The Eagle
Clerkenwell, London
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Raise your glass – a Dark ‘n’ Stormy, if you please – to the Eagle in Farringdon, the ‘OG’ of so-called 'gastropubs', now in its fourth decade. This lively, ever-popular boozer has resisted all forms of fancification and remains, most assuredly, a pub. You order at the bar, choosing beer from the row of taps (try the Eagle IPA) and food from the day’s menu scrawled on the board over the stove. Edward Mottershaw (only the pub’s third ever head chef) cooks gutsy, country food from across Europe, but mostly Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. Beef and beets were in good supply on our visit: first in a rustic borscht, more stew than soup, enriched with slow-cooked beef; then as an accompaniment to an assertively seared onglet with properly punchy fresh horseradish. Other typical dishes might be pappa al pomodoro, hake with salsa verde, and Napoli sausages with lentils. The burnt Basque cheesecake is so popular it appears almost as often as the ‘bife ana’ rump steak sandwich, the only dish to have been on the menu since day one. The wines – biased towards Spain – are just what you’d want from a pub: quaffable and affordable.
