Northcote Pub Review
The Northcote pub in Battersea has recently re-opened following a refurbishment. Known predominately as a sports bar, the refurb has breathed fresh, younger life into the pub. From what we saw tonight, this has been successful.
The pub has wooden floors with wooden tables, hardback or cushioned seats and a couple of lounge chairs. The bar fills one side of the room and of prominent place on the opposite wall is a picture of a man who has had pie thrown at his face. There was some live music and the downstairs area was buzzing with atmosphere.
To celebrate there were Aperol Spritz available at a table in the middle of the bar. A thirst-quenching drink, it was a lovely way to start the evening. This was followed with a delicious mini Expresso Martini, one of my absolute favourite cocktails of all time. The full cocktail is on the menu.
A mini Passion Fruit Martini was also available, and is on the menu. This is essentially a pornstar martini, but has been renamed as many young adults are uncomfortable with the term ‘pornstar’. It is a simple but tasty cocktail featuring Absolut Vanilla vodka, sugar syrup, passionfruit purée and a prosecco chaser. You could definitely taste the tropical fruit in this, creating a burst of flavour and a refreshing drink.
An upstairs room called The Common Room was advertised as being a quieter room, but given there is a bar here and a cocktail masterclass was going on, this too was a lively atmosphere which was enjoyable. However, during the masterclass it was difficult to hear the hosts describe the process and the different tonics we should chose to compliment our flavours.
Despite the difficulties in hearing, the masterclass hosted by Tanqueray gin and Fever Tree tonic water was the most interesting and fun part of the evening. Tanqueray gin uses juniper, licorice, Angelica root and coriander to create a sweet and savoury taste. It’s simplicity and versatility means you can play around with the herbs, spices and fruits to create differing tastes. While I’d done masterclasses before normally everyone is creating the same drink. This time we could chose our own ingredients and it was amazing to see the colours and shades of each personalised cocktail. I used apple, orange, hibiscus flower, juniper berries, rosemary and cinnamon. Our mixture was put into an individual container along with a double shot of Tanqueray gin and gas was added to infuse the ingredients and create a cocktail in a record amount of time. Normally the flavours would infuse for more than a day, but this was done in under a minute. Mine came out a deep red and I garnished it with some apple and rosemary, and added Indian tonic water.
Fortunately I shared the masterclass with four lovely locals who frequented the pub and who agreed they’d be going back another day to enjoy the pub. It was fascinating to see the colours of their cocktails, with a lighter yellow showing their favour of citrus such as lemon, or a lighter pink indicating a hint of chilli. Id definitely recommend a masterclass like this to all gin lovers.
The Northcote has a great cocktail, gin, rum, craft and draught beer, cider and wine menu to cater to all tastes. It prides itself on serving fresh, British food from brunch to dinner. The menu includes charred Welsh lamb chops served with cream fennel and girolle mushrooms and bulgar wheat and butternut squash salad topped with walnuts and pomegranates. For the full menu please check out the website.
Located a short walk from Clapham Junction Station, the Northcote is situated on the corner of Northcote Road and Battersea Rise. It is a great location for afterwork drinks or weekend chill-outs.
For events check out the Northcote website.
Address: The Northcote, 2 Northcote Road, Battersea, London, SW11 1NT
Phone: 0207223 5378
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.thenorthcote.co.uk
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheNorthcotePub
Instagram: thenorthcotesw
Twitter: @TheNorthcoteSW
Written by Caitlin Neal
