Let’s us first pay homage to the pub that used to inhabit this domain. It was the Royal Oak in Kennington Lane (next to the Eagle) and was one of Greater Kennington’s last authentic working mans’ pubs. Sadly it went under last year, but not by the hands of current landlords John and Ryan McElhinney, who run a small chain of pubs in Waterloo/Southwark. Luckily we used to go to the Royal Oak (Ok, we went once) and we can confirm that Mc and Sons has retained many of the original features from its previous incarnation including the bar and fireplace and have given the place an Irish twist, this being the theme of their five pubs.
We visited Mc and Sons to inspect their Thai menu but of course there are a range of drinks available. Pints on offer include Madri, Session, Camden Pale and Stout, and something called ‘It’s the Hope That Kills You’. At £6.50 they could have called it ‘It’s The Price That Kills You’ but this is London after all. And one can always have a cocktail, a glass of wine or, for the rebels, a soft drink.
Karen from finance chose Chiang Mai chicken pieces followed by Pad Graw Prow. For a starter, the chicken pieces are a generous portion; strips of chicken thigh fried with a dry rub. This comes through moderately spicy, with undertones of lemongrass, and is served with a sweet chilli sauce for dipping. This would equally serve well as a shareable bar snack if you didn’t want a full meal. Karen pronounced her tofu Pad Gras Prow as ‘not for the faint of heart’. This was exceedingly spicy, possibly due to not being able to avoid the sliced chillies which she said were tricky to spot in the atmospheric lighting (and without her glasses). As Karen is on a health kick she chose her Prow with tofu, which was generous and filled the bowl/plate nicely and was topped with a fried egg.
Your scribe indulged in drunken noodles, which consisted of thick rice noodles stir fried with a bit of egg, an abundance of mixed vegetables all mixed nicely in a stir fry with oyster and fish sauce. The prawns were very generous, but the dish had even more heat than Karen’s, so I had to beg John and Ryan for some water. Nonetheless, both dishes have officially been declared triumph: Lots of ingredients in the tin bowl along with proper Jasmine rice and a gorgeous Thai basil-lime-chilli-ginger flavour. It’s a flavour hit if you can stand the heat, so is highly recommended.
As for the demographic, it is mostly comprised of white, straight millennials with spare money who like to laugh and enjoy a restrained night out. That describes basically no one at Runoff Towers but that’s just fine, as we appeared to fit in nevertheless, and so will you. And we’re loving the snug at the front of the pub with its own private bar hatch. FYI, if you’re going to dinner you need to give them a ring as it’s not possible to book on their website.
