Peckish Perfect Pub : Morgan Arms

You can't beat a really good boozer in my opinion but in London they're not so easy to come across. On the rare occasion you do hit the pub jackpot, hang on for dear life to the knowledge and be strictly strategic about who you tell, or you run the risk of it becoming the hot spot for every Tom, Dick & Harry! Seeing as you're part of my extended Mouse family, I'm going to share my latest pub love with you all...

Step forward, The Morgan Arms … tucked back from Bow station, nestled besides a gorgeous little square surrounded by row upon row of charming townhouses. It really is quite the picturesque spot which was a pleasant surprise as let's be honest, Bow isn't famous for it's beauty now is it? 

 

So a few Sundays ago I had arranged a girly catch-up with my very good and utterly gorgeous university pal, Lauren. I should probably draw your attention to the fact that I was appallingly hungover (Champagne brunch escapades the previous day to blame for that!). As a result, I was feeling incredibly sorry for myself - cue the ever so quiet violins, remember I have a Champagne head! I had given Lauren the heads up on the 'situation' so when I arrived I was greeted with an almighty bear hug! I immediately perked up - the prospect of a lazy afternoon of chatter and yummy food with one of my favourite people was just too good to waste by wallowing in hungover self-pity!

So first impressions - 10 out of 10. Pretty duck egg blue painted exterior, cute hanging baskets housing colourful happy petals and brass arched lights illuminated the drinking house. It helped that it was a miserable drizzly day outside, so as soon as I stepped through the doors I felt a rush of toasty warmth and was met with smiles all round! 

 

We headed straight to our table, nestled slap bang in the middle of the action offering up the perfect view of the glorious kitchen and head chef hard at work. We were immediately asked what we would like to drink. My answer, very quickly, was 'are you frickin' kidding me? Does this grey face look like it could handle any form of booze right now…??? I'll stick to cucumber infused water please' … our waiter nodded knowingly and scurried off, only to return 5 minutes later offering up Berroca - now if this doesn't award one brownie points, I don't know what will! Our food order was taken super quickly by our uber attentive waiter, there's no faffing around in this stellar establishment. Everything sounded uber-tasty but we generically went for the Sunday roast beef. I had heard huge hype about the tasty gravy and melt in your mouth fluffy yorkshire puds so I was pretty excited to taste-test these bad boys for myself… 

 

And....I'm happy to report that the roast was rip-roaringly superb! Beasting portions, vegetables cooked to perfection with that all important crunch, moreishly divine roasty potatoes, rare beef packed full of flavour and the gravy and yorkshires lived up to our sky high expectations. I was practically bursting at the seams when I took my last mouthful and whimped out of ordering dessert. Big mistake, HUGE! Lauren put her food sweats to one side and indulged in the passionfruit panna cotta. I had a cheeky mouthful when it arrived and regretted my rash decision immediately - light, creamy and stunningly sweet.

 

Will I be making a return visit? Damn straight I will! A weekly occurrence is most certainly on the cards in fact. Thumbs up, claps all round, gold star-worthy - Morgan Arms, two words … YOU. ROCK. 

The Morgan Arms

43 Morgan St 

Bow

London 

E3 5AAT

0208 980 6389

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Devonshire Gems...

So, as you'll know if you follow us on Instagram or read our Devon round-up a couple of weeks ago, us Mice took ourselves off to the country for a long weekend full to the brim of relaxation, long walks, pub grub and lashings of red wine! We invited ourselves to Cousin Andrew's cottage in Topsham, South Devon. A perfect picturesque spot - see for yourself...

So what did we get up to? Well we have three little gems to share with you, if you ever venture to this part of the country make sure that you check out these beauties and say hello to the lovely people behind each one for us...

First up, The New Inn - a charming little boozer in a sleeping village called Moreleigh - think Rosehill Cottage in the film 'The Holiday' and you're pretty much there! The pub boasts a friendly landlord, Jeremy, the world's most attentive barmaid, Neets and Chef extraordinaire, Bridget.

The New Inn is packed full to the rafters with character, alive with locals and serves up Hendricks - what more could you ask for?! The food is pretty darn tasty too - the menu of home-cooked, comfort classics is small but perfectly formed - steaks, lamb chops and steak and kidney pie on Sundays. Each comes with a side of chunky chips, mushrooms and garden peas. Be warned, once you've experienced this calibre of pub it's pretty hard to go back to the mundane!

New Inn pub
Moreleigh, 
Totnes,
Devon.
TQ9 7JH
01548 821326

Next up a deli to die for - Avon Mill. Housed in a stunning restored stone barn boasting mouth-watering treats that will keep you browsing until Christmas... 

So what treats did we pick up? Well the bowls and bowls of lip-smackingly good olives were too hard to resist. We also snapped up some of the freshly baked glazed-pastries, salted caramel sauce for ice cream (wow) and a little Christmas pud sent from heaven! We had to stop somewhere so sadly said no to the many chutneys, honey, homemade cakes and organic juices - next time! 

The deli manager, Julie deserves a big shout out too - lovely, always smiling, knowledgeable and not in the least bit pushy (my biggest bug bear). Every village needs an Avon Mill!

Avon Mill Deli
Loddiswell, 

Kingsbridge, 

Devon. 

TQ7 4DD

01548 550338

And last but by no means least, the magnificently brilliant Simon Drew! A trip to Devon wouldn't be the same without a stop-off at his shop in Dartmouth. As a family, we've all been obsessed with Simon and his quirky and ever so witty pen and ink illustrations ever since I can remember. 

Simon has an in-store studio where you can watch him work while you shop - if you ask very nicely he'll show you what he's working on - always a treat! We did just that and chatted to him for at least half an hour and were hanging on his every word...!

Simon Drew
13 Foss St, 
Dartmouth, 
Devon. 
TQ6 9DR
01803 832832

There's No Smokehouse Without Fire...

Last year us Mice were left raving to anyone and everyone about the amazing Neil Rankin delights we had sampled at the then newly opened John Salt restaurant in Islington. After a gushing blog post had been published, we immediately got on the phone to get another reservation to introduce HK Mouse to our new favourite chef on her Christmas trip home. Much to our disappointment, we received a call the night before informing us that Mr Rankin had resigned and they were forced to close the kitchen whilst they devised their new menu. Rumour had it that he was being asked to create more mainstream dishes, like burgers, which just aren't his style, so the brains behind the menu walked! 

As compensation for our cancelled booking, we were invited back when the kitchen had reopened for a discounted meal, we of course took them up on the offer eager to sample the replacement offering. Sadly we were really disappointed and left not even half as wowed with the bogstandard dishes filling the menu showing a distinct lack of imagination. Not a chicken skin sandwich or BBQ truffle baguette in sight I'm afraid.

Now the scene has been set, you can imagine our excitement to hear that star of the John Salt show, Neil, was setting up shop all on his lonesome and just a stone's throw from his previous stomping group!

The Smokehouse is a gastropub set in Canonbury, the Highbury end of Upper Street. It's just a 5 minute walk from Highbury and Islington tube station, however when we visited, as it was such a beautiful morning, we decided to walk from London Towers along Regents Canal all wrapped up in scarfs and cashmere! Ninety minutes later we had arrived, starving hungry for what we hoped was to be a jolly good feast!

From the outside and even as you walk in, it appears to be a normal local pub - a smart one but nothing too scary as the name Smokehouse may suggest! The interior is spot on and beautifully done - lots of natural light streaming in, crisp white walls adorned with antlers and blackboards, chunky wooden tables and mismatched chairs - a great mix of chic, comfy and open. It welcomes everyone and by the looks of it they all know it...surrounding us we had a big family lunching, young couples with their babies, a group of boys meeting for some pub grub and the download of the night before, a couple on a date and then us three mice huddled in the corner!

On our visit the service was laid back, if I was to be critical I can imagine some may find it slightly slow, however for a chilled Sunday afternoon, we felt relaxed and as if the experience was completely at our pace. The staff were lovely, very friendly and happy to help when asked but not overbearing or pushy.

If I had learnt anything from our John Salt tasting menu, it was that no dish should be missed so we decided to pick four different starters and all share so we could get a taste of everything we fancied!

We opted for...

Foie gras, apple pie & duck egg - safely the star of the show - the flavours were incredible! Definitely one we all wished we didn't have to share!

Burnt leeks with duck egg, girolles & parmesan... 

Lobster Frittata…

Pig's cheek, pecorino & pear…

Each dish left us scraping the plate to get every last morsel - there was no polite 'oh you finish it' or 'you've left a bit' - we were in to win anything we could get…there were definite moments of food war! After polishing off and thoroughly enjoying every last morsel and sipping our way through a carafe of delicious red, we all felt suitably refuelled for more Mice adventures!

Husbands and boyfriends will love this place, they not only serve up a mean plate of meat but they also boast thirty different craft beers on tap and many more by the bottle. Whilst you gossip away and get high from the dessert menu, they can work their way through the LONG beer menu...

At around £6 to £12 a starter and £12 to £25 for mains, you really can't go wrong. I have to add that as we walked out, the family next to us had the most scrumptious looking roast dinner, definitely on my list of Sunday Must Dos'! Having said that the main courses all sounded like a party on a plate, as did the desserts…I sense several wine soaked evenings at the Smokehouse are about to make their way into my diary pretty sharpish and I CAN'T wait!

The Smokehouse
63-69 Canonbury Road,
Islington,
London,
N1 2DG
+44(0) 207 354 1144

The Princess of Pubs in Shoreditch!

Last week, one miserable rainy evening, I was yet again running late (literally) for a well overdue gossip and dinner with one of the girls. I was freezing cold, my umbrella had broken and all in all I felt pretty cross and sad.

What I needed was a warm, cosy pub with good wine, food and a lots of laughing....and that's exactly what I got! The Princess of Shoreditch is situated just off Old Street, close enough to the tube that the umbrella situation wasn't quite as disastrous as it could have been and just on the far enough away from the queues of hipsters waiting to get into Floripa (formerly Favela Chic) - perfect! It was refurbished in 2010 and they got it spot on - cosy yet gorgeously stylish! Mink grey walls and wood panelling, slightly bashed-up, worn-in dark wooden tables, chalk boards with messages scrawled across them, a big chunky wooden bar at the back lit by hanging lanterns with over-sized bulbs - it has a really cool vibe while retaining the character and original features of the old building. 

Image via www.theprincessofshoreditch.com

It was busy but not heaving when we arrived (at about 7:30pm on a Wednesday evening), but as we hadn't booked a table we had to wait for one and so sat at the bar for a much needed glass of wine! The Princess has both a dining room (located at the top of a spiral staircase) and an area by the bar for more casual, pubby dining - each area has a separate menu, as well as a Sunday roast menu - which if the reviews are anything to go by, is next on my must-try list! We opted for the more laid-back option of the pub dining and by the time we'd ordered a bottle of Marlborough and opened a tab, our table was ready and waiting for us!

Images via www.theprincessofshoreditch.com

The menus aren't too long, which as a foodie, I love because it lessens the odds of food envy and gives you the hope that they focus on what they do best! No worries here...the owners, Scott Hunter and Maria Larsen, have experience in Michelin starred restaurants and will change their menu up to twice daily depending on what quality produce is available. I can vouch for them, the food did not disappoint and made me feel super happy, content and oh so full! 


I went for the beer battered day boat fish, three times cooked chunky chips, mushy peas and tartar sauce, all washed down with amazing wine! The fish was amazingly crispy, not at all dry but not seeping with oil either, the tartar sauce - homemade and delish, but the winner...the chips, incredibly crispy, fluffy and perfectly seasoned...I now wish I had time to triple cook my dinner every night!! The whole meal easily gets a 3BM 10/10!


Take a peak at the Pub menu to get your tummy rumbling...

Image via www.theprincessofshoreditch.com

Two main meals (Fran had venison pie, garlic mash and gravy...again, she said it was delicious and didn't leave a scrap!), a bottle of wine and two extra large glasses of wine (it was a BAD day!) came in at £35 each - not bad for a chilled, cosy and relaxed evening of delicious food and wine tucked away from the rain with one of my besties! 

Definitely a gem to add to the post work drinks, pre-night out AND Sunday roast pub list...winner winner, Princess Shoreditch dinner!!

Image via www.theprincessofshoreditch.com

The Princess of Shoreditch – 76 Paul Street London, EC2A 4NE 

Tel: 020 7729 9270

Lazy Sunday Spot...

I'm on the constant look out for new cosy pubs for lazy Sunday lunches or hungover gossipping from the night before! One of my trusty besties from university, Fran, had her engagement drinks (ekkk!) at a gorgeous pub last weekend, a perfect addition to the list - The Canonbury.

Image via www.thecanonbury.com

The walk from Highbury and Islington tube station required a map, but maybe this seemed more complex than it actually was as my attention was less on the map, more on the totally amazing houses on Compton street! Flat roofed town houses, with stoops, pillars, beautiful big windows and high ceilings! I saw a 'For Sale' sign and even put the estate agents in my phone...as if Middle mouse and I could afford such a palace!! What more could a girl need though...an amazing house on a quaint street, a homely local pub just around the corner and right opposite Tom Flowers - the cutest little florist!

Image via www.tom-flowers.co.uk

So back to The Canonbury...cosy, comfy, spacious interior - there are two separate sections, one for informal drinks and food, and then a more formal dining area. The wine list is good (well there was a Marlborough present and that's all I care about!) and the cocktails looked delish! My friend Becca sampled one of the Canonbury's roasts before the party and gave it top food points! I didn't try the roasts but the newly engaged couple had ordered canapes for everyone and I was VERY impressed indeed! Chorizo, prawn and cherry tomato skewers, honey and mustard sausages and the most incredible baby chicken, tarragon, leek and bacon pies...lush! 

The cherry on top has to be the large garden terrace just waiting for summer time drinking! Perfect for Pimms O'clock (in my world that strikes every 15 minutes) especially on a Sunday to keep the Monday morning blues away!!!

Image via www.thecanonbury.com