Meal: Dinner, dine in…read more
All Ratings out of 10:
Quality of food: 8
Food to Spend Value: 8
Quality of Service: 8
Overall Rating: 8
It was my last night in London, and a group of coworkers were looking to go somewhere with great food. I am a sucker for gastropubs, and when searching for places in Hammersmith I noticed great reviews for The Stonemason's Arms. It also came highly recommended from one of the locals. They had a number of interesting sounding menu items, so we decided to head there for dinner.
In true gastropub style, the menu is quite varied with some unique options. We decided to split one of the sharing boards and went for the Fish Board. It included Devon crab on toast, shell-on king prawns, London Porter smoked salmon, and mussels and clams. The Devon crab was essentially a crab spread on pieces of toast. Both the crab itself and the toast were tasty. The prawns had the "looking at you" vibe, complete with shell, eyes, etc. This meant there was a bit of work getting them ready to eat, but they were also done quite well with a very nice flavor. The smoked salmon was quite nice, with a good smoky flavor that really brought out the salmon. The mussels and clams were a bit different and almost tasted poached. I was expecting more of a boil, so they ended up not being my favorite, but they were still prepared quite well.
Several of the mains sounded good, but after poring over the menu for a bit I finally settled on the lamb shoulder. It was a Hampshire lamb shoulder that had been slow braised for 12 hours and served over broccoli, tomatoes, and Jersey royals. The lamb was fall off the bone tender and had a great flavor. The accompaniments were also well-prepared and complemented the lamb nicely. I would have maybe liked the portion size to be a bit larger, but for the price it was quite good.
I had room for dessert, and I decided to try the Treacle Tart, something I had never had before. It had a nice molasses flavor and finished off my dinner perfectly.
The Stonemason's Arms has a bit of a fancier pub feel, with lots of beer options and quite the crowd as the night wore on. The service was great and very helpful in answering many of the questions we had. The food came out quickly and fresh, and the quality and bang for your buck was great. The Stonemason's Arms is quite a bit different than anywhere I have been in the US, but I quite enjoyed it and hope to return in the future.