New Hampstead restaurant Oak & Poppy must be doing something right - it was packed with happy diners on a Tuesday night.
As he mixed me a lemon-sour Tom Collins, the manager said it's not unusual to serve 250 covers mid-week - so what's their secret?
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Well, it offers all-day dining, dogs and kids are welcome, and a glance at the menu reveals an eat-your-way-around-the-world smorgasbord of crowd pleasers.
There's comfort food: mac n cheese croquettes, roast chicken and chips, burgers and steak; Asian influenced bao buns or salmon with noodles; a nod to French classics with lemon sole and sea bass; Middle Eastern mezze, and Italian pasta. Hell, there's even a posh prawn cocktail.
The decor is easy on the eye; a natural, neutral palette of palest pink and blonde woods, sisal, rattan, parquet, and a centrepiece tree, with tendrils of greenery cascading from the conservatory roof.
Back in 1869 it was a pub, but the former Rosslyn Arms hasn't been a traditional boozer since 2012. The ill-starred Cafe Hampstead, a Tel Aviv style restaurant closed abruptly in 2019 owing money. Now the First Restaurant Group, which runs The Summerhouse and Waterway in Little Venice plus restaurant/pubs in Fitzrovia, Notting Hill and Farringdon seem to know what they are doing.
Owner Mitch Tillman grew up in Hampstead and still lives locally, so perhaps knows his audience. The service is swift, the cocktails inventive and quirky (chickpea water or aqua farba subbed in for egg whites) and happily the chefs in their open kitchen are on top of multiple world cuisines.
Pulled beef quesadillas were well-spiced with melting cheese and black beans, accompanied by a zesty guac and smoky salsa. The duck bao buns were pleasant, although the pickled cucumber and chili didn't quite punch through.
Excellent cheeseburgers came as two sliders, perfectly pink in the middle, with kimchee mayo and rustling chips. A pan roasted lemon sole with caper butter, fennel and crushed potatoes was again well cooked, on the bone.
Calorific American-influenced desserts include pecan pie, a giant baked cookie, and huge pancake loaded with ice-cream. But the pain perdu, a French toast steeped in creamy custard, and fried, with coulis of berries and raspberry ripple ice cream, was a lovely way to round off dinner.
Prices are reasonably pitched too for NW3: Starters £8-£11, mains £16-£28, desserts £7, wine from £6.50/£25 a bottle. Happily Oak & Poppy looks here to stay.
Address: Oak & Poppy, 48, Rosslyn Hill, NW3
Website: oakandpoppy.co.uk
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