The Clerk & Well

The Clerk & Well Pub & Restaurant in Clerkenwell serves delicious food and drinks in one of the oldest pubs in Central London.

Pop in and enjoy the freshly prepared food menus offering pub classics elevated to a new level. The carefully curated range of cocktails will both surprise and delight, alongside their signature gin that’s skilfully infused on-site at our bar. They have eight boutique hotel rooms,  ideal to unwind in after a day of sightseeing or meetings.

For events the dining room has a capacity of up to 24 guests and is perfect for any occasion, from business lunches to birthday dinners. Set menus are available on request. For Christmas, they are an ideal choice for work parties with a canapé reception or a three-course sit down dinner.

Review

The Clerk & Well Pub, conveniently located moments away from Farringdon and Chancery Lane tube stations, is one of the best historic pubs around. Suitable for drinks after work, a sit-down meal, or cocktails with friends this newly refurbished gastro pub is quite the catch-up spot.

The endearing yet stylish dining room, is adorned with dark wood furnishings, subdued lighting, dainty candlelight’s, chic booths and a grand fireplace. In the evenings the dining room tucked around the back, where we were sat, felt rather cosy and intimate. But not so secluded that we couldn’t hear the uplifting ambience from those nattering over drinks.

This pub certainly goes beyond that of just a drinking den as this pub is definitely a food pub. To start with we tried the buffalo burrata with pesto which I must say was so deliciously creamy with the peas, asparagus and sugar snaps adding some crunch to the dish. We also had the roasted chickpea & sesame hummus with baby heritage carrots, sea salted crackers, pomegranate and sumac. As a big hummus fan, I have to say this was some of the best hummus I have ever tasted. The baby heritage carrots and sea salted crackers was also a nice alternative to bread.

What everyone loves most has to be the beloved classic pub grub. And for mains that is certainly what we were offered but with a slight twist. The five-bean Madagascan chocolate chilli was so tasty and was accompanied well with the coconut rice, pickled walnut, avocado cream and toasted corn tortillas. This was a great vegetarian option and it was nice to see how they put some real thought into their meat free dishes. The stacked-up Beef burger with the onion ring and smoked Cheddar was most certainly a showstopper in which we could see others drooling over the same delicious dish. The triple cooked chips were cooked perfectly so that they were fluffy on the inside. Afterwards, the Dessert that came was so generous in size. We tried the Sticky toffee pudding with banana split ice cream and salted caramel sauce as well as the hot fudge brownie sundae. Both were so divine and filling. Perfect comfort food to leave us feeling satisfied. Just the most warming perfect desserts for cold evenings and rainy afternoons in London.

As for the drinks, we tried the Honey & Mint Colada and the Roasted Strawberry & Rhubarb Crumble Martini. Both drinks I hadn’t come across before but definitely a drink I would love to have again. The chilled wine, which complimented our dinner well, was equally as nice and reasonably priced.

Overall, the presentation was outstanding and if you’re looking to impress, they certainly won’t let you down.