Tasting Britain
TastingBritain.co.uk - The Fire Station, 150 Waterloo Road, Waterloo, London
The exceptionally exceptional and most lovely Su-Lin Ong (general PR supremo and head at @sloLondon) invited Tasting Britain down to an old (and recently refurbished) Waterloo landmark, The Fire Station - at 150 Waterloo Road. Just up the road from the most legendary Old Vic theatre, and off of the back of a one year, multimillion pound rework, The Fire Station is BACK, and looking slick as a mofugga. As you may imagine, it was originally a fire station (I'm pretty sure it's listed, because from the outside it appears quite unchanged from itâs more âfunctional' past). It gained something of a cult following in the 1980s as a gastropub (opened by a guy called Trevor Gulliver, who went on and did lots of other things) before its recent acquisition and reopening by Revere Pub Company.
As for the food? The menu is a striped down selection of STRONG burgers and (wood fired) pizzas on the main part. Best pizza yet? Smoked mackerel, king prawns, mascarpone topped with a soft boiled egg. Tuff. Burger recommendation? The 'Black & Gold' with black pudding & double cheese. Also tuff. They're also open for breakfast and offer 'speciality' coffee to take-out. They've teamed up with caravan coffee, who I am told roast small batches for The Fire Station daily (I'm nt sure if this happens onsite or not). As for booze-like drinks, a pretty reasonable selection of craft ales, plus cocktails that are smoked onsite (in keeping with the 'fire' theme). For example - a rather tasty Old Fashioned made with Bulleit bourbon, housemade cinnamon syrup and smoked with oak chips. Also tuff. Smoke is the theme.
How about the decor? It also plays to the smoke/fire/fire station theme - fire hydrants hanging from the ceiling as lighting fixtures, hydraulic pipes and valves as coat hangers, flame retardant suits in strange places (lol). It could be a level in Doom II (minus the hellfire, demons and bleeding sky). I think I used to spend too much time playing Doom, since many of the places I end up at resemble levels from Doom *tails off*. During my time there, I ate about 17435 tiny slices of their glazed lemon tart (i don't normally go for lemon things, or lemon tarts - so I donât really know what's wrong with me). Another good thing? It's also a few minutes away from Waterloo station, which means, obviously, staying 'til the last minute - even on school nights. Especially on school nights :3
TastingBritain.co.uk - The Fire Station, 150 Waterloo Road, Waterloo, London
The exceptionally exceptional and most lovely Su-Lin Ong (general PR supremo and head at @sloLondon) invited Tasting Britain down to an old (and recently refurbished) Waterloo landmark, The Fire Station - at 150 Waterloo Road. Just up the road from the most legendary Old Vic theatre, and off of the back of a one year, multimillion pound rework, The Fire Station is BACK, and looking slick as a mofugga. As you may imagine, it was originally a fire station (I'm pretty sure it's listed, because from the outside it appears quite unchanged from itâs more âfunctional' past). It gained something of a cult following in the 1980s as a gastropub (opened by a guy called Trevor Gulliver, who went on and did lots of other things) before its recent acquisition and reopening by Revere Pub Company.
As for the food? The menu is a striped down selection of STRONG burgers and (wood fired) pizzas on the main part. Best pizza yet? Smoked mackerel, king prawns, mascarpone topped with a soft boiled egg. Tuff. Burger recommendation? The 'Black & Gold' with black pudding & double cheese. Also tuff. They're also open for breakfast and offer 'speciality' coffee to take-out. They've teamed up with caravan coffee, who I am told roast small batches for The Fire Station daily (I'm nt sure if this happens onsite or not). As for booze-like drinks, a pretty reasonable selection of craft ales, plus cocktails that are smoked onsite (in keeping with the 'fire' theme). For example - a rather tasty Old Fashioned made with Bulleit bourbon, housemade cinnamon syrup and smoked with oak chips. Also tuff. Smoke is the theme.
How about the decor? It also plays to the smoke/fire/fire station theme - fire hydrants hanging from the ceiling as lighting fixtures, hydraulic pipes and valves as coat hangers, flame retardant suits in strange places (lol). It could be a level in Doom II (minus the hellfire, demons and bleeding sky). I think I used to spend too much time playing Doom, since many of the places I end up at resemble levels from Doom *tails off*. During my time there, I ate about 17435 tiny slices of their glazed lemon tart (i don't normally go for lemon things, or lemon tarts - so I donât really know what's wrong with me). Another good thing? It's also a few minutes away from Waterloo station, which means, obviously, staying 'til the last minute - even on school nights. Especially on school nights :3