Our Dom heads down to Bermondsey for a particularly generous helping of the Marquis of Bermondsey’s stone baked pizza and garlic bread. Result!
Rating
Cuisine
Street food
In a Word
Jovial
Appeals to
For anyone living in south east London wanting a quiet and friendly pub atmosphere – central, but a little off of the beaten path. Those seeking a place that serves good beer but also has a reasonable food menu that’s going to satisfy the cravings when they’re four pints in.
This would also appeal to anyone doing the Bermondsey beer mile in need of a pit stop with some comfortable seating. And obviously to enjoy a few more pints along the way (…good luck to you, sir).
Marquis of Well(ington) Nice
The marquis of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, was one of the leading political and military figures in the 19th century after his victory against at the battle of Waterloo. Now he faces an even greater challenge – the hospitality trade. We all have to try something new at some point…
After recently re-opening following on from new ownership, this old ‘Millwall pub’ in the heart of Bermondsey has had a hip makeover, and Tasting Britain were keen to pop over to see what the hype was about.
Environment and Decor
This is obviously first and foremost a pub, so if you’re looking for fine dining you won’t find it here. It all feels very modern on the inside. Like most things in London these days, it has a very… I don’t want to say ‘hipster’ as it feels like a hackneyed expression (…a true hipster here), so shall we say ‘young and trendy’? Let’s go with that.
The furniture, wallpaper and general aesthetic makes it look like a Victorian school house – not to say that’s a bad thing, of course. I’d say the best way to describe the atmosphere is just right: the music is loud enough to enjoy, but not so loud that you can’t converse with person opposite; the lighting is dim enough to create a mood, but not so dark that you’re straining to read the menu; and enough people to make it lively, but without the fear of lurking around tables like a vulture waiting for the next empty seat (we’ve all been there). It’s everything you want from a pub in London.
The Food and Drink
The food menu isn’t the most eclectic in the world, but again, this is a pub at the end of the day so we’re not expecting them to house the masters of gastronomy here. Anything that’s cheap, cheerful and filling will suffice – and if it tastes fantastic then all the better.
It’s basically pizza. The only thing you can choose from is pizza in some form or another – in that I mean whether either a range of garlic breads (miniature pizzas when they arrive) as a starter – or a full pizza as a main.
However, with everything freshly prepared in front of you and an impressive pizza oven behind the bar, they’re definitely doing this right. You can either choose something from the menu or create your own from scratch – which is a nice touch. There are vegetarian options, but nothing for vegans or those on a gluten free diet I’m afraid. And there are only two desserts – a salted caramel fudge cake or a vanilla cheese cake, so not ideal for anyone with a sweet tooth!
However, with the selective choice comes very affordable prices. Starters and desserts are around £5 or under, with mains around £9 – and the portion sizes large enough to soak up the beer! And if pizza doesn’t float your boat, then the pub also hosts a range of local street food traders at the weekend, so there’s always something different to try.
As for the drink, being a pub they have a great selection of local beers on tap – and being a pub located in the middle of the Bermondsey beer mile, you would hope so, too. Speaking to the manager you can tell he’s very knowledgeable in this area and makes some great recommendations during our visit. They’ll also stock a fantastic collection of gin, with some local favourites like Jensen’s Gin.
And if you feel like something a bit lighter, they also have a reasonable wine list and a selection of coffee and teas to choose from…
Fior di latte mozzarella & sweet onion
To start, we try a range of the garlic breads on offer. Not realising how big they actually were, we decided to order two of these. It’s actually the size of a small pizza, just in case you’re feeling greedy! Garlic bread with mozzarella is very nice. You can tell it’s stone baked not only by the appearance, but also in the flavours – the crust has a lovely smokiness to it that you only get from stone baked.
The mozzarella, garlic and sweet onions is a lovely combination – very moreish once you get into it.
San Marzano tomato, grilled aubergines, finished with parmegiano reggiano
The second garlic bread just as lovely. The base and crust are crust are great; aubergines and the tomatoes taste very fresh, and the shavings of parmigiano complement everything nicely. I can’t really see how this is garlic bread, though? It’s more like a small pizza than anything else. Not a major criticism, it’s just not a garlic bread. This is what Scott Pilgrim tells me anyway [Ed: wat]
Mushroom Pizza
For the vegetarians, there are a few vegi options, including this mushroom pizza which has truffles – TRUFFLES, people. In terms of presentation, I’m not sure why there are some random leaves on the top? You would typically add rocket to a pizza, so these random salad leaves seem a bit unnecessary. The pizza itself is, again, very nice, albeit you don’t get a very obvious flavour of mushroom or truffle?
When you look at it, you can actually see chunks of truffle scattered around the pizza, so there are some slices without it entirely – which is very disappointing while eating. If anything, this must be incredibly expensive for them – if they’re putting huge chunks of truffle on a pizza? Those truffles don’t come cheap…
Salami Pizza
This was pretty great. Nduja is a wonderful topping on a pizza, along with the salami, parmesan and topping off with the rocket to cut through everything and a bit of freshness. There are no faults here at all – a lovely pizza indeed.
Sirloin Steak Pizza
I’m not sure about this pizza at all. The gorgonzola flavour cancels out the other ingredients entirely, including the crust and the base. It feels like gorgonzola with a side of pizza. When you taste the individual ingredients, everything is very well prepared, the steak is nice and tender, but overall I wasn’t a fan of this.
It was such a strong taste that Jack and I couldn’t finish it. This is obviously a personal preference and some people may like this, but I certainly wouldn’t order this again.
Verdict
It’s evident that the Marquis of Wellington is still find its footing in the world of hospitality. While having a pleasant atmosphere and great drinks menu, they do need to fine tune the pizza menu. However, what I will say is it has a lot of potential to improve and the management are clearly aware that it’s early days, so why not pop down one evening if you’re in the area and enjoy all that Marquis has to offer?
The Details
The Marquis of Wellington
21 Druid Street
London
SE1 2HH
http://www.marquisofwellingtonbermondsey.co.uk/index
https://twitter.com/@MoWBermondsey
https://www.facebook.com/MarquisofWellington/
https://www.instagram.com/marquisofwellington/