Following a major reno, The Latchmere pub on Battersea Park Road has recently reopened under the guiding hand of the Renaissance Pubs group to offer a comfortable and attractive venue (think: Victorian with light contemporary accoutrements and minus any twee fittings) for all those pubby things we like to do as Londoners. Kemey and I paid visit a couple of weekends ago for one of our most favourite of pubby activities – Sunday lunch! – and were more than pleased with our experience. Here are some of the highlights.
Kudos to the Latchmere staff for immediately bringing a jug of tap water to our table soon after being seated! It’s a little thing, but such a gesture goes a long way to helping ensure a decent dining experience. Service remained friendly and consistent during our lunch. And what a lunch it was!
A starter course of aubergine and mozzarella ravioli with aged Parmesan butter (£6.75 as a starter, £11.75 as a main) was a nice way to commence the meal (although completely unnecessary given how massive my main course was). My roast – grain fed beef topside, with “all the trimmings” (£14.50) – was a mound of yum dwarfed only by the mega Yorkshire pudding perched atop the meaty mass. A tip of the hat to the importance of provenance and an apparent commitment to supporting nearby producers, the beef came from Renaissance Pub’s “own farm” – an appreciated touch!
Kemey was pleased with her choices as well: cauliflower and Stilton soup (served with excellent grilled bread, £5) to begin followed by the veggie Sunday roast (pumpkin and trimmings, £10). I think for our tastes, the kitchen could have gone a little easier on the butter and been a tad more generous with the gravy with each dish involved. But I reckon I’d just mention such next time I visit and they’d accommodate.
Puds were pleasant. I liked the salted sticky toffee pudding, vanilla ice cream (£5.50) while Kemey had no qualms with the “strawberry and passion fruit mess” presented to her (£5.50).
A pint of locally brewed Sambrooks Wandle went down well with the meal (and cheers to my waitress for the rec).
The Latchmere is located at 503 Battersea Park Road, SW11 3BW. Find out more at thelatchmere.co.uk.
