The Marksman
Hackney, London
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On a rainy Friday evening, this former Hackney Road boozer – identifying since its 2015 makeover as a ‘public house and dining rooms’ – glows with pubby welcome. Glimmering light spills out onto the street, and space at the mahogany bar and on the leather banquettes is in demand. It’s alive with end-of-the-week chatter. Pints are pulled, wine is poured, the bar is propped up. Upstairs, the dining room is more restrained, with little distracting from the business of dinner. Snacks go down well with a bright pét-nat from Portugal, chosen from a wine list that bristles with interest; a natural Catarratto from the coastal Barraco winery in Marsala, Sicily, is a notable pleasure later in the meal. To begin, a pillowy glazed barley bun promises a satisfying marriage of rich, slow-braised beef inside soft, warm bread, which is why it is billed as a house special – especially when scooped through horseradish cream with a forkful of pickled veg. Spenwood fritters fend off any excess of richness with fresh watercress and pickled walnuts, while a little crab apple jelly and bitter-edged chicory bring out the savouriness in a muscular pigeon and Tamworth pork terrine. Share a chicken and girolles pie, or go for roast cull yaw, served tenderly pink with a tangle of rainbow chard and the salty livener of anchovies. A nostalgia- and butter-laden apple and plum crumble comes in its own little pan with sufficient custard to pour generously, but the brown butter and honey tart is the star – a pitch-perfect combination of snappy pastry, silk-smooth custard and shimmering wobble.
