The Hour Glass, South Kensington – tried and tasted

A country pub has landed in Kensington and it’s among the borough’s best, says Ben Norum
Pub grub: Bar snacks at The Hour Glass, including scotch eggs and sausage rolls
Leyla Kazim
Ben Norum20 October 2015

From the team behind Brompton Food Market – Luke Mackay and David Turcan – comes this revamped boozer on Brompton Road.

The backstory

One of the main reasons for taking on the site, Luke told us, was frustration at the lack of pub options available after a day working at Brompton Food Market down the road.

Luke has previous with revamping pubs, having done it at The Royal Oak in Wiltshire. This time he and his business partner David, an old college friend, have enlisted a winning team to pull it together.

A beautified boozer: The Hour Glass on Brompton Road Leyla Kazim

They are working with longtime pub landlord Henry Gravells – who has helped shape Fuller’s pubs The Cabbage Patch in Twickenham, The Pilot Inn in Greenwich and The Salutation in Hammersmith – and have employed ex-Ebury chef Tim Parsons to lead the kitchen.

In terms of food, the pub’s philosophy is: “the best tasting ingredients, left alone”.

Style and surrounds

Look away from the windows to avoid seeing a passing red bus and you might just think you were in the countryside, such is the old-school, rural charm of this pub. The downstairs is a narrow, smart boozer dominated by a room-length bar, while the upstairs is a pleasantly plain wood-paneled dining room as relaxed as the fare served up in it. A place such as this feels rare in London, where pubs tend to be either foodless, trendy or gastro to the point of being a restaurant – and this rarity makes it a real treat.

Downstairs: A proper pub Leyla Kazim
Leyla Kazim

On the menu

The menu at The Hour Glass hovers somewhere between pub and gastropub territory, offering gutsy British classics cooked with discernable flair but absolutely no fuss.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the team’s links to deli and food shop Brompton Food Market, many of the dishes are as much about top quality produce and high-quality bought-in foods as they are the pub’s own kitchen.

Simple pleasures: Flat Iron steak with beef dripping chips Leyla Kazim
Leyla Kazim

This is especially true among the list of bar snacks – probably among the best range in London – where a highlight is a herb-rich pork pie with crumbly, buttery pastry made by Brays Cottage. The scotch eggs and the pub’s own-made pork scratchings are also in excellent form.

From the main menu a potted rabbit starter is richly flavoured while main course highlights include a gutsy game pie (pedants be aware: it’s a bowl with a pastry lid) and an impressively tender lamb breast atop a buttery potch (potato and swede mash) with a drizzle of tangy salsa verde. Beef dripping chips are another winner, served either as a side or with a steak.

Something sweet

Bakes including a chocolate and porter cake served with cornflake ice cream and a blackberry and almond tart are homely and hearty ways to round-off a meal, or opt for cheese which comes from Brompton Food Market.

Relaxed dining: The Hour Glass upstairs Leyla Kazim
Leyla Kazim

Liquid libations

A diverse and well-priced wine list sits alongside a thoroughly decent craft ale selection to ensure everyone is catered for. Given the pub takes a lot of pride in its beer, however, the range could be more diverse – a high proportion of it currently comes from Fuller’s rather than any smaller London brewers.

The Hour Glass: The lowdown

Final flavour: A country pub that fits well in the capital.

At what cost? Starters begin at £6.50, mains at £14 and puddings £6. The majority of the generously-sized bar snacks are particularly good value at just £4.50. In terms of wine, there are a good selection of bottles between the £20 and £30 mark.

Find it: 279-283 Brompton Road, SW3 2DY; twitter.com/thehourglassSK

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum
Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in