Reviews The Jolly Gardeners

We are so lucky to have this pub just down the road. The food always divine, service charming and a great wine list!

Lovely food in a relaxed atmosphere including very friendly service...recommended.

Dhruv Baker embarked on a career in food after winning MasterChef in 2010, gaining experience in Le Gavroche & The Kitchin amongst other top restaurants. More recently he teamed up with Adam Pomaro to launch catering company Earlsfield Kitchen before deciding over a bottle of wine (or two) that they might as well go one step further and take over an actual kitchen in Earlsfield - that of The Jolly Gardeners pub.

I went down primarily to take some photos but ended up eating a whole lot of wonderful food with Jo The Sis. A quick scan of the menu reveals standard pub items - pork belly, lamb, asparagus, steak etc. It's only after a second look that you start to spot Dhruv's Indian influences sneaking in - tamarind yoghurt, cardamom puree, turmeric and fennel better, and so on. This is what takes The Jolly Gardeners dishes to the next level.

Our two starters were simply magnificent (and oh so photogenic - beware NSFW eggporn below).

- English Asparagus, Soft-Boiled Burford Brown Egg, Bacon & Sage Crumble, Hollandaise - £8

- Spiced Crab Cakes, Shaved Fennel, Tamarind Yoghurt £8

You can't really go wrong eith egg, bacon, asparagus and a tonne of butter - the Burford Brown egg was beautifully cooked and presented in a light crumb batter. A generous portion of moreish crab cakes were elevated by shaved fennel and that tamarind yoghurt.

We sought out more of Dhruv's unconventional flavours in our mains:

- Pan-fried Sea Bream, Turmeric & Fennel Butter, Coconut Green Beans, Cumin Sautéed Potatoes - £14

- 28 day aged Ribeye Steak, Teriyaki Glaze, Shallot Puree, Fries - £22.50

If you want your kids to eat their greens, invite Dhruv round for tea and tell him to bring his coconuts. And if you think you've had steak and chips one too many times, I can highly recommend their teriyaki glaze twist, supported by a scene-stealing dollop of shallot puree. Delicious.

Portions are generous throughout, but do not under any circumstances skip dessert, however full you are. £7.50 may look a little pricey on the page, but once you've tasted Dhruv's bonkers creations you'll be going back for seconds. Here are four of the best:

- Raspberry Mille Feuille, Chantilly Cream, Raspberry Sorbet, Raspberry Tuille - £7.50

- Chocolate Cake, Guinness Sauce, Hazelnut Brittle Ice Cream - £7.50

- Rocky Road, Blood Orange, Vanilla Cream, Banana and Black Sesame Ice Cream - £7.50

- Banana Tarte Fine, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Parfait - £7.50

We demolished the bottom two on that list, both of which had even more fun on the plate than mentioned above. It's real Willy Wonka stuff (though not quite to Parlour's level) that'll send you back on to Garratt Lane with a big grin on your face.

Three courses at The Jolly Gardeners will set you back around £30-40 before booze which is a pricey night out at the pub, but Dhruv & co. are on to something special here and I wouldn't be surprised if awards and accolades start coming their way once the rest of London takes notice. It's worth going well out of your way for, and I suggest you do so soon before word gets out.

I've known this pub for many years before the fabulous food by Adam + team with sublime service led by Steve - it's never been better! If it was at the bottom of our road I'd be asking for a job! Never had a bad anything, need to make it our regular! (wont be good for the waistline though! ;-)

Booked private dining here for a special occasion. From the canapees to the main and dessert, everything was exceptional. I couldn't fault a thing. Service was impeccable too, I really can't praise the team at the Jolly Gardener highly enough. They do a cracking Sunday lunch too! Can recommend :D

I love this pub. Food is always so good and the staff are very friendly and welcoming. Definitely recommend the roasts…. Absolutely delicious, well worth a visit!

Great local pub & restaurant, great for social occasions and casual meetups. Friendly staff and excellent menu for small bites or full meals

BEST PLACE IN LONDON! There were lots of locals. It's a bit out of the way for tourists, which we really liked. Just a wonderful menu, clean, cool, perfect. My food was amazing. Wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

Was here for a private event in the garden. Really friendly staff, great suntrap and food was good quality!

A fantastic pub, I've been going for years - perfect for a quick drink, but just as good for a special occasion meal. The bar snacks are epic (and massive, be careful not to order too many!). The staff are awesome too.

We found this lovely little pub a few months back. Ask the staff behind the bar if they did food they were quite happy to say yes we do. So had some lovely food that evening with my wife. Thoughts will bring the kids back this time totally forgetting that we had the dog with us. We asked staff if we could bring the dog in and they were happy to oblige and say yes there is not a problem at all. Sat down with the children and had a lovely meal with no complaints. Unusually kids do not really like vegetables but even our youngest Emma was quite happy to try a few. I could just pop a five star rating for one reason being polite manners go and awful long way. And the food is great and is also a lovely little pub with good Beer.

Great pub with amazing. Service can be a bit slow. Menue changes constat but ravioli is a delicious meal in itself. I had tge pork belly as a main which is also a winner.