The Lord Clyde is a great little pub, which is actually deceivingly large, on the top end of Essex road which doesn't get enough credit. Not only is it a fantastic local, but it also has an unpretentious quirky touch, unlike most gastro pubs seem to have these days. Even though it is very close we don't go there often enough, but the very Californian style menu from the chef and their vast offering of gins has had us going back more and more to check out the new additions.

This weekend we popped in for a quick lunch before hitting the madness shopping mecca that is Oxford Street - so we were in need of something hearty to prepare us for what was to come. Starting off with some drinks, J opted for his usual hangover cure Virgin Mary while I made sure to get my nerves in check with one of their custom G&Ts - they serve all their G&Ts with Fever Tree tonic, which is one of my favorite. This particular combo was a base of Bloom Gin, garnished with grapefruit and basil. Its such a refreshing combination and since trying it here, I have started doing this at home.


Virgin Mary (careful, it kicks!) and Bloom G&T with grapefruit and basil
Next up we decided to tuck straight in skipped starters (although they are always spot on). For once we shared and ended up with a combo of Southern Fried Chicken, fire roast sweet corn, house hot sauce with a side of Mac and Cheese and the Chopped barbecue beef short rib roll with a side of cornbread. The winner here was most definitely the short rib roll. Juice, tender, barbecuey meat with grilled onions on a soft roll. The chicken was quite good, although J found it a bit dry, I thought the crispy battered skin kept the chicken nice and moist. I'm not a big fan of hot sauce so can't comment. Then we come to the sides. Sadly, these didn't really live up to the mains. The mac' n 'cheese was a little sweet, but that could be the type of cheese they used - and the breadcrumb topping just tasted like it had been soaked in olive oil. I only wish the sweetness from the mac and cheese had been in the skillet cornbread. Texture wise it was great, but it was just missing that little hint of sweetness that maybe the corn on its own couldn't deliver.
Southern Fried Chicken and Fire Roasted Sweetcorn

Short Rib Beef Roll

Mac n Cheese

Skillet Cornbread
But this won't put us off from coming back to The Clyde. We've had some other great meals here that included Chiles rellenos (great veggie option), crab arancini, pea and broad bean soup, both from the starters menu. They have a cracking back garden, that when the weather gets better we will be making the most of. They also have a pub quiz on Monday nights, and live music on Wednesdays. And of course, can't leave out the wonderful staff. These guys know what they're doing and treat you as if you were in their home.
Chiles Rellenos
Crab Arancini
Pea and Broad bean soup (hard to photograph)

All in all, if you live around Islington make sure to give this place a visit.

Lord Clyde, 340 – 342 Essex Road, London N1 3PB @The_Lord_Clyde



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