Randomness Guide to London Menu

Good Beer Guide pub in Harefield.

According to the 2009 Good Beer Guide, it was previously known as the Pickle Jar, but was refurbished and renamed in spring 2007; also, the food is all freshly prepared with a focus on local produce. It also indicates there's a "beer club" on Wednesday evenings where real ales are reduced in price.

Inside it becomes clear that the refurbishment has been sensitively done. There are polished wooden floors and tables of various sizes, muted decoration with plenty of old photos lining the walls, and shelves of books being sold for charity. One corner of the pub has tables laid out with cutlery, but the other half does not. The space is open and airy, but retains its character and is a pleasant and cosy environment for just a drink as much as for eating.

There are four handpulls for ale on the bar, one of which does not appear to be in use. The regular is Timothy Taylor Landlord (£2.80/pint, and tasting perfectly fine), with Spitfire and Vale Best Bitter as guests on a March 2009 visit.

Food is served noon-3pm and 6pm-10pm, according to an advert in the April/May 2008 London Drinker magazine. The mains are all priced around £6-£7, with a good selection of starters and desserts as well photo of menu. A specials chalkboard lists a few additional dishes, such as a soup of the day. The menu itself sticks fairly closely to pub basics, without a great range of options for vegetarians (Ewan preferred two smaller dishes to the only main, a tomato & basil pasta), but what it does, it does well. Ewan's roasted butternut squash soup (£3) photo is a good size for the price and served with a chunk of baguette. Another light dish, the warm goat's cheese drizzled with honey on toasted French bread (£3.45) photo was simple but effective (even if the salad on the side was dry and unappealing). Kake was very pleased with her beef & ale stew (£7).

Accessibility: No steps to enter, and a ramp has been installed to make the toilets accessible (they are one step up, behind the bar).

See also:

• Beer In The Evening comments