Colonel Fawcett's elevated pub grub - and Kentish Town's trio of openings
Plus: inside Southampton Arms' new pub The Pocket, Archway's Great Indian reviewed, Lord Stanley revamped and beginner's guide to Good Mews
Welcome to the second quarterly issue of 2025. I’m pleased to say that this Substack remains free to read for all, and will hopefully be published every couple of months (or as often as possible, depending on funds and advertising; unfortunately this is the harsh reality of being a free publication in 2025).
So firstly, it’s thanks to this week’s sponsors, Camden food pub the Colonel Fawcett, who wish to reach out to readers about their new back-to-basics menu: while it’s a roll call of pub classics, it is, in fact, so much more. Scroll down for the full story.
Also in this issue, I run through a trio of eclectic new openings on Kentish Town Road: Good Hood, Cafe Mama & Sons and, shortly, the exciting new Belly Bistro — all from enterprising Bintang owner Omar Shah.
A short hop away on the Mildmay line, I check out The Pocket, the near identical new sister pub to the Southampton Arms, survey the changes at iconic Camden Square pub the Lord Stanley, and enjoy dinner at acclaimed new Archway food pub The Great Indian. Right: let’s tuck in.
Lower Kentish Town Road’s trio of openings
Omar Shah is a name familiar to many food-loving residents. For the uninitiated, he’s the multi-tasking restaurateur behind several long-running joints on Kentish Town Road, including Guanabana and the legendary Bintang, a mainstay of this stretch, dating back almost forty years to 1987 (read my recent history of its many incarnations here).
He has no less than three upcoming launches this spring. First up is Hoodwood, which has been softly open for a week or so now, but officially launched yesterday: perhaps you were lucky enough to grab one of the free patty pies being given away? As a sister to his Caribbean dining room Guanabana, this one has a more casual daytime setting: on the menu is oak-smoked jerk chicken, curries and more. @the_hoodwood
Nearby is Cafe Mama & Sons, a Filipino-Japanese cafe whose launch is tomorrow at midday (Saturday April 12th) with free ensaymada (pastry) banana puddings to the first lucky hundred folk. The daily menu will comprise baked goods, matcha, coffee and sandos — if their creamy egg sandos anywhere near as good as those at the former Panadera, you can count me in. @cafe_mama_sons
Lastly, Belly is the memorable name of the new “neighbourhood bistro” where the long-running ramen shop Ramo — also owned by Shah — previously stood. Centred around wood-fire cooking, it will draw “from French and Southeast Asian traditions using the best seasonal produce,” he says.
Belly, which opens at the end of April, will see the team “bringing bold flavours and warm hospitality rooted in Shah’s heritage” to the spot. “We’re all about simple yet elevated dishes, a killer wine list, and a space that feels like home,” he says. “It’s inspired by family and the vibrancy of London, with a focus on ingredients that celebrate the best of each moment.” @belly_bistro
Paid partnership with Colonel Fawcett
Backstreet boozer the Colonel Fawcett, tucked away on Randolph Street near Camden Road Overground, has been going strong for just shy of 15 years. And it’s long managed to balance its foodie credentials with its reputation as somewhere to kick back at the weekend.
But you may be unaware of how influential the pub and its cooking were when it first opened. Back in 2011, a trio of twentysomethings took over what was then a rundown watering hole, hiring a young chef who cooked dishes – such as outstanding onglet – that previously you’d only find in Soho or Shoreditch (read an early review here). They even went on to win an Observer Food Monthly award for best Sunday Lunch.
Fast forward to 2025 and Kentish Town’s dining scene – not to mention Camden, and of course London’s as a whole – is entirely transformed, while the Fawcett itself has become a much-loved institution. Especially as it’s well way from the hordes of tourists in the other bit of NW1.
Head chef Rob Chappell (formerly of the Old White Bear, Hampstead) steers the current emphasis on British pub food, using the finest produce from HG Walter, Perry’s and Daily Fish. The new spring menu reads simply – and yet the skill in these classic dishes is unquestionable, with each overdelivering on its deceptively simple promise.
I popped by last week to try a few plates in the garden on a sunny lunchtime. A pile of tempura tenderstem broccoli (£7.5) boasted lightly golden batter, its crunch zingy with a slathering of salsa verde (and no tough lower stalks in evidence, unlike some other examples we’ve tried recently). The other starter, a generous bowl of five crisp wild mushroom arancini, yielded a richer forest-floor earthiness than expected (no bland ‘shrooms here).
At first glance, the mains might read fairly back-to-basics – Cumberland sausage and buttered mash or Hammerton ale-battered haddock, minted mushy peas, tartare sauce and chips – however, don’t be fooled.
A classic Fawcett dish, chargrilled grass-fed bavette, showed expertise: sliced rosily medium rare, its exterior caramelised, it was easy on the knife (unlike some restaurants offering this cheaper cut). Better still, the unctuous sauce, which pooled on the plate, was rich with beefy flavour and studded with peppercorns – and yet the fries still retained their bite. The price? £19.
Each weekend sees a short list of specials, which often sell out, such as dry-aged sirloin on the bone for two or West Country lamb loin chop. I sampled the latter, prepared in rosy chunks, the scorched, rendered fat carrying a thwack of flavour, garden peas in rich lamby jus. Meanwhile, a side of potatoes, their skins crunchy, scattered with crispy sage, came with a dollop of aioli on the side. This one’s a must.
Wine is well priced, whether it’s a chilled Spanish Gran Cerdo dark pink rose or ice-cold Albarino. Bottles start at a reasonable £25; and bargain-hunters should go for the midweek wine “bangers” (Tues-Thurs), when a trio of wines are regularly slashed half price: thus a Riesling is £18.50 (rather than £37) and a rioja just £19.50 (rather than £39). My advice would be to visit midweek and enjoy steak, chips and a bottle of red at just over £55 for two. That feels like solid value for prime NW1 in 2025.
If you haven’t been in for a while, don’t forget the back garden is more spacious than it first seems, with discreet covered booths as well as a triangle of tables in full sunshine up against the railway arches. And a tip: the front terrace enjoys the evening rays.
And finally, some more tempting offers? A lunchtime menu is available on Thursdays and Fridays with selected mains at just £12.95, while pints of Amstel and Hammerton Pale Ale are just £5 all day every day, along with two-for-one margaritas at £12. Colonel Fawcett is at 1 Randolph Street NW1, @thecolonelfawcett, book a table here. Read the feature online here.
The Lord Stanley: a gentle but necessary reboot
In the unlikely event that you didn’t know, one of Camden’s most stunning watering holes, the Lord Stanley, finally reopened the other week.
At a glance, it looks pretty much the same, but the eagle-eyed (or pub regulars) will spy that the toilets are now upstairs (with a universal access loo downstairs where the men’s were), and the kitchen has been relocated to the back right corner closest to the garden door (and former ladies). This feels like a clever repurposing of the space.
The most pronounced change is that the bar is now a full island, so you can walk all the way round, if you wish. And while the food offer has always been strong, thankfully this remains the same, with the same kitchen team. @lordstanleypub
The Pocket - a note-perfect rendition of the Southampton Arms
First thoughts? It’s so like the Highgate Road original that it’s almost discombobulating. With its dark mahogany panelled walls, green lacquered ceiling, battered counter and dark wooden boards, this place could have been here for years.
And yet it only opened the other day. The Canonbury Lane venue has, of course, enjoyed various incarnations over the years (you might remember it as Four Sisters or 25 Canonbury Lane). But sipping my pint, I wondered why it had taken the visionary Southampton team so long to repeat the formula, despite the Cock Tavern, their Hackney sister pub, having a similar – yet distinct – vibe of its own.
One difference is the slightly greater width of space here in Islington, and the addition of a rear lounge. But otherwise, the low lighting pendants are the same, as are the handful of tables in the windows (the outlook swanky Compton Terrace). There’s even an upright piano, a Bechstein Model 4, bought from Harrod’s in 1874, whose previous custodian apparently “had her in the family for 75 years”, I learnt.
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Pints, which include Leyton breweries Queer Brewing and Gravity Well, as well as Pressure Drop and The Kernel, are priced fairly: anything up to 4.62% ABV is a very reasonable £5.57 – which included my Howling Hops Helles – while if you’re a cask ale and cider person, it’s just £4.97 a pint (up to 4.62% ABV).
Stronger drinks than these are priced at £1.08 per % per pint. This is the first time I’ve seen this pricing. And it feels achingly sensible.
Food-wise, the offer is similar to its parent: there are hot Cornish pasties (“proper ones from Cornwall!” reads the chalkboard), and sausage rolls, both hovering around the fiver mark. Then there are pork pies – with stuffing, pickle or chicken – along with vegan mushroom rolls, pickled eggs and pickled onions.
Everything is so well-priced it harks back to when I first drank at the Southampton in 2009, thrilled at such a lovely boozer opening around the corner from where I lived at the time.
One contrast? The toilets: here, they’re located in a rather Dickensian subterranean warren – it’s an atmospheric walk downstairs to find them. And the urinals are even located in a low-ceilinged cave that must have once been a dimly-lit Victorian storage cellar.
Overall verdict? It’s a cracker: like all cover versions, The Pocket somehow has its own energy, and will no doubt gain its own army of fans. Along with the nearby Compton Arms – which hosts excellent kitchen residencies – this pair of tiny N1 boozers is reason alone to hop on the Mildmay line to Highbury & Islington for at least a jar or two. Follow @thepocketn1
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The Great Indian: as good as Jay Rayner says?
Since reading about The Great Indian everywhere in January, from restaurant news site Hot Dinners to Observer critic Jay Rayner’s column, it’s been firmly on my must-try list.
Surjan Singh, otherwise known as the Jolly Good Chef, is the award-winning consultant (and MasterChef India judge) behind this foodie new N19 boozer on Marlborough Road, although it’s actually run by Aman Dhir, whose Hackney takeaway bears the same name.
The subtitle to the menu is “a journey through India”, and to illustrate this, he has drawn from “extensive travels across India, from North to South, East to West,” to curate food inspired by the diversity of regional cuisines. The aim is to “fuse flavours with a gastropub feel while honouring my Indian roots.”
And – spoiler alert – it’s a resounding success. Especially as its location is brave, with almost zero footfall in the hinterland between Archway and Finsbury Park. Although the contemporary dining room – dimly lit, its ceiling adorned with fake foliage – was almost empty on our Sunday afternoon visit, it had happily filled by the time we left, at around 6pm. So word, it seems, is most definitely out.
To begin with, however, service felt a little vague, and distracted, despite the few customers: house wine (a not-too-bad £24.50) took a torturous while to arrive, and only just made it before the fantastic crunch of the poppadoms, smoked and served with tiranga – or three-coloured – chutney.
That was when the party started. Thereafter, the hits ramped up swiftly: mammoth tiger prawns, which slipped easily out of their carapace, were pert and fleshy, liberally strewn with a salsa verde-style sauce of coriander, herb, mint and garlic; and lamb roti tacos proved one-bite umami wonders, the slow-cooked meat yielding a satisfying depth of flavour.
It’s always worth trying a classic chicken biryani: here it was as cardamon-fragrant as we needed it to be, caramelised onion clinging to chunks of tender thigh, garlic yoghurt adding a necessary tang.
The standout main was arguably the rich Malabar seabass curry, pictured below, a South Indian dish from Kerala pairing the fish with coconut, tamarind and spices like cloves and cinnamon. It was served with uttapam, or soft rice pancakes. With these we wiped the bowl clean.
This fusion of elevated Indian cooking and rebooted local pub is unique, and almost defines the word destination. Starters £5.50-11.50, mains £11-23.50, The Great Indian, 139 Marlborough Rd N19
A beginner’s guide to… The Good Mews
What and where? This charming pile is surely NW5’s cutest coffee spot, once known as Kentish Town Stores. Now it’s packed with freelancers, its first-floor co-working space rammo on any given weekday. As you will undoubtedly know, it’s first and foremost a speciality coffee shop serving brunch, cakes and pastries.
What’s the story behind the building? As some locals will know, it was Crossroads Women’s Centre until 2012. It was then empty for four years before being used by Morgan’s Stationary as storage-cum-office space. In the late teens, former Stores owner Luci Noel lived on Gaisford Street and walked past regularly: looking for a space to open a cafe, she saw that Morgan’s were moving things out and put a note through the door. It then became Kentish Town Stores in late 2019 until she moved her concept to Hampstead last autumn.
What’s the vibe? Downstairs it’s all solo laptop-wielders, the odd post-walk lounger and friends catching up over coffee. There are obligatory toasties at around £8 (or a half for £4.40) with toppings ranging from kimchi and truffle oil to gherkins and cured meat. There’s soup and breakfasty items, too.
Anything else we should know? Yes, there’s something magical about the low building opposite and the way the daytime sun moves from east to west: it’s a proper suntrap. Follow @thegoodmewslondon
Newsy titbits
There’s an evening of “delicious food, creative expression, and community support” at Café Palestina tomorrow, April 12th, organised by Dough/Gooders, a new initiative that aims to facilitate fundraisers through interactive events. A creative workshop will be followed by a two-course vegan set menu, with all funds raised on the night will go directly to two vital Palestinian charities, Children Of Peace and CADFA. Tickets here.
Patron’s secret garden is now gearing itself up for spring: under the warmth of outdoor heaters, you can linger over the season’s first glass of rosé and steal “a quiet moment away from the city’s rush”, the owners say.
Spied the cute new Buna Brew at the top of Castlehaven Road? Definitely a useful new spot to linger in the morning sunshine – especially as The Fields Beneath is often so busy.
Wild Is Earth, Kentish Town’s kombucha brewery, is open next Friday, 18th April and then fortnightly for evenings of kombucha cocktails and plant-based bites. “Think candlelight, good drinks, and easy vibes, just a cozy spot to unwind with friends,” says owner Livia.
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