Good Young's pub near Kew Gardens

After leaving Kew’s “Plant Finders Fair” with S&S we walk across Kew Green, past the cricket match to look for lunch. First we look into The Botanist, which I’d thought looked nice online, but B is unimpressed by the menu. The Coach and Horses across the road is calling, with its outside tables and pretty pansies  in the sunshine.


We find a table for 4 outside – nice new wooden furniture, but a bit cramped – and I go in to get a bottle of wine. I ask for Sauvignon Blanc and get The Mission, another of our NZ tour wineries, at (as it turns out) £25.75 – they do have a Chilean at £20.  The ladies decide that despite the sun it’s not warm enough outside so we go in to the Library Bar.  It is a very attractive and characterful place. As well as the Library (with loads of gardening books), there is a good solid pub bar, and a more formal dining room with “theatre kitchen”.  It is a hotel too.

The menu is largely a standard Young’s pub menu, with maybe a couple of more interesting options, plus a modest list of specials.  The ladies both choose the gourmet burger, with bacon and cheese, while the lads both have goat curry off the specials list.  The burgers, on brioche, accompanied by onion rings and good proper chips are fine – B reckons that they were so fat free they were a little too dry.  The goat curries come with an array of accessories – papadums, naan, tomato and onion, mango chutney and an aubergine mush. The main act itself comes sizzling on a skillet, accompanied by yellow rice.  The goat is a distinctive flavour – you wouldn’t confuse it with lamb – and suitably spiced so that it the heat creeps up on you as you finish off the dish.  Very unusual and a successful dish.

The bar staff have been charming and helpful, and the food arrived pretty promptly. There’s been a fair turnover of people in, but it’s never been busy.  With three bottles of wine and two coffees (they do soy milk) the bill is just shy of £150 without service – maybe pricey for one course (2 at £14 and 2 at £16.50) though you could get away with less with some cheaper (or less!) wine.