I’m hungry. It’s early Friday evening and the Marquis of Wellington in Druid Street, south London, is already bustling. However, the list of orders for pizza hanging next to the chef suggests I could be in for a long wait.
The Marquis sits in the middle of the Bermondsey Beer Mile, the string of beer bars and microbreweries stretching east of London Bridge. But now the local market stalls have closed for the day, eating options are slim.
Thankfully there’s an alternative – Thelo, which specialises in Greek street food, is parked directly outside the pub’s front door. Even better, after buying one of its tasty souvlaki wraps I can eat it back at my table outside the pub, with a pint of the local, citrusy Anspach & Hobday’s Pale Ale – so local, in fact, that it’s brewed opposite.
In some places this might not go down too well with the landlord, but here it’s actively encouraged thanks to British Street Food’s Pub Takeover. The initiative aims to bring bars and street food traders together to create the perfect combination of liquid refreshment and hearty sustenance. So far, it’s working a treat.
Two years ago the Marquis was just another local that looked to have had its day. And when it closed down it looked like it would never return. But then the Bermondsey Pub Company arrived, took over the pub and breathed new life into it, tapping into the local beer scene. It’s smart, well run and attracts a youngish crowd, but any suggestion that it’s just another hipster fad is dismissed by the locals, who have embraced the place since it reopened.
Alex Abrey, the Marquis of Wellington’s assistant manager, tells me how street food has helped the pub: “Rather than just be a pub sat in the middle of the scene here, we wanted to embrace it along with the local street food culture. We’re not really geared up to serve loads of food, so we had the idea of offering vendors space on the pavement outside so people could stay and enjoy the atmosphere, or take a break on their trip down the Mile.
“British Street Food helped us reach out to the traders and we’ve had a changing food roster running since October. People love it, they see all the activity, smell the aroma of the barbecues and they stick around.”
In the past few months, the pub has given space to traders such as the Raclette Brothers, who do amazing things with melted cheese, potatoes, prosciutto and cornichon pickles. Try a portion with a traditional lambic beer (brewed in Pajottenland, Belgium), such as Gueuze Girardin, or a Flemish red beer, such as Rodenbach. Both have a light flavour that won’t overpower the delicate raclette cheese.
Other traders include Harissa & Lemon, which serves up mouthwatering traditional Moroccan food – match it with a weissbier, or a traditional pale ale, such as Fuller’s ESB; Buddha Bowls, purveyors of healthy veggie noodle dishes – try them with a traditional IPA from Shepherd Neame; and Kurbside Kitchen’s gourmet frankfurters – Anderson Valley’s Summer Solstice goes well here.
Back outside, I chat with Sifi Nikiforos, Thelo’s owner, as he nudges sizzling skewers of tender marinated pork around a grill. Nikiforos came to Britain from Crete to study medical engineering nearly 20 years ago. He began cooking for friends, dabbled in catering and now runs the street food stall with the aim of sharing his passion for the food of his home country. His meats are locally sourced and everything is cooked on site, all lifted by Thelo’s special ingredient: deliciously aromatic oregano from his parents’ village in Crete. “It started as a hobby, but it’s taking up more and more of my time,” he says.
“Coming here has been a real surprise. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the first time we pitched up a few weeks ago we sold double what we expected and I had to run off for more ingredients.” Philippos, his assistant, declares the Marquis, “the best, nicest pub in London – friendly staff, great customers”. The queue forming at their stall suggests that the feeling is mutual.
It’s all music to the ears of Richard Johnson, founder of British Street Food. He launched the scheme in London last winter and is preparing to roll it out nationwide. Johnson saw a gap in the market between the gastropubs and places that wanted to do food, but weren’t equipped to do so. “Not every pub wants the stress, so tapping into the growing street food market is a win-win for everyone,” he says.
“People like variety. Even if a pub serves food, the menu probably doesn’t alter very often. We’ve changed the way we eat and our tastes have broadened. Street food gives people the chance to experiment.”
The initiative has already had its share of success around London. Barbecue specialist Up In My Grill was so popular it’s now taken up permanent residence at the Bloated Mallard in Hampton Hill. The pub serves beers from the local Twickenham Fine Ales microbrewery, including its IPA, Tusk, which goes well with anything smoked and sizzling.
Zoe Adjonyoh, founder of Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, has brought her contemporary take on West African food to Soho with a six-month residency at the Sun & 13 Cantons. The pub serves Kona’s Big Wave, a smooth easy drinking golden ale from Hawaii. Its bright hop aroma and taste goes particularly well with Adjonyoh’s legendary jollof rice with fried chicken.
Back in Bermondsey, the Marquis of Wellington is heaving. An acoustic duo is entertaining the crowds and Thelo is doing a roaring trade. Great beer, great food and a great atmosphere. It’s a wrap.
