The Owl & Hitchhiker — Restaurant in London

retrospect update for 05/2019

I’ve come back with friends for the Drag Bingo Bottomless Brunch and unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with the experience. The Drag Bingo was great, service staff was quick and attentive and kept the mimosas coming, which was always was a generous helping and they certainly did not save on the bubbles. It definitely justifies the price. However, the food spoiled the whole experience. Our group (of 4) was among the first customers to be seated, and when the waitress took our order everything was still very calm (it got very very busy within a short time afterwards). Two of our group are allergy sufferers and stated their requirements when ordering and the other two had dishes with add-ons. It took quite a long time for our plates to come, and every single order has gone wrong. One dish had the vegan instead of the regular bacon, but my friend kept her dish as she was hungry and didn’t mind the mistake. On two dishes the sides were missing, and my other friend had a side she’s allergic to (which would’ve been the one I requested but we couldn’t swap because of cross-contamination). We sent back the dish with the wrong side and me and my friend were waiting for our sides to be brought additionally but we kept the main. But it took way to long for them to come so I started eating as I was starving (and the mimosas kept coming). When I finally got my side, it was cross-contaminated with bacon, which I did not mind but it might potentially be problematic to someone else. I told the waitress about our discontent and she was very understanding. However, even when places are very busy, when it comes to allergies and cleanliness in the kitchen, I am very picky and I cannot rate a place 5/5 if food is handled that way.

(note: after the brunch I came back for dinner and except for one dish they did not have any dish as a GF option, although they are labelled GF on the menu, due to problems with supplies of ingredients, which, unfortunately, also has not been the first time I’ve experienced that situation.)

04/2019

Best pub in London!

I found this place only recently and came back 4 times within a week because I was so fascinated. Most of the dishes are vegan, with a few additional meat options. Most of the choices are gluten free as well. The meals are flavourful and a good portion size. I’ve had my first Sunday Roast at this pub as they accommodated my gf/df dietary requirements – I cannot put into words how happy I am that they did that!! (they pointed out that due to the small kitchen there is no guarantee for absolutely preventing any cross-contamination; as in every other restaurant). They have a very nice selection of beer (according to my company). Other drinks are the usual ones to find in a pub – cidre, ginger beer (with/without alcohol), spirits and the like. The seacidre (blood orange) was very nice to drink, although it could have been a bit more cooled. The waiters have so far all been very patient regarding all my questions on food allergies and double checked with the kitchen in case some alterations had to be made. I also would like to point out, that one of the male waiters (I unfortunately do not know his name), specifically checked the label of a drink I wanted to order to make sure it is suitable (luckily enough because it turned out not to be the case). Highest compliments to that amount of dedication!! As for the interior, this pub is incredible. I have so far only seen the ground floor, the furniture might easily be from an “Alice in Wonderland” movie set with pinches of retro and “nerdy” stuff (I’ll just give a hint: cutlery boxes). Besides good food and an interior to explore they also offer board games in case one wanted to spend some quality time there. According to their website they also host events on a regular basis. Even if there are no special events, I will definitely be coming back more often as this is a welcoming and charming place with good food and utterly sympathetic, easy-going and dedicated staff. Compliments...

I actually love this pub for all the vegan food it has and the quirky décor and the many events they hold there. In fact, I loved this pub so much I wanted to organise a huge birthday party in their private hire room. We agreed the date with them and put down the deposit relatively quickly (within 5 days of first contacting them) and all was sorted, then I got an email 4 days later saying there 'has been a mix up and the room is no longer available'. They offered to book a small section suitable for 30 people for us in the main pub instead and they'd 'throw in a bottle of bubbly'. This was a party of 70 people, all of whom had been given invitations with the pub's address and taken time off to attend. They cancelled on us AFTER we had already put down the holding deposit of £200 designed specifically so the room is booked and so something like this DOESN'T happen, they suggested we simply go to the pub. There was not a hint of apology whatsoever nor alternatives offered, unless we were willing to move the date of the party (which was not a possibility, since it was a birthday party and since invites had already been sent for the agreed date). Because of the time spent negotiating with them, the event was only 3 weeks away at that point and most of alternative places near by were booked by then. Luckily we found an excellent and reliable venue in Brewhouse Bar and Kitchen about a week later. I have since been told that Owl and Hitchhiker do this with events booked relatively frequently as other people have complained of the same treatment. Go for dinner here, but don't bother organizing an event - they'll cancel on you with no...

This place was good, if you're not here for the food. If you are, don't bother. The decor and games are really cool. Drinks are on the expensive side.

My friend and I ordered four vegan side dishes: Chicken-ish Strips (seitan), Breaded Cauliflower, Vegan Mac 'n Cheese and Chilli Fries. Whoever took the order got it wrong, and we were delivered chicken wings instead of mac 'n cheese which my friend couldn't eat because he's vegetarian. The seitan was totally flavourless, as were the chips, which were completely cold (the waitress was unapologetic about all of this). Our non-vegetarian crowd ate the chicken wings but they were tasteless too. The cauliflower was really nice...but not spectacular enough to counter the rest.

Everything else: the aesthetic is awesome and the history makes it better. There's arcade cabinets and a ping pong table for entertainment, and the music was really, really good - especially when the DJ was on. It was turned up a bit too loud considering the lack of crowd, but overall it was a good vibe.

I'd come here again just for drinks at a special event, but I won't eat the...