You know by now that we’re a bunch of foodies here at House of Coco but I can’t lie, when this #TeamCoco writer was invited for dinner in the heart of the City, my heart sank a little bit. The City, for all its hustle and bustle during the working week, can turn into a zombie-town in the evenings and weekends, the odd office worker (‘suit’) either stuck behind his or her desk or stumbling home after a few too many. If you ever want to re-enact ’28 days later’, it’s here on a Sunday morning!
Zombies aside, the draw of a pub dinner on a sunny weekday evening was too much to resist so off we trotted over to The White Horse, part of the Geronimo Inns stable, right next to Liverpool Street station.
Horse puns out of the way, we received an incredibly warm welcome from manager Peter and his team who took us through the mouthwateringly varied pub menu which celebrates native produce with everything from a fancy take on a classic picnic board (fish fingers, scotch eggs, chopped sausages…) right to an innovative sounding sweet potato and chickpea falafel burger. Oh, hello dinner!
We started to feel foolish about our reticence to come to this part of town as looking around we could have been in a cutesy country pub, taking in the vintage-feel décor of old car posters and advert plates adorning the walls. Those ‘suits’ we were afraid of had all definitely loosened their ties and have succumbed to their surroundings… along with a few pints of London Pale Ale!
As the bread and oil appeared on our table, even the corporate and somewhat grey view from the window started to soften and we too relaxed into the cosy pub vibes. In order to do the menu justice we opted for the classic sirloin and chips and that innovative sounding sweet potato burger. Service from the lovely team was attentive and quick and we were soon falling all over our food; on the one side trying to play food critic and, on the other, enjoying such an unpretentious, tasty dinner in an unexpected part of town.
The most important part of a pub meal is definitely dessert so we continued in our classic / innovative ordering style with both toffee pudding and chocolate panna cotta. Heartbreakingly, the toffee pudding just wasn’t ‘school-dinner’ enough for us (to use the technical term) but the panna cotta was fantastically velvety and rich.
Stepping back out onto the pavement we were quickly thrown back into the concrete jungle and immediately miss our cosy window table. However, we’re delighted to met across a trusty little steed for when we next need to escape the city!
You can find The White Horse on Exchange Square, next to Liverpool Street Station and more of Geronimo Inns’ ‘bloody good pubs’ across London. They’re not a chain but a group of pubs with their own vibes. If our experience at The White Horse (and at this #TeamCoco writer’s old local, The Fentiman Arms) is anything to go by, your new favourite pub could be waiting!
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