Adam and Eve Pub Review

The best pub grub in East London, find it at Adam and Eve

This week I had the pleasure of photographing some of the finest pub grub I’ve seen around London for a while. Whilst looking for a sustainable foodie project to cover for the E9 magazine I write a monthly column for, I came across Adam and Eve, a recently restored Edwardian pub based in Homerton, East London. They have fresh seasonal produce delivered to the kitchen straight from the farm daily through the Cornwall Project and grow a small amount of vegetables and herbs in their back garden. They are blessed with an excellent kitchen team lead by head chef Michael Harrison and Sous Chef Jody McConnachie who carries Michelin star restaurant experience.

Cornwall Project

Through the Cornwall Project lead by Matt Chatfield Adam and Eve are able to offer the best of Cornwall’s fresh from the farm produce including rare breed grass fed beef and organic vegetables. Because they are dealing directly with the food producers they have inside knowledge on what is tasting best that week, what there is an abundance of and are able to make specific requests. By cutting out the middle men not only do the farmers themselves benefit by getting a fair price but the pub is able to offer organic high welfare quality food at an accessible price. The average special main dish at the Adam and Eve comes in at around £10.

Five years in the running, the Cornwall Project aims to help establishments provide sustainable high quality food that is accessible to everyone and not just the elite. It intends to support and grow the local Cornish community by providing a demand for traditional husbandry, independent butchers, dairies and green grocers.

The Adam and Eve pride themselves on providing the best and freshest ingredients possible. They already have their own kitchen garden providing lettuces, rocket and herbs which can be collect fresh hours before they are served on the plate. Looking forward into next year they plan to introduce root vegetables into the plot too.

Quite the advocate for tradition they even house their own curing and smoke house so they can have greater control over how and what charcuterie is produced. During 2015 they plan to add a hanging shed to experiment with hanging different cuts that will be unique to Adam and Eve.

The Food

The establishment features a daily specials board based around the fresh produce which has arrived that day. As you will know from my previous blog post celery, celeriac and red cabbage are in season right now and so it was not a surprise to find all three of these featuring on their specials board. I’m not really a massive fan of celery but I absolutely LOVED their braised celery with sautéed celeriac, blue cheese, sprout tops and celery butter dish.

Braised Celery with saute celeriac, blue cheese, sprout tops and celery butter | Client: Adam and Eve Pub

Another delicious menu item on the specials board was the Pork belly with mash, red cabbage and apple jus. The dish featured an impressive slice of crackling and the mash was the creamiest and dreamiest mash potato I have ever had the pleasure of eating!

Pork belly with mash potato, red cabbage and apple jus | Client: Adam and Eve Pub

And from their regular daily menu, this beautiful burger. But this burger was no ordinary burger, this was a prime steak burger topped with real cheese and served on a bun with incredible chunky chutney. I never order burgers because they are usually disappointing, low quality and simply not worth the calories or fat. This one however, was something else entirely, I would advise you save plenty of room for it though! I could only manage to eat just a couple of the delicious thick cut crispy chips it came served with.

Prime steak burger served with thick cut chips | Client: Adam and Eve Pub

Next time I’m in the area I will definitely be dropping by for a spot of lunch or dinner. It’s a great bar to stop by in just for a drink too. Working with the Cornwall project they often promote Cornish ales and ciders while boasting a fine wine list too if that’s more your tipple. It’s quite a roomy place with lots of little nooks and crannies, comfy sofas, a pool table and an outside garden area with heat lamps during the colder months.

Here’s a link to their website where you can find out more about them and follow the Cornwall Project on their Twitter Page.