The Fellow

Gastropubs seem to have been a staple of mine recently – after all the theory of a relaxed, buzzy environment with good affordable food is a no brainer, although looking around town it seems so many try and do it so wrong. The Fellow I'm happy to report does it right and does it well. You get exactly what you expect in decor what I'd call averagely smart, tables are close together but hey it's a gastropub and after all it's fun to listen into others conversations. What did surprise me was the quality of the food. Simple dishes like the rabbit terrine tasted so good – plenty in the portion and nice and coarse (country style). My main consisted of a delicious sounding ham hock hash with fried egg and mustard sauce which I have to say was awesome – simple again but excellent, definitely a dish to recommend. The fab ham hock hash had filled me to the point I couldn’t go for dessert but the table next to me were tucking into theirs with gusto with big contented smiles on their faces which seems to be a good indicator. Pricewise I’d be surprised if you spent more than £25pp for a lunch or dinner which is always a bonus in these crunchy times. If the rest of the King's Cross redevelopment includes venues as good as the Fellow then I’ll be spending a lot more of my time in the locale.

We have been meaning to try The Fellow ever since it opened and dinner mid-week last week met our expectations. There was plenty of atmosphere for a Wednesday night and despite a little wait for our food (due to a large party), it was all very good. Having run out of crab toast, I started off with the green tomato and nettle soup; this was really fresh and full of flavour. Home cured salmon was lovely and smoky, in fact so good that it didn't really need the sour cream to accompany it. For the main course, we both had the chicken and leek pie along with a side of chips; it was all piping hot and real comfort food, exactly what you want from a good gastro-pub meal. To finish, we “forced” down a very satisfying chocolate cake served with some nicely tart cherry ice-cream. A welcome addition to this area, we will certainly be back in the next few weeks.