Anchor & Hope — Restaurant in London

We stopped here to eat yesterday, 5/10/2014, after a flight on the cable car over the Thames and a walk to the Thames Barrier - myself and husband with two friends. The Anchor and Hope had a strange looking but well placed seating area outside and as the weather was so glorious we thought we'd give the pub a go. We were disappointed to be told only Sunday roasts were being served, as we had wanted a snack such as a ploughman's or sandwiches, but by the time we stopped in we were all very hungry and there didn't seem to be anywhere else serving food. The rather grumpy woman behind the bar said we could have pork, beef, lamb or chicken. We asked if there was anything for vegetarians, as self and hubby are, and she said yes, they could serve a vegetarian meal. She was so grumpy I didn't dare ask what the vegetarian option was, but hoped for a tasty nut roast, or perhaps some veggie sausages or a quorn cutlet. You know the vegetarian joke about places that claim to serve vegetarian meals but just leave the meat out of a meal? This was it. We had a plate of potatoes, something we were told was (vegetarian) stuffing, frozen carrots, beans, peas and sprouts, all awash with what we were assured was vegetarian gravy. Oh and we had two soggy Yorkshire puddings as against our friends who had the lamb roasts and only one Yorkshire pudding each. Nothing had any taste or texture and only extreme hunger enabled me to eat any of it. It was the worst meal I have had for a very long time, and we didn't even have the tiny satisfaction of being charged any less for our...

Cheap.. and tastes it sadly. In the area on a day out we decided upon this pub, situated on the river to have lunch. They have a 'day saver menu' where you can choose from a whole host of meals costing only £2.95! Wow! That's excellent value and I was excited to be saving such money up in London. Then the food came. The Fish and Chips had a fish so solid it was a challenge to slice; the Spaghetti Bolognese looks like something from a microwave meal and the 'meat' was avoided; the vegetarian option I chose was 3 vegetable samosas 'rock hard and probably from frozen' with chips (unusual, a change from the usual vegetable lasagne I suppose). You might say 'what can you expect for such low prices' but if a place serves such 'food' then they'll get such a review and these customers not returning. Food aside, the location was fine enough, table outside which overlooked some of the uglier parts of the Thames (not their fault of course) though you can see the O2 and the Dangleway nicely. Inside, it was fine but seemed like being on a set from some 1980s show; an impression confirmed when visiting the toilets (nice and clear) but with various bits of 'glam' decoration littered about the urinal and a host of deos and aftershaves to choose from; the lads might like it on a night...

Came to this friendly riverside pub near the Thames Barrier for second helpings after I had their red Thai curry (£11.95) a while back. It's still on the menu but there was none left. The chef is called Spring and he told me they were making some more. I wasn't in a hurry so I asked if I could wait. He laughed and said, "It takes 3-4 hours to make that". That tells you a lot about the care that is taken in the kitchen where everything is cooked from scratch. Normally I would be wary of a pub menu that flits from Thailand to India by way of Italy as well as the usual burger, gammon and triple cooked chips and steak and ale pie. But the Indian chicken Madras curry I had instead of the red Thai Curry was fantastic. Spring - who is from the Nepali community - opens the kitchen from 12 noon - 8pm seven days a week. It's always looked pretty busy on a Sunday when they do roast dinners - so maybe book ahead if you plan a pitstop here during a walk along the river. The interior is cool and dark and there's a beer terrace with spectacular River views. The Hope & Anchor benefits from being off the beaten track of tourist-swamped Greenwich. Beer...