It’s the archetypal grown-up north London gastropub: high ceilings, dark panelling, a chalked-up menu with Mediterranean influences and a smattering of craft beer – although not a particularly enthusiastic rendering like in so many places.
Then there’s the genteel location that’s the midpoint between King’s Cross, Camden and Hackney. How we love refined De Beauvoir, even more so when we find ourselves ensconced in one of its many hostelries.
It comes as no surprise that the pub is part of a civilised chain of four that includes the classic Lord Stanley, the Tufnell Park Tavern and the Lady Mildmay in Newington Green. The policy of each is “no music, no TV, just good food.” It’s the steady, no-frills offer that appeals to a particular kind of Londoner: perhaps one who came of age in the 1990s – since it was seminal Farringdon pub The Eagle that really started all this at the turn of that decade.
It’s always pleasing to see a steak dish on the menu for around £15 and that’s why the bavette makes the grade in our new Signature Dish series.
LOCAL ADVERTISING
Here it’s served medium-rare, a little tough in parts, as the cut so often is, but its exterior carbonised, the blood-red meat stashed with flavour. A salsa verde dotted about adds herby, salty notes, while Lyonnaise potatoes (sauteed and then baked) come with a mess of garlic, caramelised red onions, and watercress.
In short, it’s all simplicity and local-pub effortlessness in this high-falutin age of food fads. As seven of us feasted at a central table the other Friday night, voices progressively louder, red wine being slugged back, it was joyous to be reminded that some places are doing what they’ve always done. And doing it well.
