Zeitgeist at the Jolly Gardeners

Run by a young couple from the Rhine Valley, who have sunk their savings into this bold Vauxhall backstreet venture, London’s first German gastropub is a size-zero’s nightmare: pick from the likes of himmel un aed (black pudding with apple & mash), kassler mit kraut (salt pork loin with sauerkraut & mash), schnitzels, mayo-drenched salads & enough sausages to wow a lardy hausfrau. The backstreet boozer’s refurb verges on the odd at times (animal skin rugs plonked randomly on the floor), but full marks for restoring the attractive rosewood back-bar. Zeitgeist concentrates on grand German beers: Erdinger Weiss, Dunkel & Kristallklar, Jever, Aecht Schlenkerla & Tannenzäpfle are all present & correct, as is the mighty Weihenstephaner from the world’s oldest surviving brewery. We felt mildly cheated by the lack of oom-pah-pah music, though.