For reasons relating solely to our ferocious quest to unearth gastronomic excellence for our readership, your scribe recently accompanied Phil from Accounts and Karen from Finance to inspect the Sunday roast at the Jolly Gardeners. We’ve always had a soft spot for the Gardeners as they suffer from BPLS, of course being ‘Bad Pub Location Syndrome’ as it is locked away in that little bit of Vauxhall that actually isn’t Vauxhall anymore.
The Jolly Gardeners is a big pub, with one half dedicated to drinking and the other half to dining. Phil had already arrived and was drinking at the bar, mistaking bar snacks for a Sunday roast. Once settled, as starters we ordered cauliflower wings and crayfish/spinach laksa on grilled sourdough. With the cauliflower we expected something slightly healthy but what was delivered was a deep, almost chocolate like batter oozing with cauliflower and its juice. The crayfish was a buttery, seafood like flavour sensation.
For the mains Phil and Karen had the pork shoulder, which Karen announced by pounding on the table and shouting ‘my vegan stage is OVER’. The pair described their pork as slow cooked, fatty, tender, and robustly mild and sweet. As is the custom at the Gardeners, roasts are served family style and this encompassed roast potatoes, roasted heritage carrots, spring greens, sweet potato mash and creamy cauliflower cheese. The best element was that these sides were replenished for free, creating a joyous ‘all you can eat’ vibe which particularly satisfied Phil.
Your scribe opted for the 28 day beef rump, which was served with roasties and Yorkshire pudding. The pork wasn’t served with a Yorkie, so your scribe donated it to Phil’s plate. The beef was rich, meaty and slightly earthy flavour which held its own when drenched with the Gardener’s homemade ’12 hour’ gravy. And the veg kept coming which padded it all out. So nice were they that when the second round arrived Karen garbled, through a mouthful of carrots, ‘this is so good I might go vegan again’!
The roasts at the Gardeners are £25 so aren’t cheap, but this is mitigated by the endless stream of sides. We were pleased to see that the Gardeners no longer serve beef from retired cows. While more ethical, we felt bad for those poor bovines who managed to spend their entire lives not being turned into a luxury bookcover or decorative belt, only TO END UP IN A HAMBURGER.
The Gardeners has been open a few years now and is a far cry from its previous incarnation Zeitgeist, where they served food that was about as far down the no-frills route you could go without entering ‘humanitarian food drop’ territory. But will it win the best roast in Greater Kennington in our Top Ten List in February? We hope so, as its totally independent and started by five lads who just want to make good food and nice drinks.
