The Pig and Butcher
The pub stands on the old drove road where cattle were rested before the last walk into Smithfield, and it still breaks down whole animals, in a purpose-built butcher's room in the basement.
Why go
The kitchen buys meat at Smithfield and fruit and vegetables at New Spitalfields each morning, then butchers everything on site daily, which is why the card changes with what is hanging rather than with a print run. That setup is what makes the 45-day aged beef tartare and the braised ox cheek pie possible in a pub this size: aging a primal for six weeks needs the space and the turnover, and buying whole carcasses forces the slow cuts onto the menu. The MICHELIN Guide lists it, without a star, and its inspector picks out the deeply addictive beef dripping served with the bread
alongside melt-in-the-mouth braised short rib
(MICHELIN). It has traded since 2012 and still runs as a pub, with drinkers at the bar and a Saturday breakfast service.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the bread with beef dripping first, then whatever slow cut is on that day, ox cheek pie or short rib. The 45-day aged beef tartare is the one dish that shows the aging program directly.
- Avoid: the carte at weekday lunch. Two courses off the set lunch are £24, three are £28, from the same kitchen.
What locals & experts say
- MICHELIN Guide:
In-house butchered meats reign supreme at this rustic, mid-19th Century pub, which is filled with diners and drinkers alike,
with guiding principles ofSeasonal
andBritish
produce,ranging from Aberdeen Angus to Sutton Hoo chicken.
1 - Harden's (survey): meat dishes are
just spectacular,
comingfrom carcases butchered on-site in their own butchery,
food rated 4 out of 5 at £76 a head.2 - Top 50 Gastropubs (profile):
The Pig and Butcher in London's Islington is a fascinating gastropub with a brilliant ethos,
established 2012, with the on-site butchery run to cut waste.4
Good to know
- Timing: open seven days. Kitchen noon to 3pm and 6pm to 9.30pm on weekdays, Saturday breakfast 9am to 11.30am then straight through to 9.30pm, Sunday 11.30am to 9pm.
- Booking: by phone, email or SevenRooms. Sunday fills.
- Price: £76 a head per the Harden's survey; £24 for the two-course weekday lunch.
- Michelin: a Guide listing, not a star and not a Bib Gourmand.
- Dietary: no gluten-free, celiac or vegan statement is published, so ask when you book.
- Location: 80 Liverpool Road, about eight minutes from Angel.
Craft signals (kitchen: a daily card off an in-house butchery)
Two signals and one causes the other. The menu changes daily, and the reason is the butcher's room on site: whole animals arrive from named UK farms and get broken down here to cut waste, so the card follows what is actually hanging rather than a printed list. The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs entry describes exactly that, a menu rotating on what is in the room. A kitchen with its own butchery and a fixed menu would be wasting the butchery.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Pub grub. Michelin" REAL.
Verdict
should-visit — The Pig and Butcher is worth the detour, on the butchery. Very few London pubs break down whole carcasses in their own basement daily, and that is what puts a 45-day aged tartare and an ox cheek pie on the same short card. Michelin's inspector picks out the beef dripping with the bread, Harden's rates the food 4 out of 5 at £76 a head. It is a neighborhood pub doing one thing at a high level rather than a destination kitchen.