State of Emergancy E Dulwich (two pubs were closed for the night)

[Catalyst]

Is this still a Young's tied pub?

Beer list is definitely on the boring side of 'craft'.

[PeckhamRose]

And the negativity goes on....

Meanwhile, looking forward to popping in and seeing the new Clockhouse. Love Youngs Beers anyway!

[Catalyst]

I don't mind Youngs either. However kidding on that you have a craft beer list and then filling 2/3rds of it with lager is leaving yourself open to ridicule.

Even the other nearest corporate boozer (The Rye, owned by Greene King) manage to stock Kernel.

[Sue]

The new Clock House menu seems very very similar to the new menu at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. In fact the Sunday menu at least looks identical. Which bodes well because we had a lovely roast dinner - beef - at the Cutty Sark a few weekends ago (apart from the "honey roast" beetroot which appeared to have been boiled and not roasted ....)

Haven't been to the Clock House yet since the refurb, but liked the Cutty Sark refurb. Of course that has a major advantage over the Clock House because it's on the river :)

Did I dream it, or wasn't there supposed to be a Scandinavian influence somewhere in the Clock House food? Can't see it, but maybe I just have a stereotyped idea of Scandinavian food as being mostly herring ....

Edited for typo.

[the-e-dealer]

Good old clockhouse.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

You been now t-e-d? Any feedback?

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> Good old clockhouse.

[the-e-dealer]

My feedback

I cried when I saw the new Menu. My favourite Eating /water hole now has nothing for me. I am a veggy and don't like Goats Cheese. There's a lot of us who don't like it. And 1 option for veggies is like a little concession? So If I want to eat out two days running I have eat the SAME thing? Very Sad Day. I know a lot of you on here hate veggies - so you have a laugh I expect you are also the ones who say we shouldn't celebrate the mis-fortune of others when her name is /thatcher. Oh and The Sunday Roast - Veggie Dish? The Same Goats Cheese Flan!

[Jeremy]

t.e.d, nobody hates veggies. People hate preaching, and attempts to educate/convert meat eaters (which I've never seen you do).

[Bellenden Belle]

I went into the Clockhouse last night for dinner.

I quite liked the surroundings - it looked a bit like a conservatory but actually works rather well. Be interesting how it works in the depths of winter.....

But dear lord, the food. The food was the worst I've had in a long, long time.

Now I have never sent a dish back to a kitchen before but my duck (at ?15 almost the most expensive thing on the menu) was the oddest plate of food I'd ever seen. It was a finger of duck. Imagine a duck breast cut into five - I got one of those. A croquette towered over it, twice the size. Now to be fair, I complained and the response was excellent - indeed I was told that I was the third person to complain about that particular dish and offered the chance to order an alternative. (If there have already been two complaints why continue to send the food out, but nevermind). So I ordered the burger and chips.

I suggested I'd like it medium rare, but I needn't have wasted my breath. Dense, claggy meat, burnt...a burger clearly straight out of the packet,just like mum might have cooked.....in the 70s. Anaemic chips.

Don't be fooled by the inclusion of William Rose's name on a single dish - this is pre-packaged Youngs food doing its worst. Appalling.

[Sue]

Oh dear :(

[KidKruger]

Wel if William Rose's name is being used on the menu perhaps William Rose need to know, because based on the description of food folks may assume the butcher is crap.

[Bellenden Belle]

I don't doubt for a moment that one dish has meat from William Rose - but the rest, well, I'd place money on it being delivered in a Brakes van.

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Wel if William Rose's name is being used on the

> menu perhaps William Rose need to know, because

> based on the description of food folks may assume

> the butcher is crap.

[the-e-dealer]

aw thanks feel better now. Now where are those meat is murder leaflets?

Jeremy Wrote:

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> t.e.d, nobody hates veggies. People hate

> preaching, and attempts to educate/convert meat

> eaters (which I've never seen you do).

[dumpertruck]

Didn't bother with the food as the new decor stopped me dead and had me backtracking full pelt onto Barry Road. I have yet to see a more soulless, design-by-numbers refit in my entire boozing life.

[the-e-dealer]

see below! :-)

[Sue]

Had a look in there today

I really like what they have done to the space.

Massive improvement in my view.

Lovely room upstairs, too.

[the-e-dealer]

DEpressing Grey and Brick Walls. Toilets up lots of stairs Horrid high chairs gone. Much of rear dedicated to Kitchen - Loss of Drinking Space. 3 TVS showing outdoor Billiards - . High number of drunk 20 year olds. Very Cloudy Special. - My Friend lll the next day. Most of the Clock Collection Gone But front bar not bad still ok as a boozer if they get a cellar person.

[the-e-dealer]

There'a an A Board outside now saying new menu. Does this mean the website menu has been improved? Can you get a ploughman's anywhere in Dulwich Now? The Clockhouse's used to be second to none!

[BigED]

I went in a couple of weeks ago for lunch and asked for the burger. I was told it came cooked medium but I could have it cooked... so to speed things up a bit I interjected "rare please". And then I was told that they couldn't serve it rare as it was against the law. I pointed out this was nonsense. Then it was company policy - everything had to be cooked to such and such a temperature. I asked why but the waiter, to be fair, owned up to not knowing and didn't try to invent any more legislation. I cancelled the order for a burger and had the much cheaper scotch egg. It turned up hot on the outside, with a particularly cold egg in the middle. Not sure what temperature it reached but the sausage meat was cooked and it did taste good.

All in all, a bit of a shame. I've had very good rare burgers at the New Cross House (I think that's the naeme - same chain as the Actress) and at the old Rye Hotel. I'm quite capable of deciding for myself how well cooked I want my food and I don't appreciate being treated like a child, nor being fobbed off with non-existent legislative requirements. So, new Clock House, please offer us the possibility of having meat cooked rare when that is perfectly safe. I won't ask you to serve me rare chicken or pork, but if I do then you can tell me it's not safe.

As for the refurb, it does look much brighter in there. However, out the back near the kitchen it was pretty well rammed with the mother-and-baby-and-armour-plated-buggy brigade so weekday lunchtimes may not suit all if a wail-fest commences (it was peaceful when I went).

Given the no-rare-burger-allowed policy, the Clock House is in danger of joining my Big East Dulwich Boycott list, but first I'd be interested to find out if this really is company policy and if so, why.

[nashoi]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9731808/Is-this-the-end-of-the-rare-burger.html

Not only rare, but nearly ?14. I might have to switch to jellied eels

[Sue]

BigED Wrote:

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> Given the no-rare-burger-allowed policy, the Clock

> House is in danger of joining my Big East Dulwich

> Boycott list, but first I'd be interested to find

> out if this really is company policy and if so,

> why.

xxxxxxx

The Great Exhibition will not serve rare burgers either, only medium rare, and says they are not allowed to serve them rare.

[Jeremy]

I dunno, most pubs probably serve burgers which are made/bought in bulk. In turn, probably made from mince which was bought in bulk. Not safe to eat rare.

[scout]

Sometimes egg is used to bind a burger so must be fully cooked

[JohnL]

mayonnaise is raw egg isn't it ?

minced beef should be cooked through I reckon - but maybe if it's minced from

good beef just prior to cooking then burgurised then pink is OK.

scout Wrote:

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> Sometimes egg is used to bind a burger so must be

> fully cooked

[BigED]

As an update to my rant... I had a helpful reply from a poster who, as they contacted me via PM, I won't name. But the gist of the message (also featured elsewhere) is that:

- it's not a case of law - there is no law against serving meat rare

- however, a lot of councils' Environmental Health Depts and officers work on the basis that all food must be cooked through to a temperature of something like 67-70 degrees C - effectively ruling out the possibility of serving meat rare

- not surprisingly, a lot of restaurants and food companies don't want to jeopardise their positions and ratings with councils

- councils' approaches don't take into account whether it is manky pre-minced beef or high quality fresh meat sourced responsibly and minced/ground shortly before preparation and cooking

- there are some legal cases about it ongoing.

So, my rant is now withdrawn and the Clock House remains free of my Big East Dulwich Boycott. (Now,if they had explained it was because of the council's environmental health policies rather than some legalistic canard... - maybe I should just calm down.)

Thanks to the person who sent me the PM.