It warms the cockles of my heart

Had some very salty cockles at the newly renovated (well polished, as they couldn’t change much to this lovely listed building) Warrington Pub in Maida Vale. Mr. Gordon Ramsay now owns it and the service is spectacular and the staff are super friendly and attentive, sometimes an anomaly in this city!

The place has been scrubbed clean and the original glory of the pub restored – it looks great. We ordered the Honey Monster’s favourite wine, Montepulciano D’Abbruzzo and some salty cockles which didn’t go down a treat as they were very salty - it almost tasted like there was sand still inside them; not sure if you are supposed to eat them that way?! Will try the new restaurant upstairs soon and report back. Glad the local is back open for business!

Some info on the cockle:

• A cockle is the common name for tiny mollusc which looks like a mini clam. The shells they emerge out of are quite pretty usually in a heart shape and with distinctive ribbing.
• Cockles reproduce quickly and are hermaphroditic. They are part of the bivalve family which included scallops, clams, oysters (yum) and mussels.
• The labour of collecting cockles is hard work and, as seen from the Morecambe Bay disaster, in which 21 illegal immigrants died, can be dangerous if local tidal conditions are not carefully watched.
• Cockles are sold freshly cooked as a snack food in the United Kingdom, and are eaten with vinegar. Seafood stalls sell them along with mussels, whelks, and eels.

Dear Gordon
This is our local pub, well one of four in the Maida Vale neighbourhood. We visited last night and enjoyed a Magners with good friends. We mingled with a mix of young and old, posh and not and a little bit of everything else. The oldies next to use were drunkenly arguing about Margaret Thatcher and some vain young man was also trying to be funny with some bad chat up lines. The Warrington is a great pub with a stunning interior which as I am told was once a brothel. It had a Thai restaurant upstairs, which wasn't great and a fabulous outdoor patio that in the summer is always full. Gordon Ramsay TV Chef extraordinaire, is a British TV chef famous for using the 'F' word a lot, has now purchased this historic building and half the neighbourhood is for it and half against. The Thatcher crowd will complain about rising beer prices and expensive food but the trendy crowd will welcome a larger selection of beers & decent food - the Thai and peanuts/crisps don't cut it and perhaps an improvement to little things like the lous, service and more will make it an even better place to go. It will be interesting to see what happens. As you can guess, this comment card is from the anti-Gordon team or just silly, ignorant boys who frequent the pub.

Get to it now before it changes in July for the old Warrington feel. Then re-visit in July and see what is new and improved. Stay tuned.