Review: The Alice House, West Hampstead

kiri | 14th April 2016

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By Tom Gatehouse
@tragatehouse
tomgatehouse.com

The tagline for this duo of Central London gastropubs reads, “Glamourous, Intimate Dining”. This is a bit like calling your trusted local market a world leading smorgasbord of international delicacies. I hope The Alice House doesn’t have too many punters coming through the door looking for something akin to a Michelin-starred affair.

What they’ll find is an interior full of swagger and energy, laughter and drinks galore. Chic, modern and with a distinctly alternative vibe. Found either in West Hampstead or in Queens Park, The Alice House is a place for cocktails, for craft beer, and for hearty pub food.

Exposed brick for skin, flaking like chunks of chalk, with a flurry of wires leading to dim filament bulbs reaching out of the ceiling like a giant spider’s web; the West Hampstead site is certainly impressive. We sat at the side on a packed late Saturday afternoon, thumbing the cocktail menu.

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We’d heard tell of a new batch of cocktails to usher in the Spring, but were immediately side-tracked by the beer. I’d never tried the Wolfpack lager, and my companion hadn’t even heard of Fourpure Oatmeal Stout.

The stout was the more interesting of the two, being oatmeal-y. Slightly sweet and much lighter on the palate when compared to other stouts – we both considered this to be the best use of oatmeal we’d seen.

With the wooden tables and chairs tiptoeing to the vibrations made by the bouncy clientèle, we grabbed a food menu and thought it best to attempt a moment of the glamour and intimacy we’d been so promised.

A classic British beef burger with hand cut chips caught my companion’s eye, while I ventured towards one of their lighter bites, a scotch egg. I had been making the venison meat variety all week at the restaurant I work in and was intrigued to see what they made of it.

Sure enough, they’d aced it, with the perfect soft-boiled egg oozing all over the shop. My companion, dipping his chips into my rogue yolk, scoffed the burger down with relish. Well, pickle. Top nosh to get the night going, and to usher in the cocktails at long last.

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The Alice House has seven springy new cocktails to try and I, being a whiskey deviant, went straight for the Liberty Sour. This was Monkey Shoulder, lemon, Liberty Spirit syrup, liquorice and egg white – and it was great! A soft sour offering that deserved to be sipped slowly on their veranda with a smoke. I had recently returned from Calais and the refugee jungle (long story) and I was bristling with French tobacco.

My buddy joined me with The Duke. A cocktail of Absolut vodka, apple, cinnamon, lemon, almond syrup and fennel seeds. We both spread out under the heaters and discussed the fact that I’ve to this day never seen a film with Daniel Day-Lewis in it.

We continued the conversation (me agreeing to watch ‘There Will Be Blood’ by the time we next meet up) with a Somerset Fizz – Five year old Somerset cider brandy, masala chai syrup, lemon, cider and another dollop of egg white – and a wonderfully refreshing Pear & Tarragon Bellini.

What a cool place to wind down after a long day at the office. Good food, fun cocktails and full of life. What more do want on a late Saturday afternoon in Spring?

Here’s hoping my Grandma, who lives round the corner, hasn’t ventured in looking for hake and parsley mousse.

The Alice House, West Hampstead
Address: 283-285 West End Ln, London NW6 1RD
Phone020 7431 8818
Websitewww.thealicehouse.co.uk
Twitter: @alicehouseWH

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