The word ‘gastropub’ has now been somewhat overused. In the wrong hands, it’s a license to charge twenty quid for an average burger served on a piece of wood. It can be pretentious without the substance. In the right hands you find a place that remembers the ‘pub’ bit and involves actual, warm hospitality, and the ‘gastro’ bit requires actual, thoughtful cooking.
Enter The Pig and Butcher on Liverpool Road in Islington. It looks unassuming enough from the pavement, but harbour no illusions, this is a real-life great dining room and experience.
Walking in, you are immediately at ease – warm wood floors, great natural lighting from the large windows, and butchers block-topped tables, sticking very much to the theme of the place.
To start we had the dressed crab crumpet with smoked salmon chive and Marie Rose sauce. The crab was fresh but with body from the mix of white and dark meat. The salmon was delicately smoked and the crumpet laden with the sauce Marie Rose gave a lovely spongy texture to this dish.
Hand dived Orkney scallop with sage butter and black pudding was so very clever. The huge scallop had black pudding running through the middle and was breadcrumbed and sat on a sage butter. Every bite was a sensation of the juxtaposition of scallop cooked just right, with a rich black pudding, and a sublime crunch of a breadcrumbed fried coating.
For mains it was Slow roast pork belly with pomme purée and flageolet beans had the juiciest of pork 0- crispy, but not too hard crackling and offset with the richness of the potato the soft and moreish beans that took the dish from very good to excellent.
The other caramelised endive tart, celeriac purée, candied walnuts and pear. Not on my Pig and butcher bucket list, but my guest fancied the sound of it, and his instinct was good. Nice to see the team here are taking as much care with their veggie option as their meat ones.
For dessert we had the most sensational Carrot cake I can remember eating together with a proper sticky toffee pudding – topped with pineapple-again. A clever move to cut through the rich and sweet pudding with acidity.
The drinks: one of my bugbears being no attempt to match the offering in the wine and spirits lists. Not here! The spirits are carefully selected and has a mix of some big hitters and independent brands. The wine list changes regularly. Our wine selection featuring some of the best wines from family-owned vineyards and larger winemakers from across the world.
We had a bottle of ‘La Brouette Blanc’ côtes de Gascogne-a colombard blend that works great with fresh bright food and is also great on its own as a glugging white vino and finished with a calvados and armagnac. When was the last time you had calvados? Too long ago, that’s when.
And Anyone stocking Camut 12 Calvados is a winner in my book, and the ever-solid Sigognac VS Armagnac was a perfect way to end a faultless meal.
Service, led by Sebastien was warm, funny, knowledgeable and efficient, all whilst keeping a relaxed pace that a great neighbourhood venue needs.
The Pig and Butcher is a glorious, unabashed celebration of sourcing brilliant British produce, treating it with the respect it deserves, and serving it in a room where you can still feel like you’re in a proper boozer.
Go, eat, drink and thank me later.
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 12pm — 11pm, Saturday: 9am — 11pm, Sunday: 11:30am — 10pm
Kitchen Is Open
Monday to Friday: 12pm — 3pm / 6pm — 9:30pm, Saturday: 9am — 11:30am / 12pm — 9:30pm, Sunday: 11:30am — 9pm
80 Liverpool Rd, Islington, London, N1 0QD