T
he Calf is the first pop-up pub in
London and was launched this
summer in Westfield offering a
new experience for Stratford. It
was a great stop off for people heading
to the Olympic Park Stadium and allowed
people to soak up the London 2012
atmosphere. The Calf, which is a smaller
sister site of the permanent Geronimo pub
at Westfield Stratford, The Cow is warm
and exciting at the same time.
I arrived at the venue and immediately
liked the look of it from the outside with its
wooden exterior; it was as if I was walking
into a huge barn. There was a cathedral-
like space with tables and comfy sofas
throughout. I loved the very high ceilings
with the beams and the beehive lights
hanging down.There was a big outside area
with chairs and tables if you fancied sitting
away from it all.
As usual, I was looking forward to seeing
what delights the menu had to offer. It
mainly consisted of ‘picky bits’ and tasty
things to share which was fine by me.
For example, there were small plates,
sandwiches with a side salad, plates, boards,
grocer and fishmonger and of course
pudding! From the ‘small plates’ section I
opted for king prawns with garlic and chilli.
The prawns were meaty and very tasty.The
other starter I chose were sardines with
garlic toast and rocket salad which again
was very delicious and full of flavour.
For the mains, I decided to choose from
the ‘boards’ section and selected ‘Butcher’
and ‘Fishmonger’ to share. I love being able
NATASHA YEXLEY
SAMPLES THE FOOD AND TAKES IN THE ATMOSPHERE AT
POP-UP PUB,THE CALF ATWESTFIELD STRATFORD DURINGTHE OLYMPICS GAMES.
THECALF -WESTFI
to taste a bit of everything so this was
definitely the way forward. The ‘Butcher’
consisted of salt beef, griddled lemon
and rosemary chicken, shaved cured ham,
Napoli salami, cornichons, mustard and
toast. What a great combination and it
was all scrumptious and flavoursome. The
‘
Fishmonger’ boasted pickled octopus,
crab mayonnaise, mackerel pate, oysters
and toast. Again, it tasted fresh and was
full of flavour, and the toast obviously
accompanied the pate and crab perfectly.
To top it off nicely, there was still a small
space left for dessert! I decided to try the
banana and white chocolate cheesecake
and crepes and ice cream which ended the
food fest perfectly.
There was an all-round pleasant
atmosphere in the venue and people were
cheering as the Olympics were on in the
background.There was also a medals chart
on the wall for the British athletes, which
was a nice touch. The cow related words
on the wall were also very fitting such as
‘
mooito’ and ‘spirit cowlection’ - you’ve
got to love a bit of that! On the topic of
cocktails, they have some classics to offer
and some of them were served in milk
bottles which was rather apt.
Simplicity is a key part of The Calf’s
design, with rustic stacking boxes behind
the reconditioned bars displaying bottles
of wine, champagne, vintage milk churns
and pottery. Many tables were placed onto
kegs to complete the ‘mountain barn’ look.
The venue has the capacity of up to 250
people offering fresh British produce, real
ales, selection of wines and an extensive
cocktail list so it’s perfect for any occasion.
If you happen to be ‘mooching’ about in
the area, don’t forget to check it out!
www.geronimo-inns.co.uk/thecalfwestfield
link