Drapers Arms

Re-launched in 2008 under the direction of Ben Maschler, the son of the Evening Standard’s restaurant critic, Fay, The Drapers Arms has been lovingly restored to its former glory. While the upstairs dining room can feel a little cold, downstairs it is bustling and welcoming. The Drapers Arms was awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2010 Michelin Guide.

I have been to the Drapers Arms twice and both times I have loved the atmosphere, the food however, is a different matter. Whilst edible, it was tasteless and given little thought. Because they are sourcing locally, doing the organic thing etc, does this mean that taste and other elements of creating a good dish are forgotten? The last time I went I had lamb, that was so tough I eventually relented as my hand hurt trying to saw through it. I will not give up on this gastropub as I like its ambience, but I will be steering clear of the food.

We went to Drapers Arms last night with an expectation of great food and a happy night out. I am sorry to say that none of this happened.

It wasn't particularly busy and we switched table a couple of times. The first table was wobbely so we found another table that wasn't. Unfortunately the chairs were wobbely here, so we settled down at a third table and were pleased that everything was stabil here. My husband went to the bar to get the menu and asked if we should order there, but the owner said that “someone” would come down to our table. It took quite a while (and the owner went out for a fag) before a waiter came down to take our orders. Unfortunately the crab was sold out, but one of us settled for smoked mackerel followed by braised lamb breast, fennel, peas and aioli and the girls decided on suckling pig, a side of salad and 3 bitburger pints to go with it. After another 10 minutes the beer arrived and they were good.

The mackerel arrived after a loooong wait and suddenly the waiter came to inform that unfortunately there was no more suckling pig. Errrhm okay, we had another look at the menu and decided to go for another braised lamb and guinea fowl, bacon, mushrooms and lentils. Then we waited some more but it gave us some time to look at the interior decorations of the pub and we all liked the style and also the garden, which would be lovely to sit in on a sunny day or warm night. We also had time to watch the staff running around very confused with food looking for the right tables.

We needed more beer and the waiter knew that we had sat for a long time so the next drinks were on the house. The food finally arrived and I can't say we were overwhelmed. The £3.50 side order of salad was brown and quite sad to be honest. The guinea fowl was looking quite similar to the salad but was tasty after all. My husband and I had the lamb and it was full of fat and sinews and only a third of the meat was eatable. The aioli was missing.

After a short discussion whether we should have dessert or not, we decided that the staff already knew that we had waited unnecessarily long for our main courses so they would probably be more alert. We decided to go for it and we didn't have to wait long. None of us were especially thrilled. Everyone can put a bit of fruit in a bowl and serve a scoop of ice cream with it.

During our desserts we overheard a couple at another table, who was having starters already when we sat down at our table and they hadn't had their main course yet. The staff had forgotten to tell them that their main orders was sold out and hadn't passed the message on to the guests. Blimey!

We had the bill, the salad was taken off and the gesture of 3 free pints was nice. After all the beer was good and if we ever come back the Bitburger Beer will probably be the only thing we order.

Problem is lack of traditional choices – eg no chicken or beef or other standardish fare. All slightly too exotic showing chef's heritage of St John's restaurant – lots of offal.