Randomness Guide to London Menu

A tiny French-themed pub in Soho, with an Italian restaurant upstairs.

The pub downstairs is indeed exceedingly small, with a few little tables in an alcove to the left of the bar, some high tables opposite it, and stools around the walls. It's very much not a place to meet groups of friends. However, the clientele have definite character, and seem to embody a lost side of Soho: it continues to feel like a locals' pub and its walls are decorated with vintage images of French actors, not to mention famous patrons of the past (such as Francis Bacon).

The bar itself has no handpulls for ale, and only a couple of draught lagers (including Kronenbourg). Beer is served only in half pints: it is a point of pride that they do not offer pint glasses. This means that the wine offering is to the fore, and as such it is fairly extensive; the house wine is priced reasonably.

As of April 2010, bar food was served noon-4pm Monday to Saturday, but we're not sure if this is still the case given the restaurant changes noted below.

There's a small restaurant upstairs; this used to focus on French food, but in August 2010 the space was taken over by Polpo, and now houses a small Italian restaurant called Polpetto (see Fay Maschler's review). According to Brockley Central, the ex head chef is now working at the Old Nun's Head in Nunhead.

See also:

• Beer In The Evening comments
• Fancyapint review
• Time Out review
• Yelp comments
• Wikipedia entry
• The Times article