The Goat - join the herd in Baa-tersea Rise

I received an email on Friday asking if I’d like a free meal for two at The Goat, Clapham Junction. Needless to say, I read the email three times looking for the catch.

When it was apparent there wasn’t one – they’re simply launching a new menu – I called immediately and reserved a table for two for Monday evening (tonight).

To get two complimentary meals from the “fresh new menu” under the terms of the preview week deal, we had to:
a) make a booking
b) turn up
c) choose a main course dish each, and
d) eat

It wasn’t as hard as it might sound. Really.

What a lovely start to the working week!

I chose something that I wouldn’t ordinarily if I was paying but instead took a bit of a gamble: seared pigeon (very rich, strong, gamey-flavoured tender breast cooked quite rare) which was really good accompanied with a (shared) bottle of rioja @ £18.00. C had the 21-day aged 10oz rib-eye steak, roasted cherry tomatoes and rosemary chips which was equally good.

Seared pigeon with crispy bacon, mushroom + potato salad + balsamic dressing @ £14.00

21 day aged 10oz rib-eye steak, roasted cherry tomatoes + rosemary chips @ £15.75

The upstairs dining area was fairly quiet and serving staff were attentive and happy to talk us through the menu items we had questions about (both food and wine).

The new menu is good. And it’s a nice enough pub serving a decent selection of wines and real ales. One selling point on their website is that “You won’t find a Blossom Hill in here!” – good. But save your trip to the loo until you’re ready to leave: the floor in the ladies’ was flooded on our visit this evening (as it has been on my previous visits). Not all toilet cubicles were in working order and were just unnecessarily grim.

Pub info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 3.5 / 5
~ Type: British, pub
~ Address: 66 Battersea Rise, London
~ Postcode: SW11 1EQ
~ Tel: 020 7350 0349
~ Nearest train station: Clapham Junction
~ Website + menus: The Goat website
~ Location: The Goat map

View Larger Map