He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

Nick Lander pronounces on The Stoops

28.10.24

Nick Lander Pronounces on The Stoops

The verdict is in from legendary restaurateur and critic Nick Lander. We were fortunate that the day he materialised in the pub Jamie was on hand to buttonhole him on all matters Allsoppsian and Stoopsian. The result is a typically thoughtful piece on our immediate neighbourhood where we perch humbly before many giants of British cooking and conviviality.

These include old friends Rowley Leigh (RIP Ken Place) and Sally Clarke (Clarke's fabulous restaurant is directly opposite, with her deli round the corner). We second Nick's demand for a plaque on the side Newcomb House, the brutalist home of Kensington Place restaurant and its legendary Fish Shop to mark the vital role that this corner played in the evolution of British restauranting.

He correctly marks the importance of our neighbouring pub the Churchill Arms - where landlord Gerry O'Brien sparked his own revolution in 1988, giving a trial run to the Thai food cooked by the establishment’s Thai chef with the Anglicised name of Ben.

As Lander wrote in 2009: "O’Brien recalled that ‘After just a couple of weeks people were piling in not just to eat but to see what we were doing. These included visits not just from my bosses at Fullers but also from many rival publicans as well.’ After that, serving Thai food in pubs across the UK became a hugely popular phenomenon."

As for the Stoops, we will leave you to read the piece with a slight blush, as Lander's replaying of the history of Allsopp's and the pub - and his kind words on the interiors, food and service are extremely flattering.

Nick, thank you!

https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/corner-west-london

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