HOP: a Galvin Pub de Luxe, Spitalfields – tried and tasted

Pints, pub-fare and seriously good pedigree: David Ellis eats at new Spitalfields pub Hop
David Ellis @dvh_ellis12 December 2017

Michelin-starred Galvin brothers Chris and Jeff have transformed Café à Vin in Spitalfields into a pub – or, in their words, a pub de luxe, which sounds like something someone taking the mick out of the French would say, but isn’t.

It’s a gastro pub, then, and comes ahead of their new opening in the summer, the Green Man in Chelmsford. The brothers earned their well deserved acclaim with the likes of La Chapelle and Galvin at Windows, but this is an altogether simpler affair.

Style and surrounds

They’ve run with the hallmarks of a classic British pub, tiling the walls and laying dark floors, with simple wooden tables and leather studded seats. Like any good drinking establishment, the bar dominates. Walk deeper in, and an area better suited for supper sits, and past that, a small covered garden. It’s a warm, low-lit affair, cosy with the copper of the beer tanks glinting. The space benefits from a great glass frontage, which should flood the place in light come summer.

Bar snack bargains: sausage rolls and scotch eggs

On the menu

In keeping with the strived-for feeling of a pub, Hop doesn’t divide strictly between starters and mains, but it’s an easy menu to navigate. They’re especially pleased with their hotdog - you can learn a little more about it in the video above - and get points for serving snacks cheaply: £3 for rarebit, £2.50 for a scotch egg. At that price, you'd be silly not to eat with your pint.

That said, the place shares chefs with the outrageously good La Chapelle next door, so it’s worth sitting down to dine. The wood oven serves small plates: start with the dorset snails, which come gloriously bathed in butter and garlic. From the grill, the Barnsley chop of lamb is a nice cut, as it gives two tender loins, with a little fillet too. They leave the meat to fend for itself, which it does: it’s tender, full of flavour, even if some is a little chewy. The salmon steak is equally simple, and equally good. Avoid the shoe-string fries: they work as toothpicks, but otherwise have no place the table.

Something sweet

Puddings run like a list of British favourites, some given a little twist to remind everyone why they’re so popular after all. The treacle tart and clotted cream is a tad sweet but otherwise an expert presentation, while the Yorkshire rhubarb doughnut is a mouthful of sheer seaonal flavour.

The best food in London

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Liquid libations

Where there’s a pub, there’s a pint and Hop are very proud of theirs. Gleaming tanks bulge proudly above the bar, full with fresh unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell, delivered once a week by a truck from the Czech Republic. They also offer a range of wines served from taps: while this sounds a little cheap, in reality the whole system works rather like a giant coravin, so the wine is kept in tip top condition, and they’ve a decent selection. Otherwise, there are craft beers a-plenty.

Galvin Hop: The Lowdown

Final flavour: Pub fare with some serious pedigree behind it.

Visit if you like: The Hour Glass, The Truscott Arms

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