The Garrison
Cornish fish is the strong suit, and the kitchen is open to the room so you can watch it come off the pass.1
Why go
This green-tiled pub was one of the rooms that made Bermondsey Street a place people travel to eat, and Harden's survey has said the same thing across three editions: a leading light in Bermondsey's emergence as a foodie destination
, and still a very good gastropub
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The cooking is bistro rather than pub. Reporters give their own examples, Chicken Liver Parfait, Steak Frites, Chocolate Crémeux
, and note that you can eat cheaply here or push the boat out on the more ambitious main dishes
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Order this / avoid
- Order: whatever Cornish fish is on.1
- Order: the steak frites or the parfait if you want the house standards rather than the specials.1
- Avoid: treating the menu as pub food. Reporters are explicit that it is bistro cooking.1
What locals & experts say
- Harden's survey:
the staff know their food and you can watch the chefs cook while you await your meal. Fresh fish from Cornwall is a particularly strong suit.
1 - The same survey, on longevity:
A great discovery, even though it's been there a long time.
1
Good to know
- Where: 99-101 Bermondsey Street SE1 3XB. London Bridge is under ten minutes.
- Booking: worth doing, especially at weekends.
- Nearby: José is at 104, across the street.
- Age: the survey gives it in years rather than dates, so no opening year is claimed here.
Verdict
should-visit — One of the rooms that turned Bermondsey Street into somewhere people travel to eat, and the survey has said so in three separate editions across two decades without the praise slipping. What to do here is specific: take the Cornish fish, which reporters single out as the strong suit, and sit where you can see the pass, because 'the staff know their food and you can watch the chefs cook while you await your meal'. The cooking is bistro rather than pub, and Harden's gives its own examples, chicken liver parfait, steak frites, chocolate crémeux. It stays off the top rung because no bylined critic on this address was reached and the evidence is aggregate praise rather than anybody's account of a plate.