Venue of the Month: The Westbridge Draft House

Pub and restaurant entrepreneur Charlie McVeigh has expanded his London-based beer bistro concept.

Last year, McVeigh, who also owns a stake in the renowned Cafe Anglais restaurant, opened the first Draft House in Clapham to much acclaim and he has recently converted The Westbridge pub, nearby in Battersea, into a second.

Cosy and candlelit, the Draft House takes its design cues from modern wine bars but the reverence is unashamedly focused on the grain rather than the grape.

The new Draft House has more than 60 bottled beers, 17 beers on tap and differs from other contemporary alehouses by offering its draught beers on tap are available as beer “flights” made up of three 1/3 of a pint servings.

As well as unusual ale-friendly bites like ox tongue fritters and potted crab, there are more traditional dishes with a twist; Steamed cockles and mussels with cider and cream; steak and chips and a suitably-sized, succulent Roquefort burger.

“All pubs should serve good beer. But they don’t,” McVeigh told the drinks business. “The ownership model of our pubs is broken and a combination of excessive rents and the tie force landlords towards the lowest common denominator, in terms of beer, food and service.

“We want to do for beer what our culture has done for food and wine over the past twenty years. Namely, to take the provenance, cellaring and serving of it seriously.

“What do I look for in a beer? That it be true to its type, be full of taste and character. Until I tried the new-wave Stouts and IPAs I used to also say I was against the stronger beers, but I have changed my mind. This is why we serve beer by the third, to encourage sampling of these stronger (in taste and ABV) beers.”

The Draft House
Westbridge
74-76 Battersea Bridge Road
London SW11 3AG

+44 (0) 207 228 6482

http://www.drafthouse.co.uk/westbridge

Ben McFarland, 09.03.2010