Randomness Guide to London Menu

Situated immediately next door to Hoxton Overground station, the Beagle is certainly easy to find. The restaurant serves seasonal British food (the menu changes daily) and has an interesting cocktail list.

The roof is formed from two large railway arches, neatly dividing the place into bar and dining areas. There is also outside seating in front of the two halves, again split between bar and sit-down dining. The section of road is pedestrianised and it's quite a pleasant spot in the sunshine, with the tall trees of the Geffreye Museum looming just over the wall.

On a visit in July 2013, Kake, Sarah and Kat met in the bar area for an aperitif - it was reasonably busy at 6.30pm but most of the punters were outside enjoying the sunshine. Kat ordered a Lady Thyme cocktail, but with the absence of any lemon or thyme, she wasn't convinced that was what she received. However it was extremely tasty (sweet, pink and frothy) and it didn't appear on the bill later on, so overall she couldn't complain. The other cocktails we tried (an Iberian Negroni, a Quince Sour and a Santiago Cooler, all £8.50) were also very good.

We were shown to an outside table which unfortunately was quite cramped - the waiting staff spilled things over our table twice while squeezing past us. The seating was also quite uncomfortable (hard, blocky wooden benches and plastic stools). The staff were very attentive, just to the point of being intrusive. A basket of (rather good) bread was provided straight away; a container of chilled tap water was brought when we asked, and refilled during our meal.

Starters were reasonably priced but varied in quality and quantity: peas with curds (£6.50) was literally just that, and the portion was quite small. Conversely there was almost too much gazpacho soup (£5.50). We all agreed that the courgettes with feta (£6.50) was the best starter, substantial, perfectly cooked and not too oily. The main courses were disappointing: crab tagliolini (£16.50) was fine, but not particularly exciting and probably not much better than you'd find in an upmarket pub. the roast pork with crackling and beans (£17) was too enormous to finish; the pork itself was juicy and well cooked but the crackling was sadly impenetrable with either knife or teeth. Kat's dessert of meringue and apricots (£5.50) was enjoyable (and again, massive), but on a hot day it would have worked much better with ice cream or sorbet, instead of double cream.

The bill came to £142 for three people, including service, three cocktails and a bottle of Marsanne-Roussane (£27). There was a bit of confusion regarding our bar tab and we were brought the wrong bill at first, which didn't help our overall impression of the staff much.

Kat, Kake and Sarah's verdict: we'd come back for cocktails if we were in the area and maybe try the bar snacks, but would definitely give the restaurant a miss next time.

Accessibility: toilets are on the ground floor.