Openings
Westbridge Public House & Dining Rooms
Battersea, south-west London, 0207 228 6482
Who: Charlie McVeigh and Adam Simmons. Charlie used to own the Bush
Bar & Grill, Woody's nightclub and the Grand Union pub in London, and still retains a small stake in the Bush. The chef is Laurent Alvergne, who spent
the last four years at the Royal Opera House.
Food: According to Charlie, the menu is a combination of English pub
classics and "more ambitious fare".
Menu: Beer-battered cod with minted mushy peas and hand-cut chips (£8.50); pan-fried skate wing with caramelised chicory (£13.50); six rock oysters (£8.50). The children's menu includes seasonal pasta of the day and organic breaded chicken served with mashed potato (£4.75).
Covers: 220
Style: Large bar with enclosed landscape garden and private function rooms.
Queens Arms
Barons Court, west London, 0207 610 3296
Who: Jon Bird and Tim Brown, who also own Freemasons in Wandsworth, south London.
Food: The kitchen is headed up by Paul Foster who previously worked at the Ivy and J Sheekey. Food is described as "freshly sourced and seasonal". A promotion running throughout April offers a two-course lunch for £10.
Menu: Includes Tokyo tuna tartare, mizuna, wasabi vinaigrette and nori roll (£6.95), sautéed monkfish, braised oxtail, shitaki mushrooms and sautéed salsify (£13.50), and caramel chocolate bar (£4.95).
Style: A stylish public bar and gastropub, split over two levels with a striking walnut bar occupying centre-stage on the ground floor.
Old Dairy
Crouch Hill, north London
0207 263 3337
Who: The pub is the latest offering from Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap of Realpubs. Their portfolio
includes the Oxford in Kentish Town, the Masons Arms in Kensal Green, the Metropolitan in Notting Hill and the North London Tavern
in Kilburn.
Food: Realpubs focuses on traditional community pub values and the food is described as "modern British".
Menu: The lunch menu includes Cumberland sausage and mash with onion gravy (£7.50), as well as six rock oysters with shallot vinaigrette (£7.50). Dinner includes slow-roasted belly of Old Spot pork, puy lentils and salsa verde (£11); pudding includes chocolate, praline and amaretto tart with crème fraîche (£5.75).
Covers: 100
Style: Exposed brick walls, chandeliers, leather and wooden furniture and old prints of the local area.
Ones to watch
Clissold Arms, Muswell Hill, north London
Jobo Developments, the five-strong pubco set up by Hugh O'Boyle and Caroline Jones, is due to open another site in July. The Clissold Arms will re-open as a 200-cover gastropub and delicatessen, following a £50,000 refurbishment. Plans for the pub include serving a mixture of organic and locally-sourced Continental food for an average spend of £6.50 per head.
New Inn, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex
Compass Bars, the company behind the Bull in Ditchling and the Crown & Anchor in Shoreham-by-Sea, has opened its third outlet in West Sussex. Directors Dominic Worrall and Jeremy Martin have overseen the refurbishment of the 550-year-old pub, which is designed to target the lunchtime dining market. Compass has just purchased a fourth West Sussex venture - the Sloop at Scaynes Hill - and the company has further expansion plans for later in the year.
