Welcome return of the Hoop & Grapes
When working in the City of London in the 1990s I’d often visit the Hoop & Grapes on Farringdon Street that sat among various tall office blocks. When these buildings were all demolished in 2019 its doors closed and it stood precariously alone. Now it has been joined by an array of brand new tower blocks and has itself been renewed through a £1.8 million transformation by owner Shepherd Neame and its doors fully reopened.
On a recent Friday evening I made a return to the historic Grade II-listed site for dinner with my family but found its three compact floors all rammed with post-work drinkers, which is just the way I remember my Friday evenings in the area in the 90s, so we just stayed for drinks.
Revisiting on a Saturday evening was a much calmer experience when we were able to sample the food and much more clearly see the fine work Shepherd Neame has undertaken on the pub.
Housed within a five-storey building, the Hoop & Grapes has three distinct areas – the ground floor is very much a classic London pub opening on to a courtyard garden, while upstairs there is a first floor seating area, and at the top of the building the piano room is a space for private dining.
What stands out is the wooden panelling that is a feature running throughout the pub and is perfectly lit with a wide variety of lighting. There’s ceiling lights, various table and widow lights, down-lighters on the bar, and tea lights on tables in the evening. This is all very much my style of subtle lighting touches and sits well within the historic building.
The new menu has a focus on shareable dishes. So that’s what we did to start with – going for the chewy slow-braised beef croquettes with smoked mayo and topped with Grano Padano, a mountain of various olives, and a portion of the very punchy chorizo and smoked pancetta pigs in blankets. The latter proved pigs in blankets are not just for Christmas.
For mains there are British classics including fish & chips (Whitstable Bay beer-battered haddock and chips), pies (steak, shin & Bishops Finger ale pie, mashed potato and various vegetables), and a smash beef burger (patty with American cheese, pickle Kentish tomato chutney, onions, pickled hispi cabbage and baconnaise). The fish was notable for its size. It lasted until the following day’s dinner when my son enjoyed the remaining portion.
I’ve had my ups and downs with some of Shepherd Neame’s beers over the years but across my two visits to the Hoop & Grapes I’ve found a core range of options that I think are the best they’ve had for some time. On cask Creekside is an excellent juicy IPA and on keg First Drop and Bear Island are my picks. For those in need of Guinness go for Iron Wharf instead.
On the wine front it is worth a shout-out to Sheps for offering a strong range of vino from Kent that includes a bottle from Champagne Taittinger’s Domaine Evremond vineyard in Chilham, which is located close to the Faversham Brewery. Creditably, a number of these Kentish wines are available by the glass.
It was a great pleasure to return to the Hoop & Grapes after some time and it is great to see it back attracting City workers to continue to help continue the tradition of post-work drinks and beyond.
Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider