To all the single ladies (cue, Beyonce!) I have found the hot man watering hole: Elephant & Castle. Located in the heart of the financial district, Elephant & Castle is literally full of tables of gorgeous men in suits. Maybe they come for the British pub fare. Maybe they come to watch the TV screens that paper the walls. No matter the reason, I'll be returning.
Now I know what you're thinking, what can a vegetarian eat at a British pub? The short answer: not much. However, I did find some delicious, comfort food. I also laughed hysterically at their napkins:
We sat at a high top table in the bar with great views of both sides of the restaurant (dining room and bar) as well as a view of the street (translation: more men in suits people watching).
We started with the freshly baked pub pretzels. Who could resist? How often do you see that on a menu?
We were delivered a rectangular plate with three perfectly twisted, delightful hot, salt sprinkled pretzels. The pretzels also came with a side of spicy mustard. We cut them up into smaller pieces, trying to savor them as long as possible. Holy yum.
For our main course, my dining companion chose the French onion soup, which came blanketed in a layer of bubbling cheese. She was thrilled.
As she twisted her cheese covered spoon, I tested out the grilled cheese and tomato sandwich with a side of British chips (known to us silly Americans as thick cut French fries). The grilled cheese was golden brown and served on multigrain bread. While it was a bit thin (I like a gooey grilled cheese sandwich) it was still finger-licking good.
My dining companion commented that she prefers thin cut French fries to the British chips, but I enjoyed the change. I found I couldn't eat as many, which is probably a good thing.
Though I wouldn't order these dishes myself, I saw several plates go by that looked incredible, particularly the fish 'n chips and the Shepard's pie.
For those of you who studied abroad in England (you know who you are), head to Elephant & Castle to satisfy your nostalgic cravings. I'll be heading back to find my dream man.
