This is the dish that keeps appearing on Instagram from The Baring. Spiced quail cooked over high heat, served with garlic yoghurt and pul biber (Aleppo-style chilli flakes that add warmth without overwhelming heat). Reviews call it one of the best starters in the area, and it shows the restaurant-level technique Tecwyn brings to a pub kitchen.
Tips from diners
This is the most photographed dish on the menu for a reason. The yoghurt and pul biber make it look striking and taste better than pub food has any right to.
Works well shared between two as a nibble alongside drinks at the bar. You do not need to book the dining room to order food -- the bar stools are walk-in and the bar snacks menu is available.
Feather-light ricotta dumplings that reviewers describe as simultaneously light and comforting. The accompaniments change with the season -- chanterelle mushrooms and pumpkin buttermilk in autumn, broad beans and girolles in summer. The gnudi themselves hold together without being heavy, which is the mark of proper technique.
Tips from diners
The vegetables change with the season, so this dish is worth ordering on repeat visits to see how it evolves. The gnudi base stays the same but the accompaniments make it feel different each time.
They source burrata from La Latteria, a well-regarded Italian dairy. The dish is simple -- burrata split open over ripe tomatoes with charred bread alongside. Reviewers say the quality of the cheese does all the work here, and the grilled bread is the right vehicle for scooping up the creamy centre.
Tips from diners
Best in summer when the tomatoes are at peak season. The dish relies on the tomatoes being good, so it shines in warmer months.
The Sunday roast is a big draw at The Baring. The whole chicken for two comes with proper pub roast accompaniments -- roast potatoes, gravy, seasonal vegetables. Other roast options include beef bavette, pork collar, and rib of beef, but the chicken for two is the most popular sharing option and good value per head.
Tips from diners
Price is per person for the sharing chicken. Book ahead for Sunday -- the roasts sell out. Other options include beef bavette at 27 pounds and rib of beef at 39 pounds per person.
Salt marsh lamb (grazed on coastal grasslands, giving the meat a slightly mineral, saline quality) served alongside a lamb kofte and smoky aubergine puree. The friggitelli peppers add a mild green pepper bite. Multiple reviews highlight this as the strongest main course option on the dinner menu.
Tips from diners
If you are deciding between mains, this is the one to go for. The combination of lamb rump and kofte means you get two different textures and preparations of lamb on one plate.
Opened in August 2022 on the site of the former Poet pub, with Rob Tecwyn (ex-head chef at Dabbous) in the kitchen and Adam Symonds (ex-Bull & Last, ex-Orasay) running front of house. Grace Dent called it a benchmark for where pub dining is heading. Made the Top 50 Gastropubs list and earned a Michelin Guide entry within its first two years.
Book through Resy for the dining room. The eight bar stools are walk-in only and get a short bar snacks menu during the day, including lamb kofte and taramasalata with grilled bread.
Check the blackboard for the lunchtime special -- usually around 12 pounds, or 15 pounds with a glass of house wine. It is the best value way to eat here.
Baring Street is a residential crescent straddling Hoxton and Islington, not far from Regent's Canal. It is easy to miss if you do not know the area -- look for the corner pub at the curve of the street.
Sunday is the busiest day. Roast options include sharing plates for two, so bring someone. Book at least a few days ahead for Sunday lunch.
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