The Fire Station, London

The Fire Station is a long standing institution, at Waterloo. Back in the late 80's The Fire Station was one of the first gastropubs. To many commuters delight after an one year extensive refurbishment, it has re-opened. The vintage fire station memorabilia sets the finishing touches to the fabulous refurbish. There is no fireman's pole that you can slide down, but with details such as vintage fire extinguishers, fire hose chandeliers, tap coat hooks, and a wall panel of the 1666 Great Fire of London.

The small menu feature highly on the current food trends of wood fired pizzas and sumptuous burgers. The drink menu is interesting, with in house smoked cocktails and if cocktails are not your thing, there are of course wine and craft beers available too.

Glazed Short Rib

Buttermilk Chicken

Black & Gold

Smoked Mackerel, King Prawns, Confit Garlic Butter Base, Marinated Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Rocket, Soft Boiled Egg

I was the odd person out, ordering the pizza rather than the burgers. It really did put me off when I heard the burgers are done well, not medium rare. I don't like my meat to be tough and dry, at least retain some moisture in the meat. My pizza was palatable, the downside was being ultraly thin and crisp. With all the soft textures of the topping, it sort of work against the crispy base. I do perhaps want a bit more chew to my base.

Moving on to the burgers, I do love a good burger. The expectation was sadly not met. Presentation wise, the burgers looked awfully lifeless. The bun is often overlooked, in this case it certainly was overlooked as it was uninteresting. The meat patty was overcooked, the buttermilk chicken was forgotten. To have a winner burger, meat needs to be medium to medium rare and a decent bun like demi-brioche. You can't go wrong with that recipe.

Spicy Coleslaw

Mixed Fries

The sides played a less important role to the point it felt meaningless. It was pretty average, not like we wanted to demolish it like a hungry beast.

Pink Duchess

Pineapple & Black Pepper Margarita

Château Cruzeau, St. Emilion Grand Cru, France 2010

The best thing about the pub, are the drinks. Who would not like the smoked cocktails? I didn't have a chance to try the smoked cocktails but the cocktails that I drank was decent enough just wished they'd filled up the whole glass. We also had a Bordeaux wine from St. Emilion region. Full bodied with a nose of plum and at £45 per bottle, not bad at all.

Overall, I felt let down by the food especially the burgers are overpriced. In terms of value, it's good especially for the drinks and given the area that it is in. I would come back from drinks and may give the food a second chance if I'm in the area again.

Score: 2.5/5
Price: £10-15/head

The meal was complimentary for soft launch.




http://thefirestationwaterloo.com