Tucked away on a quiet side street near Paddington, the Cleveland Arms is a neighbourhood pub worth seeking out. More than the booze though, it is the food that sets this place apart – restaurant quality but at pub prices. The venue takes the concept of shabby chic to the extreme, mixing the cool and the kitsch with aplomb; here a lighting fixture not out of place in New Orleans, there a piece of retro crockery that your Gran might own. Guests can choose to enjoy the vibe in either a more intimate if slightly crowded upstairs space or a larger but less vibrant area downstairs. We opted for the upstairs option which remained busy throughout the recent weekday evening when we visited.
There was every reason for such a buzz given the superlative quality of the cooking. The Cleveland Arms keeps its menu simple with just four starters and mains to choose from, the emphasis leaning towards French cuisine but with twists of Italian and British thrown in. I began with an innovative choice, a brandade (to the uninitiated, an emulsion of salted cod, potatoes and olive oil hailing from southern France) paired with sea purslane and soft-boiled egg. It was a masterpiece, not only beautifully presented (per the photo) but surprisingly light with a wonderful contrast of flavours across the dish. The main which followed – a bavette steak with watercress, roschoff onions and garlic butter – was another visual masterpiece, with the meat cooked just right, even if the richness of the dish became somewhat wearing over time. Interestingly, my dining comrade felt similarly about his dishes, with his pork belly and endive starter winning the plaudits, but his duck and chanterelle pappardelle failing to quite reach the same high, owing to its richness once again. An affogato dessert (vanilla ice cream drowned in hot espresso) did provide the perfect antidote in both cases.
At £6-8 for starters and £10-16 for mains, the value for money is evident. If anything, the Cleveland Arms does run the risk of being a victim of its own success. The staff were friendly and well-intentioned but they did seem slightly to struggle with the level of demand at times. In some ways, this is a good problem to have, and one that is fixable too.