London Fields

In the decade I lived in London, I got to know a fair few pubs pretty well.

Some had been given a lick and a bit of modern polish, but more often than not they had lurid carpets impregnated with decades of spilt beer, a sticky-topped wooden bar and, even after the smoking laws came into being, their own unique pub-fug.

As Brisbane is to London distance-wise, so is London Fields to a London pub design-wise, despite the website claiming it was "inspired by the classic British public houses of yesteryear". Away from the hippie-trippin' incense-burning heart of West End, this freshly opened gastropub at the quieter end of Montague Road inhabits a space of high ceilings with sun-dappled tables and plenty of pale wood. It's more Bondi-meets-Bergen than Battersea.

London Field's owners, along with business partner Jason White, are Tom Sanceau​ and Bonnie Shearston​, who are also behind CBD restaurants Public, Red Hook and Coppa Spuntino. Head chef is Con Tsangaris from Gerard's Bistro, while managing the libations, including overseeing a clever drinks list, is Allan Hunter (ex-E'cco). Between them and Shearston, who keeps an eagle eye on the floor, there's a wealth of experience and it shows, with seamless service on the two busy Fridays we visited.  

There are two seating and eating options: outside is a genteelversion of a beer garden with a bar menu, while inside there is a full menu and tables set beneath waist-height bi-fold windows. 

While the ambience at London Fields may be more bistro than pub, the menu does give a nod to modern British pub grub, with dishes such as roasted bone marrow with thyme and crisp fried onions (buttery-rich but just a touch too salted both times I've had it), smoked sliced tongue with parsley oil and pickled garlic, and sweetbreads on a pea and broadbean puree.

Other dishes take their inspiration from fellow European Union members, such as an Italian-style bowl of parsley sprinkled clams with 'nduja, with a generous heel of Jocelyn's Provisions bread to mop up the lightly spiced, sea-scented juices.

Lamb ribs, meant to be gnawed off the bone, are slightly chewy but tasty, their inherent fattiness redressed by a tangy acid burst from salsa verde.

A word of warning: only the very hungry or greedy should up-size to the slow-cooked oregano lamb shoulder: box-ticking perfection, but so generous we couldn't polish it off between three of us.

Apart from an organic chicken breast with turnips, barley and sorrel, dressed with a light broth of its own juices and vegetables, the other mains – Murray cod with parsley, capers, lemon and brown butter, and a Scotch fillet steak with a head of roast garlic and jus gras – require sides.

This is no hardship. A bowl of excellent shoestring french fries transforms the fillet into steak frites, while a roasted split leek on silky goat's curd sprinkled with leek ash is a new "recreate at home" favourite. Appreciators of the oft-maligned brussels sprouts will love the tenderly cooked young buds tossed with bacon and dill.

Four desserts include a non-traditional Eton Mess, with the strawberries substituted with rhubarb. The strawberries turn up in another dessert – lightly poached in whisky with almond and creme fraiche – a contemporary twist on a dish that heralds the too brief English summer: strawberries and cream.

Extending their operations beyond the CBD is a smart move for Sanceau and Shearston – the immediate vicinity will become a residential hot spot in the next few years and London Fields looks set to become a well-loved local for these new breed of West Enders.