The Anchor & Hope
Southwark, London, 020 7928 9898
Ownership: Business partners Mike Belben, Jonathan Jones, Harry Lester and Rob Shaw have run the pub on a lease with Charles Wells since October 2003. Head chefs are Jonathan Jones and Harry Lester
On the menu: Rib of beef chips and béarnaise sauce (£50 for platter of three)
Voters' views:
n "Big ideas, big portions, direct and grown-up approach to modern dining," Giles Coren, Times restaurant critic
n "Serves fantastic food and is becoming a Mecca of gastronomic excellence," David Mulcahy, vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs
Best bit: Great products and real cooking, duck hearts, capon and mutton are among the treasures on this uber gastro menu
The Anchor & Hope's no-nonsense formula of simple food meets shabby decor has ensured the venue's rapid rise to the top of London's gastro pub scene. The pub's owners include gastro pub pioneer Mike Belben, who launched the Eagle in Farringdon to wide acclaim in 1991. His influence is obvious in the pub's mixture of scrappy wooden floors, blackboard menus and minimalist furnishings. However, Belben's business partners Jonathan Jones and Harry Lester are producing an award-winning menu from the pub's open kitchen. Dishes such as crab on toast (£6.80) and cod, lentil peas and sorrel (£13.80) demonstrate the duo's commitment to simplicity. The formula has paid dividends with the Anchor & Hope winning the best gastro pub crown at the Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant Awards in March 2004. But despite the acclaim the pub's owners aim to maintain the persona of a no-frills gastro pub by allocating tables on a first come, first served basis.
