The Prince Arthur
Emma Piggott and Jonathan Mercer relaunched this Forest Road boozer in 2020 and run its kitchen as a rotating chef residency, the same incubator that housed Hot 4 U before that pop-up became Papi around the corner.
Why go
The residency record is the credential. Mamapen's Kaneda Pen cooked Khmer food here in 2020, Hot 4 U used the kitchen on its way to a permanent site, and Hot Dinners has tracked each handover since. The Nudge reports the current resident: "The latest chef to take the reins is Joe Couldridge, whose résumé spans serious London kitchens, including Hawksmoor, Leroy, and, most recently, The Clarence Tavern." The operators run The Plough in Homerton and the You Call the Shots bar on Morning Lane, so the pub sits inside a small Hackney group with a hospitality-first record.
Order this / avoid
- Order: from whatever the current residency does best; under Couldridge that means British seasonal produce through an Italian lens, oysters and small plates included, with the Sunday roast as the fixed point.
- Avoid: turning up for a dish you read about last year. The kitchen turns over by design, so check the current resident first.
What locals & experts say
- Hot Dinners (Jul 2023):
London Fields pub The Prince Arthur scores a hot new head chef,
part of its running coverage of the pub as an incubator.2 - The Nudge: Couldridge's
résumé spans serious London kitchens, including Hawksmoor, Leroy, and, most recently, The Clarence Tavern.
3 - Hot Dinners (Mar 2020):
Mamapen sets up a Cambodian residency at Dalston's Prince Arthur.
1
Good to know
- Timing: evening-led pub service with weekend lunches and a Sunday roast; confirm hours on the site.
- Booking: book for dinner via SevenRooms or Resy; the bar stays walk-in.
- Getting there: 95 Forest Road, between London Fields and Dalston; ten minutes from London Fields Overground.
Craft signals (a residency programme across cuisines)
Two signals from two different eras of the same pub, which is what makes it a programme rather than a change of chef. Hot Dinners covered Mamapen setting up a Cambodian residency here in March 2020 under Kaneda Pen, and the current residency is Joe Couldridge reading British seasonal produce through an Italian lens. A pub that has handed its kitchen from Khmer cooking to Anglo-Italian is running a platform, and the practical consequence is the one the entry already states: order the current residency's menu, not a dish from a review.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: Pub with food tesidencies
Verdict
could-visit — A London Fields pub run since 2020 as a residency incubator with a real graduation record, Hot 4 U cooked here before becoming Papi. The current Couldridge menu reads strong on pedigree, but a rotating kitchen means the rung belongs to the format, and formats earn could-visit until a specific menu earns more.