In the heart of Kennington, a really handy all-purpose gastroboozer, which was already well into its stride on our early-days lunchtime visit.
The latest ‘Renaissance’ pub will come as no surprise to those who’ve visited siblings such as the Avalon, in Balham. Its airy old premises, once a woody wine bar on one of Kennington’s main junctions, have been comfortably done out with all the contemporary clichés such as lavatorial tile highlights, and bare-filament bulbs. These touches provide a congenial enough environment in which to enjoy a plain – but not entirely brainless – menu of fish (a house speciality), steaks, burgers, sandwiches and salads.
A quick solo lunchtime inspection already found the place, surprisingly, about a third full, and it’s not difficult to see why: you can spend anything from a tenner to perhaps four times that sum on a meal, and, we suspect, come out feeling you’ve had a pretty reasonable deal. We sampled a salad (enjoyable, but not impressive), a pork and apple sauce bap (yum) and a no-onion version of petits pois à la française, which is to say peas ‘n’ bacon (competent). Other fare which passed our table all looked pretty appetising. The wine list is quite extensive, and reasonably priced.
So, no culinary frontiers being pushed back here. But the sort of place most people would be pleased to have on their corner? You bet.
