's menu sounds pretty amazing with sample dishes

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• Hibiscus chef Claude Bosi and his brother have bought The Swan Inn in Esher

  

  We hear that Michelin-starred chef and his brother, Cedric, have just bought a new pub. They're take over the Swan Inn in Esher which will be welcome news, we expect, for the locals.

  Head chef will Justin West, who has previously worked with Claude while the pub manager will be Joseph Hendriks who was at the brothers' previous west London pub, The Fox & Grapes in Wimbledon Village.

  The food sounds pretty lovely;

  • Crab on toast with spring
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• Hackney and Highgate head list of London boroughs with top gastropubs

  

  Looks like Hackney and Highgate are your best London neighbourhoods for boozers with particularly good grub. That's the verdict anyway of the Top 50 Gastropub list (put together by the Morning Advertiser and Estrella). Both boroughs have top pubs each among the 10 London pubs on the list published this week.

  The London pubs are as follows:

  • 7. Harwood Arms, Fulham
  • 11. The Marksman, Hackney (new)
  • 19. Anchor and Hope,
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