Whenever I’m away on a big holiday, I always plan something to look forward to when I’m back. You know, to soften the blow a bit. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, but something like a pizza date with my favourite American gal pal seemed perfect.
Ashley and I arranged to catch up at the Marquis of Wellington* – a corner situated pub on Druid Street in Bermondsey that opened in November. On a Tuesday in January, it obviously was pretty quiet, but maybe patrons were just waiting for the Harry Potter quiz they had scheduled for the next day. Note to self: always check the pub quiz schedule before booking a table.
The pub’s menu is exclusively limited to pizza and garlic bread, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t choice. We started with garlic breads which aren’t just your bog standard variety; our options came with spicy nduja sausage and another with grilled aubergine (I for one am glad that they are the apparent food trend for 2017 because I’d eat them all day, everyday!). It’s quality that shapes the beer menu too – focusing on local brews above what you’d expect to find anywhere else.
I don’t know about you but I think pizza is getting a bit convoluted these days, which is ridiculous because it’s a pretty basic meal. Sourdough base this, artisan toppings that – sometimes it seems impossible to just get one that does what is expected. Enter: Marquis of Wellington.
There’s the option to add extra toppings so of course, we indulged. I went for the mushroom, spinach and black truffle variety, and added extra cheese and prosciutto, and Ashley had a margherita with added nduja (because it was so good on the garlic bread, it only seemed right to order more).
The mushrooms on my pizza were a little sloppy so I ended up removing some of them, but the kick of black truffle was so good with the extra cheese which was stringy and perfectly salty. Stone baked in the custom made oven inside the pub itself, the pizzas aren’t just thrown together without proper thought, there’s consideration put into every topping.
The Marquis of Wellington is the sort of pub that I love to find in London. Carefully crafted food and drink means the personality is chilled out and relaxed; unpretentious but considered.
My meal was complimentary but all opinions are my own
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