The Clarence Tavern — Restaurant in London

Don't even know where to start, this is pretty much my idea of a perfect establishment!

One of the best wine lists I've ever seen, almost all natural wines with plenty to choose by the glass, and most importantly, completely reasonably priced! I could spend months exploring the depths of it.

Then there's the food....aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh the FOOD! Nothing try hard about this; just good, honest, wholehearted and bloody delicious. The menu is seasonal and ever changing, I've been in several times since lockdown, and there are always new dishes on the menu. Everything I've ever ate here has been truly out of this world; when you order a dish that simply says "Deep fried beans and pickled walnut ketchup" and it blows your socks off so hard that you don't know what hit you...you know you've found somewhere special! Plus...hands down...the best steak and chips I've ever had!

But most important of all, the service is incredible. Everyone is not only so obviously pumped and proud to work there, but they are all so knowledgable and lovely, it's really refreshing to see. They remember a face and are always warm and welcoming: it feels a bit like Cheers at times really.

They even run a shop from the front selling Neal's Yard Cheese, Monmouth Coffee, Brindisa products, the most ridiculous meat, all their wine at off-sale prices and heaps loads of amazing staples for the kitchen. It's come in as a life saver on many an occasion.

I wish I was local to Stoke Newington, which has probably gone up in the UN's World Happiness Report with the arrival of this place! Anyone who lives there is lucky to have this as their local...I'm jealous... might just move into the cellar if...

We’ve dined at The Clarence twice in the past 6 months and sadly both times the food and service were underwhelming. On our most recent visit we were hoping to have a pie but they’d run out (which is excusable but disappointing) so we had the rib of beef instead. We had it on our first visit and it was overcooked and tough so we sent it back but were met with quite a defensive reception. We were left feeling very disappointed but decided to give them a second chance given the excellent reviews both from the public and press.

Our second visit was better but we requested the rib of beef be cooked rare and it was still medium-rare/medium which is just a shame given the cut of meat. There was no check-back during the meal and when the plates were cleared they didn’t ask whether everything was satisfactory.

There were positives and I hate writing a negative review so I would like to highlight how excellent the starter was as well as the potato dauphinoise that came with the beef and the sticky toffee pudding. Hopefully we’ve just been very unlucky twice but all I’d advise is that you don’t go for the rib of beef!

UPDATE:

We went back with all fingers and toes crossed and had a fabulous meal. The service was excellent. Everyone was so attentive and friendly. We had a pie which was exceptional. They’ve got a great wine list too. Really glad to be able to update this review as I hate...

Came here after we disappointedly poked our heads around the door at the Red Lion. This place is buzzing. Various settees and objet d'art make this pub very homely indeed. Seems like the local parents group (upstairs) and dog owners (garden) clubs agree - can only be good for business. The punters are lively, chatty and happy which is an exact match for the bar team who were great and extremely helpful. The wasp I dispatched in a napkin was removed with a wry smile - say no more. There are only a couple of cask ales :( but at least they were there. Other beers are craft and the usual lagers. Not meant as a pub comparison by any means, but my children wanted something different to fruit juice/water/fizzy drink so I asked for a Virgin Mary. It was the best VM I've seen or tasted. It had all the trimmings including a stick of celery and spices in and around the rim of the glass. Brilliant. Something you don't often see is English tapas on the menu, but here this is what dominates the menu. Other than that, there are half a dozen mains and the same of desserts. We opted for half a rack of ribs and chicken burger from the mains menu. Neither could be faulted, the ribs were particularly succulent. Chips were nice, large (not French) and crispy. Looking for an excuse to come back here and trying the many tapas dishes. Best pub around Stoke...