Ted goes global

… everyone knows about Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre right … well do you know about the Globe Tavern another homage to the Bard a few minutes’ walk from the Theatre.

It’s had a chequered history of course as have many of the places south of the Thames or “the river” as the locals say. The building came out unscathed from the 1901 expansion of the Railway arches across Borough Market and has just recently emerged from an exterior clean and make over looking stunning and very much a well-preserved piece of its time and place in history. Now of course the ground level bar serves very on trend craft beer and a range of hand distilled gins. But it’s upstairs where the real gem lays, so far known only to a handful of real appreciators of good food and wine … so to my own detriment I may be letting the cat out of the bag here. Luke Hawkins does chefing things in the handsome space that is the restaurant upstairs at the Globe and he’s got “previous form” having worked in the kitchens of some of the big names in the UK food scene. Here and now he’s stamping his own mark in a most delicious way.

Autumn is here and winter is knocking on the door so what better excuse could there be for a trip upstairs at the Globe for a late Sunday lunch. A small very simply described (finally and thank goodness) menu … but I wanted everything … would I have cauliflower, date, yeast and vacherin or game terrine with quince jelly or the calf’s brains with capers, parsley and sourdough? The Doll opted for red snapper with pepper and courgette and pronounced it delicious and cooked by someone who “understood cooking fish”. My cauliflower was an amazing burst of flavour followed by a deep savoury love affair.

On Sundays in the UK of course it’s always about roast lunches (or dinner as some regions call it). Luke naturally offers this but more importantly he also provides other options on his 4 choices main menu. Squash, pearly barley, goats curd and sage for the vegetarians of this world and seabass, mussels, kale and white wine sauce. I went for the roast beef and it was perfectly rare and succulent as beef should be … reminding the usual accompaniments that no matter how good they are that “I’m the MAIN course”. 

What could I do then other than follow it up with ginger cake, poached pears and clotted cream for desert. The wine list is similarly small and perfectly formed … including some good pudding wines. This is food and beverage loved in tandem … and now I’ve just given away something that TripAdvisor will never appreciate …