Pub review: THE HAMPSHIRE HOG (Hammersmith)

Not too far away from Ravenscourt Park tube station sits The Hampshire Hog, a pub which is famed for having one of the best beer gardens in London. And, indeed, it is a delight to sit outside, bask in the sunny weather (not that there’s much of that in Britain any more) and get drunk with friends. The place itself is easy to find and the drinks that come on tap are good at not for too extortionate a price. Furthermore, during Happy Hour, it’s 2-4-1 on cocktails, and they come in delightful little jam jars that really add to the rustic, old English vibe of the place. A jug of Pimm's during Happy Hour is £13, which is reasonable given it serves several helpings, not to mention is just an ace drink all round. In short, alcohol was priced much more kindly than The Grange, despite being situated in a swankier location.

So far, so good.

However, as with many a promising joint in London, The Hampshire Hog was completely let down by its lacklustre staff. That, and the food menu, which added nothing to this place’s reputation as a gastropub. There were barely any chips with most of the main meals, despite them boasting on the menu that the food ‘came with chips’, and we ordered chips individually, then had to prod the waitress no less than three times about them before they arrived for us, roughly an hour after we ordered it.

This could all be forgiven if they were the only places where The Hampshire Hog went wrong. But, we went in quite a large group (it was a colleagues’ leaving do) and by the end of the night many of us were hugely intoxicated. The management at the pub decided to take advantage of our inebriation by trying to pull a fast one, and charge us for things we didn’t order. 

I was one of the last there, and as such, I knew who had ordered what as people had given me their money to pay before they left. So I knew our table definitely didn’t order four sets of chips. I complained and the rapidity at which the management returned me my money indicated that they knew they’d been found out.

Oh, and another word of warning: there’s a 12.5% service charge on food at this place that is conveniently omitted on the website and the menu itself. For the sake of transparency, I thought it fair I let you all know.

The Hampshire Hog is a great place to have a few drinks and unwind. However, if you plan on having food with your drink, prepare to be swindled.

Grade: D

For more of my pub reviews, click here. If you would like me to review your bar, drop me an email at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com

It's things like this that remind me why I love film.

I read Gone Girl voraciously over two days around this time last year, and was obsessed with it. An amazing spin on the he said, she said, with two narrators, each as unreliable as the other. When I heard David Fincher was going to be directing the big screen adaptation, I prayed and prayed that his vision wouldn't be impeded by box office requirements, but I figured he isn't the sort of director who would let money get in the way of making his picture. And viola... Gone Girl, an extremely high-profile 2014 release, with an 18 rating (going by the comments directed at the BBFC account, many was surprised by the decision).

I'm delighted. No having to watch it with brat teenagers, and more importantly, Fincher got to carry his vision through! Win win!

By the by, in the BBFC insight, it transpires that the film also has several strong sex scenes, and breast nudity. Me's betting that Emily Ratajkowski, aka the stunning brunette off the Blurred Lines video, definitely gets her baps out. That's all very well, but she'd better make a convincing Andie whilst she's at it.

OOTD: drinks in a beer garden in west London with colleagues.

Cardigan: H&M

Dress: Monsoon

Belt: River Island

Ring: Accessorize

Stud earrings (barely visible): Accessorize

Purse: Accessorize

The pub was The Grange in Ealing. The beer garden was absolutely lovely, extremely comfortable and spacious. However, drinks were frigging extortionate. The pint in my hand was £4.80, which was just about tolerable, but my friend had a double gin + tonic, which came to £8.15! Central London prices in zone 3, not happy about that. The cheapest packs of crisps were £1.40, which is just beyond a joke.

However, if you are graced with more money than sense and want a nice garden to chill in, this is the place for you.

Grade: C

Chelsea Girl.

Last Saturday, I got to sport my new Chelsea strip at the home game vs Leicester. Being the snap-happy young woman I am, I thought I'd post a picture on the blog.

Earrings: Monsoon

Headband: Accessorize

Bag: Primark

Ring: Accessorize

Jeans: Oasis

I'm wearing an uncharacteristically feminine nail polish in the picture. It's this shade:

I had to overlook my dislike of Rita Ora to buy it, but I think it's totally worth it! The longevity is surprisingly long, and it's just a gorgeous, muted pink.

Restaurant review: THE DINER: (Soho)

Continuing with new-found hobby of frequenting Soho for American brunch joints, I turned my attention to The Diner. Situated in the extremely happening Ganton Street/Carnaby Street area, it’s just a few minutes walk from Oxford Street, and thus, had it been a hit, would have been a go-to place for me to replenish my energy before doing weekend clothes shopping, which as you all know, is an activity that is oh so stamina-quenching.

Unfortunately for The Diner, whatever treats their menu boasted were all negated by the horrific service we experienced there. We had one blonde guy, who looked like a Poundland Liam Hemsworth. My friend asked if we could sit near the back, when the restaurant was empty, and he just barked at her, ‘no, you sit here’. 

Furthermore, whenever I called him to bring us water, or that we were ready to order, he couldn’t hide his look of utter annoyance, as if he couldn’t believe the audacity of these twats to DARE to pull him away from his friend who he was chatting to, to order their food. To add insult to injury, The Diner helps itself to a handsome 12.5% mandatory tip for service on the food bill. Hilarious, given how we all but had to serve ourselves, with a waiter that was clearly pressed at his life decisions to drop out of fashion school, and chose to take it out on us.

Pictures of the food and drink I had is below.

The dish itself was good, a mishmash of many of my favourite things, and the drink was deliciously sweet, if a little overpriced at £4.20. But to be honest, this place could have the best food in London and I wouldn’t go back again because of that insufferable waiter.

Grade: D

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Update: 19th October 2014.

I went to The Diner in Shoreditch on Saturday. Whilst the menu and the prices were identical, the altogether more cheerful, less uppity service from the waiters and waitresses attending to us means I'm now happy to bump this place up to a B+. What a difference some good service makes, eh?

The eggs benedict with salmon were tasty enough, but I wasn't a fan of the haphazard addition of orange slices on the plate. It didn't add anything to the meal, and just seemed incongruous. Thus, the best eggs benedict I've had in London remains Café Richoux in Mayfair. 

However, the MVP at The Diner that I didn't sample in my first visit here was the hard milkshakes (milkshakes with a cheeky dash of alcohol in), specifically, the True Blue. Mainly blueberries, this was one of the few drinks I've had where it tasted better with the addition of booze. You have to try it out. For £8 you get a handsome amount (enough to fill a the glass in the first review, twice), and honestly, it's the most fun I've had getting tipsy.  I also had a Strawberry Cheesecake hard cocktail, and that, by normal standards, would have been scrummy. But True Blue was in a league of its own.

In future, I may just come here for the milkshakes. Sod the food when the milkshakes are that heavenly!

Restaurant review: JOE'S SOUTHERN KITCHEN (Covent Garden)

Now that I have Tastecard, I have my pick of restaurants at which I can eat at for a decent price, so thought I’d christen my darling Tastecard at Joe’s Southern Kitchen & Bar.

Very generously sized in an old warehouse-style building and boasting some mouth-watering dishes, it brings the spirit of the Deep South into central London. The soft shell crab starters were delicious, and converted a crab-phobiac like me, although the chilli cup and taco starter was somewhat mediocre, and definitely was riding more on the 'fun' quotient of making your own tacos than on its nutritional or taste value.

The main menu boasted dishes that ranged from the straightforward (southern chicken, etc) to things that sounded altogether more exotic, or just curious. For example, Joe’s Prison Plate was presented as just that - a tray like something you’d expect to see in Orange is the New Black (a show I have become addicted to, just so you know, brilliant) filled with beans, coleslaw, rice, bread, but best of all, a healthy portion of pulled pork, which was unbelievably succulent. 

I think it must be the sauce they cook their food in, because every meat dish I had at JSK left me wanting more. The chicken itself looks nothing special, like something you’d expect to get from KFC, but don’t judge a book by its cover, because that, too, tasted wonderful.

With a Tastecard, a meal here works out cheaper than a visit to Nando’s, an institution which I’ve always found disappointingly overrated. So what are you waiting for? Get down there! The restaurant itself might be shabby-chic, but the food is simply divine.

Grade: A-

Update: March 2016
I went to Joe's Southern Kitchen just for a drink, and was just as impressed with the collections of drinks on offer as I was by the food.

The bar staff were attentive and efficient and the American drinks were a step up from the usual pub selection. Naturally, being a restaurant, and there being a 12.5% service charge, it also works out a little more pricey than going to the pub, but if you fancy something a bit different, Joe's Southern Kitchen isn't a bad drinking hole in Covent Garden, in addition to being a delicious restaurant.

For more of my restaurant reviews, click here. If you would like me to review your restaurant, drop me an email at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com