Historical version 3 of Well, EC1V 4JY (view current version)
- 020 7251 9363
- 180 St John Street, EC1V 4JY (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- downthewell.co.uk
- Mon-Thu 11am-midnight, Fri 11am-1am, Sat 10.30am-1am, Sun 10.30am-11pm
A reasonably classy gastropub on St John's Street, situated just north of Clerkenwell Road. It's part of a group run by the same people as The Gun in Docklands and The Prince Arthur in London Fields.
It is more restaurant than pub really, with most tables on the ground floor being reserved for dining in the evenings. On a Wednesday evening visit in July 2013, Kat and her party had booked ahead earlier that day with no problems, but would have had trouble getting a table otherwise. It was a hot day and the glass doors had been fully opened all the way around, with plenty of customers sitting on the outside tables. There is an extra seating/bar area in the basement (which is available for private hire) though it's not clear if this is always open. The website states that there is a pub quiz every Tuesday, presumably in this basement area.
The food varied from excellent to average: Kat's lovely starter of nettle and watercress soup (£5.50) came with an adorable mini salmon bagel (very tasty, about the size of a tangerine). Other starters of ox tongue (£9, 'like meatier ham') and kedgeree croquettes (£7.50, spicy) also went down well. Unfortunately the mains weren't quite as good. The grilled artichoke tortellini (£12) was stodgy and overcooked, as if the pasta hadn't been rolled thinly enough and had been left to boil a bit longer to make up for it. The salmon fishcake (£14) was so hot that one of our party burned the roof of his mouth (though this probably can't be blamed on the chef), which put rather a dampener on the rest of his meal. The Cornish fish stew (£16) and the beefburger (£14.50) however were both fine.
Daily specials are listed on the blackboard — this was very marine-based on our visit (lobster, seabass etc). The waiting staff were very friendly and helpful: a basket of bread was provided on our arrival as was a jug of tap water. The whole thing came to £120 for 4 people, including 2 courses, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and service.
Accessibility: Toilets are in the basement.