Anyone familiar with the stop-a-buffalo polenta of
the Alps will marvel at the weightless bed to a slow-
cooked oxtail ragu with crispy onions and parmesan
(£10), which leaves ample capacity to tackle maybe
cod with Jerusalem artichoke, smoked pork cheek,
sea vegetables and mussel emulsion (£24). Those of a
browsing disposition, meanwhile, might consider the
charcuterie or fish boards (£18), the former including
duck prosciutto, rabbit rillettes and—I kid you not—
"pig's head". That is to say, the sweetest cuts of jowl
and cheek etc, pickled and deep fried.
Of course, any lingering illusion that you might be in a
real pub will be dispelled once the bill arrives. But that's
a measure of the kind of gastronomic colonisation that
should console you, somewhere just round the corner,
no matter how suburban your digs for the week.
