The Butcher's Hook

We have been coming to the Hook since it opened and it has never disappointed. The food really is excellent and the wine list diverse. The service is helpful and knowledgeable. We have been here as part of a group and just us 2 and there is always a great atmosphere. How such a tiny kitchen produces such good food is beyond me but they do consistently. My husband even had a “very important” birthday here – for 30 people – great fun, food and wine had by all! Highly recommended!

Crikey… I can't recognise the pub Kate L visited from her review. I've lived perilously close to the BH for years and I love it. Sometimes my girlfriend and I have to remind ourselves there ARE other places. You only need to go to one of the regular wine dinners to know that they care enormously about food, and the atmosphere is brilliant. You can't please all the people all the time, but it has to be worth another try. (Not when Chelsea are at home, mind, but anyone who lives near Stamford Bridge knows that.)

Booked a table for Sunday lunch. Main bar area seemed quite buzzy but we were unfortunately sat behind the wall next to a table of small children who appeared to be dining alone. Felt like we were eating in a school dinner hall. Zero atmosphere. We placed our order for roast beef and one minute later the meals arrived. Quicker than MacDonalds. The food has clearly been prepared in advance and stuck on some hot plate as the roast potatoes were so hard you practically had to hack them apart. I had several layers of stringy beef fat piled on top of two edible slices of beef. The vegetables were sparse. Very poor. it's a shame as we have just bought a house in a neighbouring street and hoped it would be a local restaurant for us. Would not go back.

Duck pot roast was delicious, and served in a real pot. The decor is ok. “Modern” tables look rather scruffy. I'm not sure whether I was unlucky, or is that their custom, but I had to wait for kitchen to be opened at 7pm. Before that only some snacks were available, but food was worth the wait.

This place is my perfect pub: light, airy & modern décor, friendly & knowledgeable staff, excellent wine list and delicious food. You walk in and feel instantly relaxed. It took us ages to decide on what to eat, in the end I settled for potted shrimps to start followed by a “bavette steak” which our waiter explained was taken from the side of the cow. Utterly delicious, and I think my companion suffered from some serious food envy (although he didn’t dare admit it). I finished off with an Ardbeg-marinated Langres cheese, which came accompanied by a shot of Ardbeg whisky (just in case you weren't sure already what this tasted like). Very different, I wasn't sure about the idea at first but our waiter sold it to me so well that I just had to try it. And it worked. I didn't have space for the hot chocolate fondant, which I watched my friend devour with a look of pure ecstasy on his face. I'll definitely be going back, if only to try out one of those…