Gastro Pub of the Year 2008: The Sands End Pub & Dining Room
The team behind the Sands End are not afraid of a challenge. Around two years ago they took on the lease of the pub, which at the time was a gritty neighbourhood local.
Nestled in a residential area, in a tube stop no-man's land between Fulham and Parson's Green, the site was not an obvious one in which to introduce the gastro concept.
However, arguably the secret of the pub's success is that is has retained its community local feel, while making a significant name for itself as a fine-dining destination to be sought out by discriminating Londoners.
Eamonn Manson, one of the owners, is the friendly front-of-house face who helps maintain excellent standards of customer service and makes sure visitors are kept happy. He says the aim was to "bring a contemporary country pub to the heart of London with superior quality food".
He added: "But we didn't want to lose the tradition of the old-fashioned pub."
Equally as vital in the Sands End jigsaw is Irish head chef Liam Kirwan. Liam brings a strong Irish influence to British seasonal cooking. He describes what he does as "comfort food without being lazy".
He adds: "Good, honest cooking has a place when so many pubs have gone fusion crazy. I think back to my mum's Sunday roast, her Irish stew after a bitterly cold training day at football, her apple tart which she made every Sunday evening, seafood suppers on sunny days."
Delights such as jugged hare and pot roast partridge can sit alongside a classic rib-eye or rump steak.
In terms of sourcing, the pub orders direct from farms wherever possible. This includes game from the Arden estate in Yorkshire and wild salmon from the Muchrac estate in Scotland.
Game is even delivered by customers themselves after a weekend on the Moors.
But it's the attention to detail and willingness to try something a bit different that makes the Sands such an exceptional business. This includes offering home-made scotch eggs and pig's ear as bar snacks with home-made pickles, preserves and jams, also available. Eamonn says: "We try to make our bar look like a local shop".
In fact, the scotch eggs have proved so popular that they are now sold by the local butcher, along with their breads and jams.
Marketing is also a key element of the Sands' success. The daily menu is uploaded onto the website and direct advertising has been used by sending out local postcards. A string of good reviews in a number of high-profile publications has also helped with the success of the pub.
David Minchin, the business' financial director and Mark Dyer, operations director, complete the Sands End jigsaw.
David says: "It's been a hard nut to crack, bringing a bit of the country into an urban setting, but we have built a bedrock on which we can continue to build on."
