REVIEWS OF THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE
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Observer
Food Monthly April 2006
'Best Bar' - 2nd place
"About as organic, gastro and gentrified as a pub can possibly be - but
a highly pleasant experience nonetheless. Brilliantly warm and relaxed, with
its eclectic mix of scrubbed tables and rickety chairs, the Duke of Cambridge
defines laid back Sunday boozing. The beer and wine lists have some great
organic gems."
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New Consumer
March/April 2006
"Now in its 10th year of organic supremacy in North London, this is the
place to go for that perfectly pulled organic pint. If only all locals thought
this way".
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The Times
- Giles Coren Jan 2006
"Not only is everything on the menu certified as organic by the Soil
Association (except of course, the wild fish, which is selected according
to the Marine Conservation Society standards), but the electricity is wind
and solar-generated, the soap is made from neem oil, they recycle everything
and serve mineral water in jugs not bottles. It's a sprawling room of dark
wood and blackboards, like many a gastro pub, with familiar dishes –
smoked mackerel terrine, Caesar salad, quiche, risotto with smoked salmon,
pasta with broccoli and stilton – priced slightly higher than average,
reflecting the fact that safeguarding the future of the food supply will not
be absolutely free of charge.
Best value was the lone special, a cottage pie that came with a drink at £7.50 – the point being that one always has to sacrifice something, and if you are going to eat well, cheaply and responsibly, then forgoing the multiple choice of most modern menus is not the end of the world.
Eating alone,
I would not have had much to write about if I'd stopped after the excellent
pie (which they offered whole earth ketchup, though Heinz make one too), so
I followed that with the 'tode in the whole' so named, I assume, because no
organic holes were available at the market that morning. It was very good
too.
I also loved the mincemeat tart (exemplary recycling at this time of year)
with rum caramel sauce. And the gorgeous fluffy, crusty white bread (served
with wonderfully clean and fruity olive oil) was proof, were it needed, that
not all organic bread is made from"
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The Guardian
Guide - December 2005
"The world's first certified organic pub has garnered all sorts of awards
and prizes, along with its sister pub The Crown (now sadly having closed its
doors forever). What you eat here is good and wholesome. Best on recent visit
was rump steak, crisp and caramelly on the outside, full of flavor and extremely
juicy within. The blackboard menu also occasionally offers ham hock with mashed
potato and savoy cabbage, which, with lashings of English mustard and a glass
of SB, London's first organic draft bitter, makes a great winter lunch. Not
perhaps the healthiest lunch ever, but simple and extremely satisfying. But
drinks, like hot and spicy ginger ale, which kicks like a mule, make alcohol
redundant, a good way to start a detox. High Point Great drinks list, including
organic English wines Low Point not given away, but then organic never is".
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Via - November
2005
"This justifiable raved about hostelry was the first organic pub in the
UK. The owner grew up on a commune, nurturing a love of quality produce that
means everything here – from the drinks and food to even the cigarettes
– is resolutely organic. A veritable haven of discernment, friendly staff
and restrained décor. The Duke’s table are well attended
and it’s obvious why; come Sunday, there's nowhere better to give
yourself a hot, foodie hug"
The Spectator, Deborah Ross - March 2005
"The Duke of Cambridge is in Islington, down a side street just off the
Essex Road and round the corner from where the Sunday farmer's market is held.
The menu is wonderfully hearty, packed with bug and meaty things, which is
good, as I like big, meaty things. I choose the organic (naturellment) pork
chop with sweet potato bubble-and-squeak and Tapenade for £14.50, which
is the price of most of the mains. In other words not cheap. Still, I love
a pork chop. And I love pigs for all that they give us; sausages, ham, salami,
bacon, gammon, ribs, belly scratchings. Now, if a pig were to be kept in its
own room with ensuite and little Molton Brown shower gels, etc, etc, I think
it might be the least we could do. My pork chop arrives and it is huge. Massive.
Like a paving slab on top of the bubble-and-squeak. And it had been brilliantly
cooked, is wonderfully sweet and tender. The sweet potato bubble-and-squeak
is delicious, though, brown and crisp on the outside, all moist within. One
friend has the organic salmon which she praises to high heaven. Its not madly
pink so it must come from somewhere good she days,and my mash is also extremely
good. I think the price is right. Another friend, who happens to be a food
editor, has the roast cod fillet with braised looks and caper nut butter.
Pudding?
You bet. I go for the pear and apple crumble (£4.50) while others choose
the pears poached I red wine and spices (£4.50) and the cheese board
(£7.50). Mine is lovely, tart, not over-sugared, and with a blissfully
buttery yet crunchy crumble. The pear is good too, and the choose board (brie,
stilton, cheddar) is excellent and generous. So the food here is good. No
question."
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Observer
Food Monthly - March 2005
'Best Sunday Lunch' - best of the rest
"Stylish organic pub, perfect for lazing with the papers"
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Observer
Food Monthly 2004
'Best Sunday Lunch' 3rd place
"This was the first organic pub in Britain. On the day it opened, in
1998, people were bashing at the door and The Duke soon became a hit. Everything
served is organic (even the cigarettes) and it is likely to be Fairtrade and
locally grown too. Geetie the owner who learnt her ethical ways while growing
up in a commune remembers 'when we opened, it was a struggle to fine organic
produce. Now its easier, but some things are still impossible to get hold
of."
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The Independent
2004
The Best of London, No 2 (of 20)
"If the future's bright, its organic. Were used to shopping organic -
and if this idea catches on, we'll soon be drinking organic in the local.
It's a gimmick, perhaps, to have an all-organic pub, but its gone down a storm
in Islington. This gastro-pub gets packed. The Food is chunky Mediterranean
stews, pastas and salads, and Middle Eastern platefuls, ordered at the bar.
Was it all down with Pitfield Eco Warrior beer, or a bottle of organic plonk'.
The
Independent on Sunday
Terry Durack
After eating everything from Gordon Ramsays finest to Richard Branson’s
worst, Terry Durack, our rather full critic, reveals which restaurants are
2001 tasty truffles and which its sunken soufflés… “Go Gastropubs…One
thing became clear this year, organic isn’t just desirable, it's inevitable,
as evidenced by the continued growth of Geetie Singh's organic pubs. The Crown
in Victoria Park and The Duke of Cambridge in Islington serving organic food
, beer and a terrific range of wines….”
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Charles
Campion eats at the Crown Organic Pub
ES Magazine
“the linguine with broad beans and pesto and parmesan (£8) is a
wide choice for either – a good balance between pesto and pasta, the
sauce tasting very fresh. The tomato, spinach and goat’s cheese tart
(£7.50) excels: good pastry and a rich filling no firmer than decent
scrambled egg. Impressive. The salads that crop up…are wholly praiseworthy
– crisp leaves (Cos, frisee and chicory) with a perky dressing.”
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Time
Out and Time Out London Guide
"The most remarkable of these must be Islington's Duke of Cambridge.
Its appearance has all the hallmarks of a traditional boozer, but there are
no bottles of India Pale Ale here - it serves nothing that does not conform
to ecologically aware standards.
…step into the neat and airy bar and its deep blue gloss ceiling, whitewashed
brick walls and bare wooden floorboards hint at a different dimension.
Our risotto arrived in a large white bowl, it was nutty and with a fine underbite
of rice. Similarly, the poached pear with cream was perfectly cooked. Service
was charming and friendly, the meal was good, the beer was faultless. We'd
certainly return."
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Evening
standard - Angus McGill
"The old pub had been standing empty for months and squatters had
almost wrecked it when, last October, the new owners rode to the rescue. Geetie
and Esther, had grown up passionately green and had planned a new kind of
pub to the last detail. This would be it.
A new Duke of Cambridge, filled with light and high principals, everything
as organic as it could possibly be. Singhboulton, an organic house bitter
especially brewed for them in Shoreditch, and Golden Promise, organic farm
ale from Scotland, are side by side on the hand pumps; a totally organic wine
list is displayed on the blackboard.
As for the food, totally organic of course. The chef, Caroline Hamlin, will
touch no other, and produces strikingly good organic terrines, tarts, roasts
and goodness knows what.
It is a most welcoming pub these days, a big open bar at the front with a
glossy blue ceiling, a conservatory at the back opening onto a paved beer
garden and two cosy snugs, formerly outhouses."
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The
Guide - The Guardian
"The menu - modern British with minimal fiddling - works well in
the relaxed, slightly battered, conversation friendly restaurant.
Start with honey pressed ham, herby hunks of salty meat offset by spiced,
raisin studded onion relish; a beautifully made dish. Alternatively, butter-soft
squid comes tentacles and all, served with the lightest of lime and corinder
dressings. The rib-eye steak is magnificent. Succulent, intense and served
with a superb mayonaise and chunky chips."
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Camden
New Journal
"Their fish is caught by line or gill nets, mainly off the coast of cornwall.
Is it worth it? Well, my taste buds thought so.
My companion didn't have such a quandry. Seeing beef on the menu, a glazed
look came into their eyes. This turned to ecstacy on the sight of a real piece
of beef on the bone.
On a Sunday, with a couple of kids in tow, it was perfect. The Sunday papers
were on offer, there is a vast amount of space, great deserts, and the service
was all that we could have wished for. They've banished game machines juke-box
muzak, and the buzz of the place comes from good company and good food (the
menu changes daily and according to season), not to mention good booze."
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Northwest magazine
"When the Duke of Cambridge, London's first organic gastropub, first
opened they avoided advertising the fact that the produce was 100% organic
to better focus on its preparation , which is exquisite.
The menu is modern British and is prepared by chef Caroline Hamilton. It features
such delights as squid with lime and coriander dressing, tuna steak served
with cold red peppers draped over basil-infused potatoes and their magnificent
rib-eye steak served with garlic mayonnaise and chunky chips. Needless to
say, it has become a favourite destination for organic eaters across North
West London.
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The
Sunday Times - Style magazine
"We sat in the main bit of the pub, which I liked because there were
lots of tables, not just the occasional wonky beer splattered low-slung offering.
One should take every opportunity to rest ones elbows, I feel. The menu, which
is chalked up on a board, is carnivore-friendly (chicken-liver pate, steak)
and features few pulses. We have some very smooth, velvety cabernet sauvignon
- I was curious to see whether organic wine gives you a hangover.
Portions are extremely generous. My steak was absolutely delicious, very rare,
and came with a giant blob of herb butter. The watercress was very good, in
the way that organic vegetables can be: you suddenly remember the point of
them when they are packed with flavour like this.
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Waitrose
Food magazine
"The atmosphere is informal, and if you don't like the large open, airy
room at the front, you can settle into the smaller, more intimate spaces at
the back.
I opted for a hearty chicken liver pate and salad alongside a bowl of velvety
jerusalem artichoke soup. My friend Helen went for the grilled salmon trout,
which she considered very well matched with a deep-purple-coloured tapenade,
pink fir apple potatoes and new season's carrots. In lots of ways, these are
exactly the kinds of dishes you would find in many pubs, but at the Duke of
Cambridge, nothing feels mass-produced.
The desserts sounded too good to pass up, so we split the grapefruit sorbet
(zingy and open textured, no bought-in option, this) and the chocolate mousse
cake (warm, sticky and rich, although surprisingly light). Helen and I drank
coffee from a Moka-Express for two, while Stuart sampled one of the bottled
organic German wheat beers on offer. We left thouroughly contented and determined
to return."
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Business
Age magazine
For anyone not quite sure about Bow Bells, true cockneys and jellied eels,
let me reassure you at once that Victoria Park , the green and leafy centre
of E3, is now alleged to be cooler than Chelsea - not least since the arrival
earlier this year of its own gastro pub. Only the second venture of Organic
catering duo Geetie Singh and Esther Boulton, The Crown is a refined boozer
to end all boozers. For a start the grade II listed building has been carefully
restored, filled with comfortable second-hand furniture (all part of a laudable
recycling policy), a vending machine which sells organic cigarettes and thankfully,
very little else. That is to say, no music, no TV, nojuke boxes or pinball
machines. The
atmosphere changes with the society that inhabit it - nicely buzzing with
conversation or quiet and relaxed.
The restaurant on the first floor is no smoking and like its sister establishment, the much acclaimed Duke of Cambridge in Islington, offers only organic foods on a blackboard, alongside an astonishing list of certified organic wines.
Restaurant prices (starters around £6, mains £13) seem reasonable when you taste the freshness of the ingredients, experience the expert cooking and groan from the huge portions. Our meal - sweet potato and garlic soup, chicken liver pate with onion relish, pickles and toast, grilled squid with Puy lentils, nectarines and watercress, beef ragu and pear tart tatin - was as near perfect as any posh West End eatery. Service is delightfully intelligent and unobtrusive, too. You'll be checking out estate agents windows on your way back.
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Time
out
Last week they won the Time Out award for the best Gastro Pub in London only
a fortnight after opening their second organic gastro pub - The Crown on a
huge site overlooking Victoria Park. The Sunday evening we visited, it was
packed with a cool crowd in their twenties and thirties.
The drinks list and menu are wholly organic. The blackboard wine list is necessarily
succinct, but the printed list details which wines are certified organic and
which are vegetarian and vegan.
The dinning area upstairs is no smoking quieter and very appealing. A blackboard
menu lists simple Modern European dishes. The salad nicoise served with perfectly
seared Tuna was an excellent dish, because the high quality of the ingredients
- potato, tomato, olives.
The Crown is a lovely pub in a part of London that badly needs one. In fact,
London needs more pubs like this everywhere.
(Please note we sold the Crown in December 2005)
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Footloose
magazine
The owners of the Duke of Cambridge in Islington, winners of Time Out's Best
Gastro Pub award, are bringing the same standard of orgasmic organic food
to The Crown in Victoria Park.
The Grade II listed building is the perfect setting for their 100% organic
food, wine and beer.
(Please note we sold the Crown in December 2005)
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