Where creative and bold flavours, fresh local ingredients, and a passion for cooking meet.
The modern Pub has to do the basics right to survive and thrive. But that is not all.
It’s not about being a “burger pub” or a “gastro pub” - these are usually false dichotomies.
It’s about being both/and. And doing it consistently. Day-in and day-out.
Our customers find themselves in moments when only a hearty, high quality Pub Classic meal and local Ale fits the bill. At other times they find themselves seeking something light and creative.
The Hope & Anchor Owners and Team strive to deliver both consistently.
We are driven by a pride to make the Pub Classics well , while offering creative and lighter dining options.
Our Approach to Cookery
Below are the key principles which drive our Chef Team daily:
We cook with natural ingredients. We use Extra Virgin Olive oil, quality butters and fresh herbs.
We use “best in class” local butchers (Larkhall & Green Street) and fish suppliers (Wing of St Mawes). We split our buying across suppliers based on their relative strengths.
We love seasonings and flavors. Many establishments under-season their meals. We work diligently to create memorable and creative flavors with every reduction, sauce, jus, gravy and seasoning.
We proudly embrace Pub Classics while offering a good range of modern, lighter and creative variations for lighter dining or vegetarians.
We infuse some North American & European sensibilities where they add to the meal - while respecting the basic definition of the British DNA that defines that particular dish.
We make whatever we can in-house. We now bake our own Anchor Potato Buns 2-3 times a week and make our Desserts in-house.
Continuous improvement and experimentation. We are not perfect, nor are we ever finished improving.
and finally…
Question everything!!
Our journey these past five years in the industry has taught us that what is usually assumed or taken for granted needs to be re-visited.
Too many Pub Chefs have learned to prep and cook in a context where creativity and excellence were not the focus.
We are changing that paradigm and regularly revisiting techniques, ingredients, equipment, and methods of meal prep and in-service cookery to ensure the best quality with consistency - at a price that our customers appreciate. We have held our prices on all Pub Classics at the same level for over 2 years - despite increases in food costs, labour and the like. We will continue to do what we can to ensure that a visit to the Pub is a regular treat.
In challenging economic times our customers deserve to afford an enjoyable “treat” that makes their visit to our Pub time and money well-spent.