Week Forty Seven: The Nightingale

Week Thirty Forty Seven

  Another short week for you guys with only the one place visited and it was done at the last possible opportunity....8pm on the Sunday evening.  This was the closest I had been to failing in 2 years.  Dramatic.

  

Special guests include: Will Wright

Summary of The Nightingale

Name: The Nightingale

Type: Pub

Location: 97 Nightingale Lane, Balham, SW12 8NX

Website: http://www.thenightingalebalham.co.uk/contact

Date Visited: 30/11/14

Price: Standard

Rating: 3/5

Review

  It had been a quiet week following Padstow, resulting in keeping my head down and out of trouble.  Will Wright had just moved into his new flat in Clapham South so I went over late on Sunday evening to return his coat and see the new flat.  Two birds, one stone and all that....so bloody efficient.  After a nice tour of the place I was about to set off back home when Will asked me what the new place for the week had been.  Panic descended when I suddenly realised I hadn't been to one.  'Where's the nearest pub?' I asked like all well trained lads.  'The Nightingale, it's only a few metres away!' was the answer to calm my fears.  To be fair to Will, neither of us wanted to go but he happily obliged in a late Sunday night pint to ensure I didn't go solo.  Thanks pal!

The Nightingale. (picture not mine)

  We wondered down and headed in.  The place has been recently refurbished and shock horror, it's another Youngs establishment....that lot have splashing the cash recently.  They've done a pretty good job, it still has it's old traditional feel from the outside and its kept a lot of character inside.   When you go through the entrance its got that feel of a cosy old village pub.  However, once you go around the corner it opens up and feels a bit more Gastroey (is that a word?).  

The pub of two halves. Traditional on the right, vacant space to the left (picture not mine)

  After ordering our pints (on a Sunday?! You lads!) we headed out to the smoking/outdoor area and quickly came back inside.  This was not due to the temperature but actually due to the atmosphere....it was unfriendly and intimidating due to tables of smokers who were speaking in voices barely louder than whispers.  Once safely back inside we struggled to find a table but we eventually did (nice story).  That was the one thing that still remains with me, the place seems to be large and a vast amount of tables but in fact it barely has any tables at all.  They don't use their space efficiently.

In conclusion, a good little pub and one which is perfect to go to as your local nearest pub but not one to specifically visit or travel to as it's nothing special.  Decent pub though.

Special Shoutout
Winner: Lulu Harris

A few weeks prior to this week, Chopper and his mother (Lulu) kindly hosted a Halloween dinner party at The Hunt House B&B.  It was a truly stupendous evening which Lulu kindly hosted and did a cracking job.  The food was delicious and Lulu had done a fantastic job in decorating the place to theme too.  What more? She woke me up in the morning with a cup of coffee and dropped me off at the train station at the break of dawn to make sure I got my train back to London.  Top work indeed and many thanks again Lulu.  Photo courtesy of Luke.


Poem Advice

Find yourself in Clapham South,
And want a cheeky drink?
The Nightingales not bad,
Actually better than you think


Thanks again guys and keep the support coming folks.  It's all very much appreciated and next week sees a bar in London Bridge followed by a bar in Clapham Old Town. Tidy.

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Week Forty Six: The London Inn in Padstow

Week Forty Six

  Welcome back folks and this week includes a weekend away to Padstow.  Only the one new place as I have been to Padstow many times (lucky you!).  This new place didn't disappoint to be fair.

Special guests include: Tom Goldwater, formerly my biggest fan (Chris Hazell), Bex Murphy, Briony Jones, Aimee Pyatt and Tom Grimes

Summary of London Inn

Name: London Inn

Type: Old Traditional Pub

Location: 6-8 Lanadwell Street, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8AN

Website: http://www.padstowlondoninn.co.uk

Date Visited: 21/11/14

Price: Very affordable

Rating: 3.7/5

Review

  Winter was approaching and before the desperate cold weather arrived a small group of us wanted a weekend away in Padstow.  Tom Grimes kindly offered his family holiday home for accommodation and of we set on the Thursday night from London to Padstow.  This usually is a 3-4 hour journey but unfortunately it took myself 7 and a half hours after some poor communication from Chris Hazell and Tom Goldwater who I was giving a lift to.  Nightmare start.

  The following day we got up early and went for a 'nice' long walk on the beach.  The weather was ferocious, the rain uncomfortable and the wind unrelenting.  After thankfully finishing the walk it was time to have some drinks (you flaming nutters!).  Did I mention it was only 11am....good god.

The walk,

We left the first pub, all relatively tipsy, at 1pm and got ourselves some pasties before heading into the London Inn.  Briony seemed to be suffering from her traditional swaying condition while boasting that she hadn't eaten all day.  To be honest everyone was suffering from this contagious disease and Bex seemed to find it more increasingly difficult to eat her pasty by the second.

The gang outside the London Inn.  Minus me.

Bex looking suspicious with her pasty.

  When we walked through the doors, I did feel there was slight tension in the air and that the room went eerily quite on arrival.  I felt a few disapproving looks from the locals with a Doombar in hand....they could sense we were not locals.  Maybe it was my gillet that gave it away or the fact I was discussing the limited 3G signal in the place.  Anyway the place is proper traditional.  No music, minimal lighting and incredibly well priced beverages.  I liked it.

We sat around a nearby table at the opposite end of the regulars and continued to talk genuine jibberish.  I asked one of the kinder looking chaps to take a photo of us and he kindly obliged.  Instead of the traditional 'say cheese' he went for the 'smile you ugly bastards'.  Oh how we laughed...as you can see from the photo below.

Smile you ugly bastards

  In conclusion the pub is great and in my opinion there are not enough of traditional old pubs like this around.  They've all gone Gastro and I think it is a great shame.  I liked the place, I enjoyed the the ever present Cornish locals and I was even more delighted about the price of a pint being under £4. We were there for a good few hours and it was a lot of fun.  Some of us went for the lethal Rattler cider while others stayed strong on the Doombar.  We left at around 4.30pm but it felt like 11pm. Oh you bloody legends.

Cracking pub and friendly(ish) customers.  Barman was a nice guy too.
 

Edgey shot to finish. Can the bandana look catch on?

 

Special Shoutout
Winner: Tom Grimes

Another deserved winner of this special shoutout, without him Week 46 would never of happened.  A keen reader he may be but the special shout out goes to him for providing us with free accomodation in his family holiday home for the weekend. Well done.  It was a truly superb weekend and for that Mr. Grimes, nickname 'Daddy' (Padstow in-joke...sorry!) I thank you.



Poem Advice

Find yourself in Padstow
Want a traditional feeling pub
The London Inn's for you
Even better, they don't serve grub



 Cheers my dears for reading.  I know I know, I'm so far behind.  I'm working on it and your support and readership is always appreciated.

VIVA LA BLOG

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Week Forty Five: Radio Rooftop Bar and STK

Week Thirty Forty Five

  Happy New Year guys and welcome back to another week (still 5 or so weeks behind!).  In this edition we saw the competition winner (Bex Murphy) finally get her special day of being wined and dined by The Financier.  This entailed drinks and then dinner at the ME Hotel on the Strand.

  

Special guests include: The Financier, Sonia Gravestock, Fred Gravestock, Stella McCusker and Bex Murphy

Summary of Radio Rooftop Bar

Name: Radio Rooftop Bar

Type: Rooftop Bar obviously

Location: 336-337 Strand, London, WC2R 1HA

Website: http://www.melia.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/london/me-london/radio-rooftop-bar.html

Date Visited: 10/11/14

Price: Ask Dad

Rating: 4.5/5

Review

  The day had finally arrived for Bex Murphy, the extremely lucky competition winner, for a night out with The Financier.  It had come with huge scandal, with many accusing the competition of being rigged...some disheartened readers even threatened to withdraw their subscription.  I can assure you that the competition wasn't rigged and their will be another one held in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled.

Competition winner and The Financier

  Back to the night - now Dad had booked a table at STK restaurant but before going there, he had got a table outside the Radio Rooftop Bar.  Wow! The views were absolutely exceptional and were even more impressive due to it being in the evening....London was lit up like fairy lights.  Sorry, I'll stop writing like a cliche.  Drinks were ordered and Fred, my brother, decided to order a cocktail while the rest of us went for Hendricks (doubles obviously) and tonic with the essential slice of cucumber accompanying it.  Dreamy setting and dreamy drink.

  Bex was then allocated her 15 minutes of Q and A with the Financier and got her souvenir too, which of course is a photo with the Financier.  Another round of drinks were ordered and despite Fred  claiming he didn't regret ordering his tiny cocktail, he joined us on the Hendricks....odd.  Fred's friend Stella was also in attendance as a thank you for letting Fred stay at hers in London while he's job searching, he's just got back from Australia.  

The group of us with a tidy backdrop

  Radio Rooftop Bar is pretty impressive.  The inside is well decked out, with glass doors all around the outside so no matter where you are the views are always decent.  The toilets were also phenomenal.  Odd thing to rave about but they were very high brow.  

  The only downside of the place was that we were pretty cold by the end which influenced our decision to leave after the second round of drinks.  That said, it was our decision to sit outside, ten storeys up in the middle of November.  If that isn't self inflicted, I'm not sure what is.

 Worth a visit this place and definitely another one to put on the good date spots list and the summer drinks locations list.  Bravo.

Edgy photo

  

Summary of STK

Name: STK

Type: Steak Restaurant

Location: 336-337 Strand, London, WC2R 1HA

Website: http://togrp.com/stk-london/

Date Visited: 10/11/14

Price: Ask Dad

Rating: 4.1/5

Review

  

  We left the Radio Rooftop Bar and got in the lift to the ground floor, we had arrived at STK restaurant.  It's also part of the ME Hotel, The Financier is no slouch.  Or maybe he is?  Well anyway the inside of this restaurant is quite a sight, phenomenal some would say.  White metal piping form the main structure which are impressively littered around the restaurant in some style. The mood lighting is also perfect....quite an impressionable entrance it must be said as you walk through the doors.

The inside of STK.  Not a great photo to live up to my write up

  The waiter sat us down at our table which was importantly round, as a key to a comfortable and sociable dining experience is a good round table.  With a round table you can talk to all diners and you don't have any elbow competitions with the people sitting directly next to you.  That's why I love a round table and this was a good one.

What then followed was quite an awkward moment.   The steak debate had begun about which is the best steak restaurant in London.  I was calmly explaining my perfect combo when, to my alarm, the waiter overheard and stated, 'STK is better than all three of those... you wait.'  The gauntlet had been set.

The glorious round table and the highly rated metal pipes for all to see.

  The confident waiter returned and was initially stumped when Stella informed him that she was a vegetarian and asked for recommended non meat dishes.  He had the a look of a man who had not found himself in this position before but to be fair him he remained professional and presented the vegetarian options without any sign of discomfort.

The veggie option.  Fish I believe.

After starters arrived and then swiftly finished, on came the mains.  The 'best ever steaks' were presented with the very many sides, including the creamy spinach, the mac n cheese and most importantly the highly recommended giant prawns.

Action shot

The sides (I do love a side) were superb, the prawns in particular, and the Steak was pretty damn incredible too, nicely topped with the béarnaise sauce.   Overall I have to say STK is a superb restaurant which oozes class and does the job very well.  Where does it rate on the all time list? Number 3 for me behind Goodman and Hawksmoor.  Still ruddy good though and a fitting meal for competition winner Bex Murphy who got to sit next to the Financier too.  I highly recommend this place, it will not disappoint.

It could be you next time folks.....

Special Shoutout
Winner: Bex Murphy

Some may feel that rewarding a special shoutout to the competition winner is unfair but I dispel those critics as she has been an avid reader of the blog from its early birth.  She is a keen supporter and a regular user of the phrase, 'Viva La Blog'.   Thank you for your support Murph and it's that regular support that gives you the chance in life to win such a prestigious competition, take note fans.  I asked her to describe her evening in a sentence.  Her response was, 'How can you summarise a night where your dreams become a reality?'  The next competition will be announced soon....


Poem Advice

Stunning views of London,
and a trendy bar too
Radio Roof Top bar is wicked,
With quite a stunning view

Take the elevator down,
STK the restaurant there
Not the best steak in London
But third place is quite fair


Thanks again guys.  Welcome to 2015 and much appreciation for your continued readership.  Until next time....Goodbye




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