Heavenly Hake...
March 16, 2009
To everyone's surprise, the bright sun was shining on London yesterday, so we decided to take a stroll in our surrounding area (Crouch End/Muswell Hill).
As we approached the farmers market at Alexandra Palace (that's a separate review), I spotted a pub accross the road and we made a mental note to go back for lunch after a it more strolling.
Downstairs at Victoria Stakes, you feel comfortable in the cosy, traditional surroundings but the flashes of modern twists in decor allow for young/arty/fashiony/media types to fill the place.
It was 3.30pm on a Sunday afternoon, so downstairs was pretty full of post-roast diners. We headed upstairs to the restaurant, where the normal bar menu isn't available.
Set meals were £14 for 2 courses.
To start we shares a fois gras and ham hock terrine, which was served on a warm splitpea hash cake. Absolutely delicious.
My boyfriend opted for the chicken roast as a main (beef had all been gobbled) and I ordered the battered hake and home made chips.
The roast was a good size but maybe one extra potato would have been ideal... The roasted pumpkin on the side was a nice little extra and the chicken was juicy and well seasoned.
The Hake was beautiful! Seriously, I don't usually get excited about fish'n'chips but this was the shizzle! The thin batter was full of flavour and didn't leave you feeling as though you'd just downed a bottle of vegetable oil. The fish was perfectly cooked - melted on the tongue - light and moist.
The hand cut chips were yummy - skins left on! yay!
For dessert we shared the sticky toffee pudding. It was sweet and sticky with some huge dates thrown in for good measure.
All in all, it was a lovely sunday lunch and it kept us full until... well now... (lunch time the following day).
Will definitely be popping back in there.
Keywords: Sunday Roast, pub, crouch end,
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