The Thomas Cubitt - Belgravia, London

Shortly after we moved to London Eddie ran into one of his old bosses from NYC while on the Tube. His old boss is English and had moved back to London from NYC and surprisingly happened to live about a block from where we were living at the time. In fact, from the bosses house you could see the building we lived in. What a coincidence! This boss was nice enough to invite Eddie and I over and then out to eat. With his wife and one of his daughters we went to The Thomas Cubitt, a pub near our places that we had never seen or been to. Eddie and I both liked it there so much that we later tried to take my parents there. Unfortunately, we made a mistake of going on a nice summer evening after work when everyone was much more interested in drinking than eating. The sidewalk was completely overrun with people drinking and we realized it was not meant to be the place for our dinner.

We haven't been back since but decided to give it another try with our visiting NJ friends, but this time for lunch on a rainy, cold day (which they all seem to be lately). This time we were able to get in and get what seemed to be the last, lonely table in a place completely packed and buzzing with people. Unfortunately, the table was right by the door so we had to endure the cold every time people came in or out - which over the course of the time we were there seemed like people coming in, realizing there were no tables and then leaving right away. I don't think we saw a single table leave while we were there. So, needless to say, The Thomas Cubitt is a popular place, and rightly so.

The front room is very airy and very smart, not surprising given the neighborhood it is in. They offer a great bar menu for downstairs and a fancier, pricier menu for the dining room upstairs. We can only vouch for the menu and food downstairs, in the bar.

Our choices for lunch:

Me:
Steamed Shetland rope grown mussels, braised leeks, stilton & crusty bread (₤10) - This was a really large portion and I absolutely loved it! The mussels were huge, cleaned very well and covered in leeks. I didn't taste the stilton very much but still loved this dish. The bread was nice and crusty and there were two huge chunks to soak up the sauce. A great value for money!

Eddie:
Vegetarian burger, cheddar, onion marmalade & chips (₤10.50) - this was a very nicely presented veggie burger and Eddie really liked it. He loved the onion marmalade and the bun which was covered in various seeds. The consistency and thickness of the burger was very good and he liked that it didn't fall apart "like some veggie burgers do." He loved the little bucket the chips came in but wished there more!

NJ friends:
Beer battered fish & chips, mushy peas, tartare sauce (₤12.50), Spinach & mushroom tart, lams lettuce salad (₤7) - they both seemed to really like their food, especially the fish & chips. I think the one that ordered the spinach and mushroom tart (from the Something Light section) wished she had ordered more food but they shared for the most part. They both raved over the tartare sauce but weren't sure what was so special about it!


The Thomas Cubitt is a great pub and very popular with locals and workers in the area as evidenced the few times we have been there. I have never been enticed by the menu of the dining room, mainly because the bar menu is always so good and varied. We like taking out of town guests here because of the smart location, smart decor and great food and we will definitely be returning!