pub

The Argyle

Posted on by leolawrence94

The Argyle, Sydney, Australia

If you’re looking for nightlife hotspots and funky restaurants that will spice up your Instagram feed, look no further than The Rocks, Sydney. This area is popular for the aforementioned features but the main draw is its proximity to the famous Sydney Harbour (which – fun fact – is actually called Port Jackson) where you can take as many Harbour Bridge and Opera House selfies as your little heart desires. Unsurprising, then, that there are so many places to wine and dine in this tourist trap. Once you’ve finished trying to avoid photobombing seagulls at the harbour, The Rocks is the place to be.

The Argyle, located at The Rocks, is definitely one of our favourite stomping grounds thus far and this is mainly because you can do literally everything there. It’s the ideal location to choose for a relaxed beverage on a Sunday afternoon, an all day drinking fest, a nightclub, a restaurant, an outdoor movie theatre etc. etc. etc. The list goes on. It’s a pretty sizeable venue with two floors, the second of which turns into a dance floor for the more hoppin’ evenings of the week, as well as a vast outside terrace with its own bar. The best way I can describe the décor of the inside area is as a retro Hawaiian lounge. The lighting is very moody and there are palm trees and lounge chairs in smaller groups as well as high tables and stools if you’re going down the food route.

Be prepared to question everything you thought you wanted to eat upon arrival when you take a look at the menu. Ole Sib and I went in there contemplating some classic burgers and somehow ended up with a mozzarella and bruschetta bar, cheesesteak egg rolls and fried mac n cheese balls in front of us wondering how we had come this far and questioning all of our life choices up to this one moment of pure happiness. Who needs burgers when you can experience these crazy culinary creations? (I’m sorry, that was rash. I will always need burgers. Please forgive me, burger gods.) Rest assured, however, that there are so many options ranging from wood fired pizzas to burgers to barbecue ribs to salads (no thanks) that there really is something for everyone and for every occasion.

We began our feast with the mozzarella and bruschetta bar. It was presented on a cool wooden platter with sections for each food item. The sections were filled with mozzarella, caponata tapenade, pesto and a crushed tomato sauce. In a create-your-own kind of situation, these flavours came together beautifully on the crusty (another word that is only acceptable when referring to food. See Muriel’s Kitchen post: moist.) Sourdough bread. Bread and sauce and cheese are three of the major food groups of my life and all three were satisfactorily featured in this meal. The journey continued with the cheesesteak egg rolls. I am a big Philly cheesesteak fan but, of course, am used to the more conventional sub roll as the foundation for this iconic sandwich. The egg roll aspect was surprisingly wonderful in the sense that it added a welcome crisp to a usually sloppy experience. A drizzle of sriracha ketchup made for a solid Asian-American fusion flavour.

Ok, everyone. Let’s talk about those mac n cheese balls. Now, before this impromptu gastronomic adventure, I had indeed heard of such a thing as fried mac n cheese balls and could only dream that one day I would be so lucky as to be able to experience them. Thankfully, they lived up to my astronomically high hopes. They were little golden parcels of joy resting angelically on a light bed of blue cheese mayonnaise and on top of each little ball was a delicately placed piece of crispy bacon. Salivation had kicked into overdrive by the time the fork reached its destination on this one. My sincerest compliments to the imagination from whence this glorious idea sprung.

After demolishing the most wonderfully random combination of platters, Ole Sib and I were stunned into silence. What a journey. Whilst we reflected on the good times, a talented musical duo played some welcome acoustic 90s R&B tunes and all was right in the world for a little bit longer…

http://www.theargylerocks.com

The White Horse

Posted on by leolawrence94

The White Horse, Richmond, UK

The White Horse pub in Richmond was the next destination visited to elude the Jonas storm-soaked streets of London. A classy, family-friendly gastropub, The White Horse offers an excellent foodie alternative to the more traditional pub, The Red Cow, around the corner.

Having chosen to dine here on a Thursday evening, the vibe was lively as the weekly pub quiz was about to take place. Despite being more on the upmarket end of the pub spectrum, The White Horse boasts an excellent entertainment schedule throughout the week including the pub quiz, an open mic night and important sporting occasions (for example, it will be showing the upcoming England Six Nations Rugby games).

We were seated in a quieter corner of the restaurant because of the impending pub quiz and proceeded to peruse the menu, which was extensive and featured classic pub dishes. The cool thing about the menu, however, was that it was presented to us attached to comic books and old cartoon annuals. Ours were Spongebob Squarepants and Pokemon annuals – an enjoyable throwback to my E-number fuelled childhood and an entertaining touch for young and old!

Now for the food. We started with the salt and pepper squid. Suitably salty and peppery, this was a great start to the meal with a light lemon mayonnaise that can make even the mayonnaise doubters of the world (me) reconsider. Thankfully there were also only a few full squid that popped up in the bowl, which is a positive for me since personally I prefer to eat only the squid rings. I could talk (or write) for many hours about the ignorance of human carnivores in understanding and accepting where their food comes from and the gap in education in this situation but, alas, I shall save this for another time. All this to say that I, too, am a culprit of denying that my food was once a living being.

On a lighter note, our equally carnivorous main course of steak and chips was excellent. As rare as requested, the meat was tender and juicy and the hand cut chips were everything that one celebrates about British pub food. Combined with a delectable mushroom sauce and a bottle of Malbec, the main course was a success and was very nicely presented without being too annoyingly fancy for such a classic dish.

For dessert, we were recommended the sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream, which presented a conundrum since I love sticky toffee pudding but haven’t come around to the salted caramel hype. With a leap of faith, we took the recommendation and it paid off in spades. The sticky toffee pudding (apologies for the repetition of this long dessert name but the abbreviation to STP made it sound like something one wouldn’t be inclined to consume for dessert) was sticky but not too heavy and – shock horror – the salted caramel ice cream was a welcome addition. I will eat my words. And more salted caramel ice cream as long as it comes attached to a sticky toffee pudding.

All in all, a lively but still tasteful pub atmosphere was accompanied by a wonderful meal featuring some poor sea creatures (RIP) and excellent British classics. The only other thing I will mention is that the dessert wine is only sold by the bottle, so be warned that when you want to be fancy you may also get a little sloppy, but this will probably only add to your pub quiz experience.

http://www.whitehorserichmond.co.uk