The Flask, Hampstead. Crunch 8. Filling 2. Egg 0. 

Not to be confused with The Flask on the east side of the park this lovely pub is up in the dizzying heights of Hampstead right in the busy centre but just, tucked a way down an old alley way, with trinkets for sale. 

Aesthetically perfect inside. The pub is in little sections. Front pub, back pub, a dining room which really epitomises the meaning of pub, public house. There is even another entrance to use for the other side of the pub. 

I ordered me egg, I was told it would take 10 minutes as it’s cooked to order, that is in no way a special or standout thing, but standard. Maybe they think otherwise. 

Well, if it was cooked for just 10 minutes, that must be on Spanish time because this thing was very suitable for the pregnant, cooked to buggery. 

This is the first egg to get no marks at all. I won’t go to much in to it as there’s no point. 

A truly rubbish egg. How could any chef, with an ounce of pride let that leave his kitchen? Get some passion back and don’t just treat it as something you can just throw out the kitchen. 

Awful.   

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Ealing Park Tavern, Ealing. Crunch7, filling 7, egg 8. 

This is a special pub. Although not located in the nicest area, what they’ve done with the place, especially in the recent refurb is of a next level. 

I would go as far to say that this is one of the most beautiful, original, and all sense satisfying creations in the country. 

You are greeted by a long wooden bar with stools to boot. Atop the bar are loads of lovely pumps supplying all sorts of gorgeous nectar. The fridges are packed with even more. I picked my head up and had a look around. To the right of the entrance is a beautiful little nook, almost carved out of the pub, with 4 sets of armchairs and an open log fire. Walk through and there’s a restaurant with an open kitchen and another fire. 

Back to the bar and there are lots of tables without being cluttered. On the walls are deer heads and towards the back I walk past a fire place and it opens up again to yet more space. I can see a garden, I walk through the last part of the indoors and pass by another fire. 

There’s a huge outside area with lots of booths and seating. But hang on, what’s this? Something very special, the pub has its own brewery and makes its own beer. You must be joking I said to myself. The barman told me that they in fact had their beers at the Ealing Beer Festival that very day, I obviously went there later on. 

The egg that greeted me was monstrous. Easily the biggest I’ve had, and then some. 

The crunch wasn’t bad but the age old mistake of letting the bottom go soggy was in play here. The filling was interesting, it had some nice herbs and the venison had good flavour. Although the egg was a bit ugly it was nice and runny and was seasoned nicely. 

A really good effort in a magnificent pub.   

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The Bull and Last, Highgate. Crunch 5, egg 5, filling 5. 

Located just opposite to an east side entrance to Hampstead Heath on a main road. It has a few table benches outside and some hanging baskets. I really liked the wooden interior and the old style bar pumps, I mean I really liked them. 

The eggs caught my eye perched upon the bar still whole. I ordered one with a brew I have not heard of. 

The egg was unique so far in the fact that the meat itself was pink, pure pink. It looked of but I knew that crunch wouldn’t suffice. 

Crunch as expected was a bit thin. It sort of snapped more than crunch. The egg was ok I suppose but where on earth was the yolk? There was less than a spoon full, my guess is it ran down the sides when cutting. Filling was odd, had a weird texture and was bland. 

Average. 

  

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The Sun Inn, Barnes. Crunch 7, egg 8, filling 7. 

The Sun is a lovely pub, set overlooking Barnes pond with Swans waddling around and cheery pregnant women walking in much the same fashion. 

The outside area has been recently improved. What once was a car park is now a courtyard with an abundance of space with a pretty little bowls green to the side through an open door. 

Inside is cosy and in keeping with the local feel. Lots of interesting beers to choose from including Erdinger and Blue Moon. I had the former with my egg. 

So the egg. It was served in an old tin bowl which I liked. Appearance wise it was very nice all over. A garnish of watercress really added colour but alas, the same ole HP was laughing at me. 

It had a good crunch for the most part but succumbed to a common flaw, the bottom was a bit soggy. This happens when put on a baking tray instead of a grill. If this is rectified the crunch would have been closer to a 9. The yolk was very runny but the white was not quite set. The filling was a little hot so over cooked a touch, I suggest lowering the temp of the oven by 10c to let the egg white cook and not let the meet over cook. 

Top effort in another Castle pub. 

7.4/10

  

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The White Horse, Parsons Green. Crunch 7. Egg 3. Filling 6. 

Incredible beer selection, egg not quite there. 

It was a gorgeous sunny day in a pretty little upmarket area. The pub looks wonderful inside, with two grand barrels of Pilsner Urquell standing tall near the entrance. More beer than you could shake a stick at and plenty of staff, knowledgeable staff too. 

The garden was packed but I just managed to grab a table as someone was leaving. I ordered a German Weiss beer and you know what. 

It came out accompanied by HP again, served on a slate, which is probably what most pubs in the area utilise, well I get that feeling. Upon first look I could see the egg was over done. It had a very peppery filling and the bitter leaves intensified that flavour, maybe too much. The egg itself was heavily peppered and had no real signs of life. A slight run in the middle but that’s it. Crunch was nice from the panko but that was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing snack in an expensive pub. 

5/10. £5.  

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The Sands End, SW6. Crunch 8. Filling 8. Egg 7.   

Ready on the bar. 

Sat next to generously sized sausage rolls on the bar, these scotch eggs must lure so many punters in to buying them when not even on the mind. 

Once ordered they are quartered in to nice bite sized pieces. Don’t like the fact that it’s served with ketchup which came in to contact with two bits thus tainting it a bit. It really doesn’t need that considering how nice they are. 

The egg is nicely seasoned and considering they hadn’t just come out of the oven were nice and lovely. The pork had a sweetness to it which I liked and the breadcrumbs were panko giving it a nice thick crunch. Top marks for a bar sat snack. Would recommend it highly. £5 though. 

Side note, I might have had a little nibble before I remembered to takes photo.  

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The Botanist, Kew. Crunch 7. Filling 6. Egg 7. 

Good effort. 
I liked this one. I noticed straight away that this pub was clearly a sister of the Garden Gate which I reviewed recently. The menu was the same but everything else was different. The barman attentive and enthusiastic about the beer (which was all on), the place was clean and most importantly the egg was a different class.
A real looker, with a little bed of rocket and a golden runny yolk. The egg could have used some salt to finish and lost a couple of marks as the white wasn’t completely set. The meat was delicious and was held in by a generous albeit a tad thin layer of crunch. I would however like to see them use real breadcrumbs and forget the run of the mill HP. 7 on 10.   

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Harwood Arms, Fulham. Crunch 10. Filling 10. Egg 10. 

The Harwood Arms is the only Michelin star pub in London. It’s round the back streets of Fulham near to the Chelsea ground. It’s a nice looking pub on the inside but funnily enough nothing special on the outside at all. 

They have an extensive wine list delivered in a book. The beers are nice and mostly local as possible and priced as any other pub in the area, which is nice. 

The staff could do with an incredible amount of work, simply they are not good. 

I ordered me egg and when it arrived I welled up. Such beauty, such uniform perfection. When nobody was looking I gave it a quick kiss such was the appeal. Yes, I kissed my egg. I cut in to it and I nearly fainted. The most golden, liquid, bluh, I can barely describe, I could wax lyrical on its appearance all day. The taste, oh come on, just stop it, what have they put in this thing? Well, venison, other than that it’s probably a close guarded secret, as this is Michelangelo’s David , De Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Rooney’s over head bicycle kick, a masterpiece in its own right never to be matched by anyone for all of time. 

To quote Martin Tyler, “I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again

    

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