Fentiman Arms (Bar, Restaurant)

Top 10 things to know about The Fentiman Arms:

1) Pubs are sacred. Like churches with booze, all are welcome - lone phone gazers, burgeoning lovers, frustrated ranters and feasting friends, even if that feast is lager and a splayed bag of crisps.

2) The Fentiman Arms pub in Oval is a beacon on a dark night, on the corner of a street filled with big houses that have chandeliers. Even if you’ll never be able to afford one, you can still feel like a local sitting at the bar.

3) Spread over two floors, the interior is the familiar “industrial with touches of ironic wallpaper” style you’ll be familiar with from visiting any pub in London. Get settled into a booth and discover that the Fentiman Arms has something to keep all species of pub-goer happy; cocktails, ales, quiz nights, events and piping hot British sustenance.

4) It’s a cosy bolt hole in winter; there’s a roaring fire. Or, you can make use of the big beer garden when it’s finer.

5) It gets busy during cricket season as the Oval ground is near enough to walk but far enough that it feels hidden from the crowds. There’s even a resident cat to pet if you’re not a sports fan.

6) The ground floor is primarily set up for drinkers and snackers, and the first floor is a dining room that could be used to host events or a quieter place to eat.

7) The food choices are an array of what could be termed as classics: prawn cocktail, bangers and mash, fish and chips, liver and bacon.

8) Anyone not feeling nostalgic is catered for with dishes like pearl barley risotto or a take on ham egg and chips with a “pineapple croquette” from the “back to school” section on the menu (a play on words as the dining room is a book-lined library).

9) Desserts are divinely and unashamedly decadent. Trifle will arrive studded with booze-sodden fruit, covered in whipped cream and wholly satisfying.

10) The Fentiman Arms isn’t revolutionary. It’s a place you’ll be very familiar with that you can slip into in the same way that you slip into that old jumper that’s the most comfortable thing you own. There’s something about a place where you can return to again and again for anything from a big birthday bash to reading the paper with a quiet pint. ...read more