Eat, drink and be merry: the new pub grub to serve with a pint
No longer satisfied with scampi fries and pork scratchings, today's pub-goers expect a considered food offering alongside their pint. Will Hawkes reports
Mason and Company, a bar just a javelin's throw from Stratford's Olympic Stadium, doesn't feel much like a pub. It's light and airy in a Scandinavian way, with huge retracting windows that open up onto an expansive, verdant bank beside the River Lee Navigation Canal. But it serves a lot of beer, like a pub, and it has great food, like an increasing number of pubs across the country.
The reason for that is simple, according to founder and owner Rachel Jones. "I was heavily engrossed in the Sopranos when I started the company in 2012] and felt there was the need for some great Italian-American food in London," she says.
Pub food is changing. From Italian-American food to pizza vans via Michelin-star cooking and vegan tacos, the pub has become the crucible for a new era of open-minded food.
Little (American) Italy The street-food revolution that began a few years back is beginning to have a big impact on pub food. From places like Mason & Company, where the kitchen is an integral part of the building, to pubs where food vans pop up outside on busy evenings, there's a revolution going on.
Not everyone saw it coming - not even those at the heart of the movement. "I'd like to say there was a grand masterplan, but I really just wanted to sell my sandwiches!" says Jones of Capish?.
SuppliersThe Butchery [www.thebutcheryltd.com ](http://www.thebutcheryltd.com) Sally Clarke Bakery [www.sallyclarke.com ](http://www.sallyclarke.com) Central Foods [www.centralfoods.co.uk ](http://www.centralfoods.co.uk) Funny Bones [www.funnybones.co.uk ](http://www.funnybones.co.uk) Nisbets [www.nisbets.co.uk ](http://www.nisbets.co.uk) Farm Frites [www.farmfrites.com ](http://www.farmfrites.com) Tabasco [www.tabasco.com ](http://www.tabasco.com) Big Al's [www.bigalsfoodservice.co.uk ](http://www.bigalsfoodservice.co.uk) Nestlé Professional [www.nestleprofessional.co.uk ](http://www.nestleprofessional.co.uk) Dr Oetker [www.oetker.co.uk ](http://www.oetker.co.uk) Aviko [www.aviko.co.uk ](http://www.aviko.co.uk) Callebaut [www.callebaut.com/en-GB ](http://www.callebaut.com/en-GB) Bidfood [www.bidfood.co.uk ](http://www.bidfood.co.uk) Lamb Weston [www.lambweston.com ](http://www.lambweston.com) Premier Foods [www.premierfoods.co.uk](http://www.premierfoods.co.uk) [Get The Caterer every week on your smartphone, tablet, or even in good old-fashioned hard copy (or all three!).