32 Featherstone Street
EC1Y 8QX
Tel: 020 7490 0121
Date of Last Visit: Thursday, June 28th, 2007
The Victims: Howard, Ben, Mark
The Damage: 20ish each?
The Background: As of Thursday June 28th at 7:30 p.m., I’ve known Mark for about four hours in total. But we’re Facebook friends , so I’ve been keeping tabs on him. I know he likes swimming, and that he has a new toaster. I know he saw a bad movie last Friday. Likewise, Mark knows that it might be time for me to move; that sometimes, I log in to Facebook while I’m waiting for the bus; and that I’ve grown tired of my music collection. (Don’t tell my mother. Please. You’d have to see my music collection to truly understand my attention deficit disorder.)
Well, Mark suggests the pub quiz at the Wenlock Arms with fellow London food bloggers Howard and Ben, and I suggest dinner beforehand at the new tapas place at Featherstone Street, just south of Old Street tube. It’s a deal.
The Entrance: It’s loud. They could use some sound-proofing devices. It’s loud and not super-crowded. So that means that it can only get worse. I am afraid. And I am right to be so. Because before we know it, some drunkards sit down at the table next to us and are boisterious in that just-just-just-crossing-the-line way.
The Service: Is really nice and informative. She gives us her recommendations straight off the bat. We, being us, order all of them. And she is mostly right on the ball.
The Food: The standout dish for me was really the anchovies served on potato chips. Who would have thunk it? All that salt…it was perfect! The spicy pork was not so spicy and I was disappointed. The padron peppers were nice…I love them. (And I learned that Mark does not!)
What else did we have? Some manchego. Some iberico ham. Some smoked beef. Some tomatoes and goat cheese (which I declined…too many tomatoes). Two tortillas–which, to be honest, were awful. And you know that I am so not very picky. They seemed undercooked. Some meatballs–I had one, and it was nice. But just nice.
The Verdict: I think I’d only go on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. The Thursday crowd was a bit too much for me. Oh, and I’d stick with the server’s recommendations and I’d keep my expectations very low. (I am not drawing any conclusions, but our server did not specifically suggest the tortillas…which are such a staple and so easy to do well–even I have been known to cook a tortilla on occasion–that I am left wondering…)
Oh, and p.s., as of Thursday at 1 a.m.-ish, I’ve known Mark for about 9.5 hours. In the real world, that is. Not the Facebook world.
1 comment
That’s an awful shame about the meal, Krista. I bet you enjoyed the Wenlock afterwards though! It’s a great pub, and so neatly tucked away off the beaten track. Shit I’ve put my foot in it now, how dare I like a pub that my old lady drinks at. How incredibly unfashionable of me!
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