I liked the Lord Clyde. A spacious pub at the top of Englefield Road, it was the go-to boozer for Canonbury’s more down-to-earth residents. Old-school Inslingtonites – the geezers and old girls – first hung out there when it was an Irish place called Kendrick’s, drawn to its big beer garden and enduring unpretentious vibe. The habit was hard to break.
So, imagine my snort of patronising derision when I found out the Lord Clyde was being reimagined as a ‘bistro pub’ called The Brave. A high-end food spot built on the bones of Kendrick’s? Isn't that sacrilege? The Man thinks he can come storming into a salt-of-the-earth boozer, put up some new tiles and then start slinging burrata and curds? Not on my watch, Sonny Jim. Not on my watch.
It turns out: yes on my watch. Because ‘the Man’ in this case is James Cochran, formerly of Upper Street’s 12:51. And where James goes, flavour slavishly follows.
Nitpickers might say that the Brave doesn’t quite feel like a restaurant (it’s clearly a big pub) or a pub (there’s nowhere obvious to have a pint). But who needs their nits picked when the food is this consistent and rewarding? Cheesy gougeres are airy puffs of pastry, the soul of a Sainsbury’s cheese twist, channeled into a pebble-sized morsel. Salmon tartare with cod’s roe bites are resolutely un-fishy in flavour, encased within puff pastry that’s flakily redolent of pastels del nata.
‘Beef nugget’, meanwhile, is a misleading tag for an object the size of a masonry brick. Breadcrumbed, topped with a crown of pickles, lettuce and cheese, this ‘canape’ is a nourishing and substantial joy - about as far from a vol-au-vent as it gets. Let’s be honest: it’s an entire cheeseburger (sans bun), somehow smuggled onto your plate for £7. Not a posh, fun-free cheeseburger, either. One of the ones people actually enjoy.
Our crisp mutton neck with pickled mussels was excellent - earthy and deep flavours delivered with a gingery kick. But it was the beef shin that left us slapping the table like excited cavemen. James and his mates have somehow channeled the essence of a medieval feast into a charming and delightful cheddar-topped mound. The fried potato dumplings, the ale braise, the insane gravy (which seems smoked), it all tastes comfortingly familiar but also eyebrow-raisingly new.
If you can manage dessert, I can vouch for both the coffee creme brulee (a caffeinated post-meal blast) or the beguiling and unknowable salted caramel tart that was neither too sweet, too rich, too heavy or too claggy.
I hope those old-school Islington folk do pop in to the Brave, because this isn’t pretentious or annoying at all. It’s food prepared and cooked to the highest standard (not hyperbole) being sold at reasonable (for central London) prices. How nice to have James knocking round the neighbourhood again.
The vibe A slick foodie pub halfway down Essex Road. It’s a big, old room so the atmosphere is surprisingly chilled. No complaints here.
The food Creative, exactingly executed flavour bombs raining down on you from the Brave’s open kitchen.
The drink Beer and wine. And a great mixologist who’ll make you whatever cocktail you like whether or not it’s on the menu.
Time Out tip The poached oysters are sourced from Carlingford. Not the inferior Whitby Bay. If you know you know.