Only a month after opening, the emphasis on fresh ingredients, simply prepared, is already proving a hit at Barnaby Meredith's latest London gastro pub, the Bull. Nigel Huddleston reports
They have a very simple motto at the new-look Bull in north London's Highgate, and it's, er, to keep things simple.
Obviously, that's not as simple as it sounds. The spacious two-floor venue has just been reclaimed for the pub trade from a string of failed restaurant incarnations, and refitted with a luxurious but unfussy, modern gastro-pub look.
The menu too is straightforward, with easy-to-understand descriptions suggesting none of the top-end pretensions you might expect from a kitchen run by Jeremy Hollingsworth, the man who gained a Michelin star for Marco Pierre White's Quo Vadis back in 1997, before working in the Far East for a time.
The head waiter at Quo Vadis then was Barnaby Meredith, who switched to the pub trade when he opened the House in Islington three years ago, and decided to bring Hollingsworth on board.
'It was a meeting of minds and almost fate that he was back in London and looking to set something up, says Meredith.
Hollingsworth says: 'It was good to work for someone with the same ideals and work ethic.
He admits to being heavily influenced by White in the way he cooks. 'It's very clean, very neat, not fussy. I don't follow trends or fashions; I just go with what I know.
'We try to word the menu as simply as possible, but when people get the actual dish, a lot more effort has gone into it, so they get a bit more wow factor. There's no need to list every ingredient.
Meredith cut his teeth in pubs when he set up the Well, in London's trendy Clerkenwell. 'The whole idea for me was to do something a bit more versatile, he says. 'Something that's for everyone not just people with corporate bank accounts.
'Often people expect a lot from top-end restaurants, but they leave disappointed. When they go into a pub, they may not be expecting very much, but they can be pleasantly surprised.
Meredith adds: 'We try to do simple things well, which is hard to do. Chefs can complicate things, but Jeremy's got a great cooking technique. He knows how to source good ingredients and how to marry everything together.
No vanity projects on the menu
But success requires more than great food and great service the numbers also have to add up. There are no vanity projects on the menu at the Bull. Every dish has to earn its keep by generating gross profit of between 68% and 72%.
The fabric of the Bull is a world away from Wetherspoon and other chains, but still very much identifiable as a pub. The ground floor has an open-plan dining room with a cherrywood bar, a real fireplace and an open kitchen. The front terrace is guarded by a 6ft-tall, carved elephant.
Upstairs is a more informal bar, complete with something you don't see in many gastro pubs a pool table, albeit rather a posh one that can be converted into a dining table. There's also a private dining room. The design combines original features and stylish, contemporary furniture.
'A lot of pubs have become formulaic in trying to make things modern and funky, says Meredith. 'That's a bit of a shame, and what we've tried to do here is bring back the cornices, give it some nice lighting and inject a timeless feel, something with longevity.
Having the main drinking bar upstairs and the dining room at street level inverts the conventions of many modern gastro pubs, but Meredith insists the overall feel is of a pub, not a restaurant.
Doing more than break even
'The big difference between us and a restaurant is that customers can do exactly what they want where they want.
With the House already having carved a strong reputation for itself in the London market, the prospects for the Bull seem good, especially as just a month after opening, it's already doing 'a little bit more than break even, according to Meredith.
He admits to looking daily at the property pages, but says there's no master plan for further expansion of the estate.
'The plan is to have no plan and focus on the product, he says. 'If it goes well and we achieve good turnover here, we may go and do something else. But we want to make sure everything is trading well and consistently at the House and the Bull.
'I think London is incredible now for the diversity and quality of its cuisine, so it's great to be part of that and doing well. We're just a place that is offering good food, good wine and good beer.
Simple really.
Sourcing the finest produce
The big thing in rural pub marketing at the moment is the focus on local produce. In London, that's not so easy. The fish for the Bull comes from Dorset, the oysters from Paris and the beef from the Buccleugh estate in Scotland, fresh every day.
Vegetables come from Danny Murphy's Chef's Connection at New Covent Garden. 'He's very passionate about his produce, explains Meredith, 'and very honest. If the tomatoes aren't right, he won't send them. And we don't serve anything that isn't fresh and perfect.
As well as the à la carte menu, there is an express lunch on weekdays, with two courses for £14.95. The team try to make the food menu as easy to understand as possible, and that philosophy also applies to the wine list, where about 70 wines are broken down under useful and sometimes humorous headings such as 'zesty and appetising, 'unconventional bits and 'pushing the boat out.
Beer has not been overlooked, with two permanent cask ales Highgate IPA and Timothy Taylor's Landlord supported by an Interbrew line-up of Staropramen, Stella Artois and Leffe.
The bottled beers range is more adventurous, including Meantime Brewing Co's Proof Lager, Cooper's Sparkling Ale from Australia and the dark wheat beer from Germany's Erdinger, rather than the more commonly offered white style.
'We're trying to introduce beers that aren't very well known, says Meredith. 'The idea at the House was to make it a destination venue by offering top quality products at value for money and it's the same at the Bull. We try to draw people from a wide area to make it a destination.
More than just a job
Staff training is given high priority at both the Bull and the House, which close on Monday lunchtimes to enable proper attention to be devoted to it.
'We do some cleaning and organising and then do some training, says Meredith. 'We do tastings for the menu and wine tastings. If you don't do proper training, the staff just consider it to be nothing more than a job. Our staff come here and not only is it a job, but they earn good money and they get something extra out of it. They can be passionate about everything when they're talking to the customers, and they get better tips, which is a great incentive.
A briefing is held before every service to test such things as what wines are available by the glass, 'so they can just reel them off.
There are also staff incentives, with an iPod mini for the member of staff who sells the most glasses of Trimbach Riesling in each quarter.