Address 443 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LN
Telephone: 020 7095 9443
Market House is a pub with attitude and a pop-up history. This is where in 2014 Tim Anderson, the Masterchef champion, started with a ‘pop-up’ before opening Nanban and in 2015 Mama’s Jerk, now of Pop Brixton, had a try-out. The current offering is hot dogs from an outfit with the slightly cringe-worthy name. For previous reviews from Market House see here and here
We chose one of the really busy nights – Saturday – but even then we did get a table for the two of us around 7:30. The pub was packed with a mixed stag/hen group and when they left there was relative peace. But if you want to have a romantic conversation then try another night or another place. You order at the bar and in all the confusion we ended up with three meals instead of two – and two was enough. So make sure the barman reviews your order before you finally pay.
There are a variety of hot dogs on the menu with added extras to make them relatively (definitely relatively) different. We chose the Moroccan and the German. My Moroccan was a daily special, so was just described in a yellow sticker on the menu, but the German is a regular and a definite favourite. Both come with fat chips (yes since the Trump election we are having no truck with “fries”. We are claiming our cultural independence.) which were excellent. We wanted to try the beer battered pickles but in the confusion we ended up with another meal instead. Both hot dog versions came with plenty of dips on the side.
The German comes with sauerkraut, caramelised onion, curry ketchup and mustard. This was enjoyable although the reference to currywurst was subtle, so don’t expect madras. The Moroccan comes with roasted pepper and Harisa relish, preserved lemon and Zatar. This was fantastic and certainly a recipe to follow at home. I could have eaten the relish on its own, so congratulations to the chef who thought this one up. And, a bit of an issue for us, the rolls were good at holding the meal together, so not too much mess.
The meal deal is good value – £10 for a hot dog and a drink. We had beer. The bill should have come to £20.00. Next time we will have the beer battered pickles.
EATINBRIXTON 