Fox and Hounds, Battersea

I think there are two reasons why I have found it difficult to start this blog. The first is that I have read a lot of food blogs in the last couple of months, and I am finding it a bit intimidating.

The second is more prosaic. It is January, and we are attempting to have a detox credit crunch month, which means the food we are eating is unlikely to be very exciting.

Still, we decided January didn’t start until the 5th, when we went back to work. We therefore rewarded ourselves for clearing out the dreaded cupboard under the stairs with Sunday lunch at the Fox and Hounds in Battersea.

This pub is walking distance for us, but somehow I have managed to drink there on several occasions but never eat. I was quite excited, as it is owed/run by the same people as the Atlas in Fulham, where I have had a number of good meals.

It started off well, as I found it almost impossible to choose from the many great sounding things on the menu. In the end we started with what was billed as an antipasti plate to share. I think I would describe the contents as more like meze: merguez sausages with cous cous, tortilla, roast vegetables, very good hummous, and a couple of other things I can’t quite remember. All very good, but when my main course arrived I wished I hadn’t had a starter at all!

A huge chicken breast, swimming with tasty gravy, with butternut ‘smash’ and rocket salad. The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, and all the elements worked really well together. R’s smoked haddock risotto smelt amazing, but I was too intent on my chicken to try it.

We had to go and walk around the Park to try and digest some of it, otherwise I am sure we would have gone home and slept the rest of the afternoon.
I wish this pub was that bit closer to us that it could be a proper local, as it has all of the right ingredients. It is just as nice to have a drink in as to have the excellent food, and it has a small but perfectly formed garden at the back. Perhaps it is best it’s not any closer, as I am sure our wallets would be lighter and we would be heavier!