The Farrier occupies part of the old horse hospital
THE tourists are back in Camden Market – amid rumours that the whole place is up for sale. For locals, it is hard to keep up.
Teddy Sagi, the Israeli owner, has transformed the market in less than a decade.
Hawley Wharf, the lavish new development, is a striking feat of architectural design. There’s a branch of Sports Direct slap bang in Stables Market; a three-floor intergalactic theme park called Babylon Park buried underground.
I have no idea how many north Londoners visit these days, but the market undoubtedly offers a dazzling choice of food and drink.
My trip was to The Farrier, described as the market’s first-ever pub and neighbourhood restaurant.
The venue is easy to find via the entrance opposite Morrisons in Chalk Farm Road. It occupies part of the 200-year-old horse hospital, where back in the day the animals would recuperate after their gruelling work hauling trains and canal barges.
The Farrier spans two large rooms with high ceilings and exposed brick. One is the dining room; the other the bar space, with comfy leather sofas and piles of board games.
The most striking aspect is their wine list. The Farrier specialises in natural wines, with bottles also available to take home.
There’s an orange wine from Wales, for example, made with the Albariño grape; an on-trend bubbly from Sussex, plus tempting vintages from growers across Europe, including a new wave from Hungary and Slovenia.
Other drinks include pints from Camden Town Brewery and well-made cocktails.
The Farrier is open for lunch from Monday to Sunday and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. On Sundays, the chefs offer roasts and will fire up the barbecue for the remainder of August.
The venue is busiest at lunchtimes when it attracts footfall from the market. Dinner service is more quiet, once the crowds have died down.
The food menu, it’s fair to say, is less exciting than the wine list. Mains are largely crowd-pleasers such as burgers, sausage and mash or fish and chips.
There are flashes of intrigue in a starter of ham hock with a wild garlic dressing or a chocolate brownie with a scoop of parsnip ice cream.
The staff were charming and our table was set with fresh flowers and a flickering candle.
The food, however, did not lift the spirits.
A lack of balance and under-seasoning was a theme; a heritage tomato salad was dressed with too much oil and too little salt; crab cakes were light on the crustacean; a burger over-loaded with sweet onion relish. But these can be fixed with a few tweaks.
It will be fascinating to see if The Farrier will draw in a local crowd. Creating an atmospheric gastro pub from scratch is a tricky thing to do. But I’ll be back for a glass of wine and to watch the market world drift by.
The Farrier
Camden Stables Market,
87/88 North Yard, NW1
0208 092 4100
www.thefarriercamden.com
