Arthur Hooper's

I'm never excited by the thought of eating around London Bridge/Borough because all the places I've tried have managed to persuade me that they're there for one-off tourist visits so they don't have to worry themselves about the food.  Today I needed a restaurant near the Tate Modern  for a visit with my daughter.  Together we chose this one.  

It was actually wrong from the minute we walked in - the picture on the website is very selective and the reality is far more rustic and low-tariff than we expected.  And pretty cramped- getting in & out of your seat when the other tables round you are occuppied isn't easy.  We ordered 4 small plates to act as a starter , telling the waiter that we'd order more once we'd worked out their small plate sizes.  First disappointment-they didn't have the boquerones. The waiter suggested that we should maybe order everything right away because they expected to be busy, but we demurred.  We settled for harissa butter beans that were served stone cold from a fridge, a fennel salami that didn't taste much of fennel, some rosemary potatoes that weren't cooked enough & certainly weren't crispy, and some mackerel pate with sourdough that was OK.  At this point they lost my daughter who had no interest in ordering more food of that quality, and it was dawning on us that we understood why the waiter wanted us to order everything at once.  Hungry, I did get small plates of an onglet with cavallero nero where the meat was very chewy, and some ok Pappardelle and duck ragu that they spoil by sprinkling some orange flavoured stuff over it.  

All told a poor meal I'm afraid. I shan't go back, and I'm still looking for somewhere to eat around Borough that behaves like it cares whether customers go back or not.  Value is poor because there's no such thing as a right price for poor quality food.  Service was decent.

Delicious food - varied menu. Helpful staff. Great atmosphere and dã©cor.