The Pelican
The pie to order is lobster and monkfish, built for two, in a room that spent 150 years as an ordinary All Saints Road boozer.
Why go
Owen Kenworthy runs the kitchen. He cooked at Sketch under Pierre Gagnaire, then spent five years as co-developer and head chef of Brawn, and the Brawn habits carry over: whole cuts, offal, and produce bought from named regenerative farms including Paddock Farms and Whittington Lodge (Top 50 Gastropubs). James Gummer took the pub on in 2022 and stripped it back, keeping the original bar at the front and running the rest as a restaurant. The pub has traded since 1872. Harden's 2026 survey rates food, service and ambience 4 out of 5 apiece and calls it a pretty perfect gastropub
(Harden's). Beer comes from the revived Allsopp's Brewery alongside the wine list, and there is a private room upstairs.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the lobster pie, which Harden's respondents call
amazing
andworth crossing town for.
1 The beef and Guinness pie is £26 if you want the plainer version, and the spider crab toast is the snack to open with. - Avoid: the monkfish scampi. Andy Hayler called it
greasy, and monkfish is a rather miserable substitute for langoustines.
2
What locals & experts say
- Harden's (2026 guide):
a pretty perfect gastropub
doingstraightforward British food
from premium ingredients, food 4, service 4, ambience 4, £67 to £71 a head. Also that thenoise forces you to lip-read.
1 - Andy Hayler (12 August 2024, 12/20):
that is an awful lot of money for the level of food that was delivered,
on a bill of £138 a head. He rated the guinea fowlquite good, the guinea fowl nicely cooked
and the lemon cakea small slab of dried out cake.
2 - Top 50 Gastropubs: listed at No. 65, described as
an ordinary boozer on All Saints Road for 150 years
before the 2022 takeover. The edition year is not printed on the page.3 - Jeff's list: saved for the classic pie. REAL.
Good to know
- Timing: the venue publishes Monday to Saturday noon to midnight and Sunday noon to 10.30pm. Harden's lists a 5pm weekday start, so confirm if you want an early weekday lunch.
- Booking: essential. SevenRooms, bookings@thepelicanw11.com or 020 4537 2880. Harden's respondents say tables are hard to get.
- Price: two honest readings. Harden's survey says £67 to £71 a head. Andy Hayler's actual bill in 2024 was £138 a head with an average menu price of £95.
- Noise: loud. If you need to talk, book the upstairs Pelican Room or go at lunch.
- Dietary: no allergen, gluten-free, celiac or vegan statement is published by the venue, so ask when you book.
- Location: 45 All Saints Road, between Westbourne Park and Ladbroke Grove.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Classic pie. Great food, a gem in the area." REAL.
Verdict
should-visit — Worth the detour for the pie, with your expectations set. Owen Kenworthy spent five years as head chef of Brawn and cooked at Sketch under Pierre Gagnaire before James Gummer put him into a 150-year-old All Saints Road boozer in 2022, and the sourcing runs through named regenerative farms. Harden's 2026 survey rates food, service and ambience 4 out of 5 and calls the lobster pie 'worth crossing town for'. Against that, Andy Hayler scored it 12/20 in August 2024 and paid £138 a head, so it is not a lock, and the room is loud enough that Harden's respondents say the 'noise forces you to lip-read'.