Beagle – Review

 I’ve been going to Hoxton for years well before it became so trendy that even the train station sign is cool. From the mid 80s on I used to play at The Bass Clef jazz club which also became an important venue in the early drum and bass scene, the club nights subsidising the more swinging bass and drum sounds of the jazz cats. Watching an area you know change so radically is a bit like watching a child develop. Brats can become sophisticated, urbane and charming and the sweetest children can turn into monsters….

Beagle is a restaurant and bar situated in a couple of railway arches right next to the station. It’s the baby of Danny and Kieran Clancy who are music promotors and in the kitchen is James Ferguson, who used to run the kitchen at Rochelle Canteen, Margot Henderson’s (wife of St. John’s Fergus) critically acclaimed East London joint. I don’t know Margot but she has danced to my piano playing a few times-I admire a woman who will shake a blue stockinged leg-and on that basis I’m hoping for good things from Ferguson.

The bar space is bright and buzzy and in the evening when lit up it looks pretty sexy. But down to business-we are here to sample the cocktail and bar snacks menu.

With the alcohol starting to hit the spot it was time for some nosh. Grilled pepperoncini (£3.50) were hot and salty-without the kick of the now ubiquitous Padron peppers but still very good.

For “dessert” we had a Lady of Bergamot made from Gin, Bergamot,  lemon and egg white (£8.50). It was a kind of  runny lemon syllabub cocktail and pretty good for that.

I’d be very happy if Beagle was my local hangout. The cocktails are reasonably priced and well made with distinct flavours and there is an attractive selection of local beers; the small but perfectly formed bar menu had some definite hits. I’d like to try the restaurant next to see how Ferguson fares on a bigger scale.

The Hedonist was a guest of Beagle