Local hero? Farine, Wandsworth
Farine is the latest venture by the coffee gurus behind local chain ‘Press.’ Taking over the premises of what was the ‘Barmouth Kitchen,’ it sits ... Read Feature
Menu
It was like an evening from the movies. The sky was blue, the air warm and I was wandering through a picturesque part of Chelsea on my way to the pub. The Sporting Page is tucked away slightly in a part of the district that is as easy on the eye, as the first cold beer is on the tongue. The Sporting Page is a charming traditional looking pub with a wooden interior, though on that evening Chelsea’s finest and not so finest were mainly littering the pavement soaking up the rays of one of the first periods of decent weather this year.
To add to the Sporting Page’s charms is its specialist seafood menu, which maybe not unique is unusual enough to warrant comment. Working with Devon based Salcombe suppers, the pub offers a mixture of seafood light bites, sharing dishes as well as more traditional pub fare. The star attractions are the sea dogs, lobster or crab filled hotdog rolls and a mixture of flatbread fish tacos. It being seafood and it being Chelsea the prices felt more restaurant than pub with the rolls coming in it £18 and the tacos at £14. There’s also a range of sharing plates available at £10 for a single or £27 for a selection of three.
Having grabbed a pint so cool it was immediately signed by a modelling agency; we grabbed a seat in the spacious interior. We’d decided to share the food and had opted for the lobster and prawn roll complemented by the crab mac n’ cheese, lobster and prawn croquettes and crab bruschetta bites.
The roll was soft and tasty, the filling redolent of the summers I’ve never actually managed to spend in New England. My only complaint is that I could have eaten twice the amount. This is not a criticism that could be levelled at the crab mac n’ cheese which was silky smooth, satisfyingly salty, and substantial and the winner amongst the sharing plates. This was against strong competition from the croquettes which again I could have eaten more of. The bruschetta was the only slight disappointment, this though was more to do with the crab flavour not really coming through rather than the fresh zingy flavour of the rest of the topping. The total cost for 2 here was £45, but I think we could have easily doubled that and still had room for pudding, one of the few occasions where I have ever under ordered.
It was though with a feeling of contentment that we grabbed another glass of rosé each and went to join the affluent scrum on the pavement. This was one spur of the moment choice that I hope I would get to repeat.
The Sporting Page
6 Camera Pl, London SW10 0BH
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