Strange Decor of Restaurant.
You always know when you screw up and Sunday was one of those times. However much I wanted to blame other factors I knew deep inside it was my fault- albeit (here I go again making excuses for myself !) Who can predict English weather ?
Mrs W and I had been talking for weeks, months , dare I say years, about visiting Columbia Road flower market. It’s literally a 45 minutes walk from our flat and is there for the taking each and every Sunday. So we have a Bank Holiday coming up and I had not organised anything for the long weekend. By the time it had occurred to me and we had vaguely started to discuss a potential weekend away, any decent Hotel in the UK we had looked at was fully booked or were asking for £650 a night ! The thought of spending 6 hours moving at 3mph on the M25 also discouraged the idea. A weekend away in Europe ? A week beforehand all flights are booked or again seeking ridiculous sums of money and of course the airports would be experiencing one of their busiest days of the year – wouldn’t It be so nice to chill out at home together and not have to worry about all this potential hassle and eye wateringly crazy prices ? Yes. Agreed. So it appears I have got away with not organising anything for the weekend (phew!) but now had to think of something entertaining for a chill out weekend. And this is how my plan to visit Columbia Road is formulated.
Now as we all know we have been experiencing one of the driest hottest summers on record, and each and every Sunday during the past few months have been glorious. It’s now Bank holiday weekend – I put our plan into action and we set off for our adventure into Hackney. It is dry but the sky is looking a little ominous. We manage the walk there without being rained on, but literally as soon as we arrive and spy the first Sunflower the heavens open. If you have visited this cornucopia of plants and flowers you will know it is a little busy and rather cramped. There is literally 2 metres of space between the stalls which contains three lines of people – one each of stationary people looking or buying, and one narrow line of people moving – very, very slowly. It is not conducive to keeping dry during a downpour – not helped by people with prams the size of Range Rovers or people who are prepared ( or more prepared than I) with umbrellas zigzagging dangerously hither and thither. We got wet. We got soaked. Then we got wet again. Probably the first Sunday in months that Columbia Road had seen a spot of rain and it’s the same Sunday that after years of planning I decide we should be there. The saving grace ? I had Pre booked lunch in The Marksman Public House.
This local favourite was another spot that had been on my radar for years but I had always thought the Flower market and pub should go hand in hand, notwithstanding friends recommending it to me for many years. It is owned and run by Tom Harris ex St Johns Hotel where he attained a Michelin Star and Jon Rotherham ex Jamie Oliver’s 15. It is very much an old fashioned boozer downstairs, with lots of polished wood and Gents propping up the bar as if they live there. Our table was booked for 12.30 but by 12.00 we were so cold and wet were already in the pub looking for hot food and a roof over our head. The main restaurant is upstairs and first impressions were a little frustrating in that, admittedly we were 30 minutes early, we were advised the kitchen had only just opened and therefore were asked to take a seat at the bar and we would be called in 10/15 minutes. Whilst a swift pint is always welcome others arriving were being taken immediately upstairs. 5 minutes of this was enough and a further approach was made requesting to be seated post haste due to our bedraggled condition – this time thankfully, positively responded to.
The upstairs room came as a bit of a surprise as it just seemed out of step with everything downstairs. A rather sparse Scandinavia style room with a weird ceiling (Carpeted?). However we were warmly welcomed and provided with a menu which we read through quickly determined to get some hot food ASAP.
Basically the menu has 4 snacks on offer including some Black treacle sourdough for £4 which we ordered. 4 starters and 4 main courses with 3 options for sharing between 2. These options looked great – a Roast Chicken with beans and Aioli, A Chicken, leek and tarragon pie, and a Hereford T- Bone plus a Yorkshire pudding which we were advised would involve 1Kg of meat and would be a £30 supplement to the 2 course deal at £29 a head. However as Mrs.W hardly does red meat these days, 1Kg of Beef for one would be a little over the top, or so methinks. Therefore for starters we selected a Sweetcorn Soup with Brown Crab Toast and a Pigs Cheek and Potato pie. ( I missed out on what is supposedly a legendary beef and barley bun with horseradish as a snack, but next time!). Other options were Cured Mackerel with Pickled Fennel and Saffron, or Courgette, Sunflower Seeds and Salt Lemon.
Hot and inviting Sweetcorn Soup
The Soup was a bowl of hot and inviting deeply coloured orange/yellow thick liquid with bits of charred corn floating around an island of pink crab mayonnaise kept afloat by its toasted little boat. Mrs W extremely happy with it – good depth of taste, the morsels of corn giving it a bit of texture and taste remanent of bbq corn on the cob.
Cheeky little number !
My pie was accompanied by pickled cabbage in a piquant mustard sauce with yellow pickled beans that complimented the meaty cheeks and soft potato/ pastry just right.
If I could not have my 1Kg of Beef then I had no other choice than to order the traditional Roast Hereford Beef which would come with Carrots, Roast Pots and Horseradish Cream. The beef was succulently rare in the middle ( albeit I was not asked how I wanted it done), the carrot roasted to perfection – soft and sweet- and Roasties pretty good too( albeit not up to mine at home !)
Hereford Beef
The Horseradish Cream just the right amount of hotness, nicely judged, the only disappointment was that the gravy was a little thin, tasteless and portion wise, a little ungenerous. Could of asked for more but was not impressed enough to do so.
Mrs W went for the Cod, Mussels and Sea Purslane – again scored a high five with her choice. Large piece of skinless cod steak, beautifully moist and prepared – albeit I thought upside down presentation wise ?- a lovely sauce/ broth requiring a spoon to be requested to finish it all, and rounded off by the herby/ salty Purslane, almost having a nutty and crunchy finish to it.
Upside down Cod ?
Other choices on the menu involved a great looking slow cooked Tamworth Belly Ham with Cocoa Beans and Roasted Onion, and a Veggie option of Celeriac Tart with Braised Mushroom.
Both portions were large and a dessert almost seemed to be off the cards until we spied a dish of Nectarines with Iced Almond that we thought we could just about manage between two – £4 supplement to go up to a three course dish. The Nectarines just ripe, sweet, soft, refreshing, singed by a blow torch ( or grill) and accompanied by a type of Almond Granita.
Nectarines with Almond Ice
We accompanied the meal with a Carafe of Portuguese Dao which was fruity, had soft Tannins and just enough body to combat the Roast Beef, good value at £19. Bill for 2 ( including a glass of Rose for Mrs W) – £ 90 plus service. Would be a good idea to return to test the menu away from Sunday Lunch which is sometimes not representative of a restaurants full capabilities.
We came away dry, sated and very happy with our meal other than a few minor adjustments being required. Mainly Gravy ! So I had been forgiven for not organising a weekend away or for being responsible for the deluge that had descended upon us, and we had even bought 3 Succulents for a tenner – Bargain meal, Bargain plants !
The Marksman Public House, 254 Hackney Road, E27SJ.
tel 0207 739 7393
Rating – Food 4/5 Very Hot Pan
Service 4/5