Food reviews

Fat Badger

Fat Badger
Much has been written about the Fat Badger’s brilliant wallpaper and it lives up to all the hype. Its deceptively twee rural lanscape style print is really, on closer inspection, an urban London scene comprising bag ladies, the Gherkin and, fittingly, Trellick Tower. From the upstairs dining room of this beautiful corner site there are wonderful views over Golborne Road and its notorious tower, while inside it’s all comfortable gastropub style – mismatched old wooden tables and chairs, chandeliers and an informal vibe. We were here for lunch on Saturday and the whole place was fully booked; potential diners were being turned away or told to eat in the downstairs bar, which isn’t bad going at all for a place that’s only been open a couple of months. The team behind it have been around for a while and their local foodie credentials include the Cow and Kensington Place, both known for their unfussy, high class menu styles.
It’s a lunch/brunch menu,
so it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been up. Hungover?
Go for the full English. Breakfast long behind you?
You might be ready for faggots. I ordered a kipper, all too rarely a menu option, and it came headless, drenched in butter
and with almost-too-perfect fried eggs. My partner had
tasty roast bream with creamy cockles, bacon and herbs and we finished off with a classy tarte tatin and a strange blood orange jelly – lovely, but strange, possibly because it’s been so many years since
we last tasted the wobbly stuff in such an unreconstructed way. Great newcomer.
Pendle Harte

Place: The Fat Badger, 310 Portobello Road W10
020 8969 4500
Feels like: Informal and funky
Tastes like: Unfussy and high class
Costs: Starters £4.50-£7; mains £7.50-£14