A youthful, exuberant shot in the arm to the predictable gastro offerings in the capital, the team behind the POW are setting the pace in 2010.

The Venue
An unassuming pub in East Putney isn’t the sort of place you’d expect to eat food that trumps some of the highly-vaunted fine dining restaurants in the capital – but that’s exactly what you’ll find at the POW.

First and foremost a pub with a solid local following, this regally named boozer has a small outdoor terrace with some communal benches, whilst inside there’s an initial bar that leads through to a dining room complete with carnivore porn, including photos of fat pigs hanging from hooks and sideways illustrations of cows and their respective cuts scribbled on top. Subtle it ain’t.

The Atmosphere
In the dining area, ladies of a pensionable age are happy to tap you on the shoulder to enquire what you’re having for starter, and locals, mainly content on tucking into the safer menu options, sit alongside couples, both young and old. Staff are fresh-faced, full of enthusiasm, passionate about the business and bloody good at what they do.

The Food
Pubs with imagination are increasingly installing chefs with the technical ability and know how to question the school of thought that restaurants are where it’s at when it comes to the best food in the capital. In fact, you’ll happily rip up the rule book at the Prince of Wales.

The chef may have trained at Tom Aitkens and the venue is owned by the same people behind the Bull and Last in Highgate, but even so the food is unexpectedly good. A starter of light, wispy calamari - as good if not better than anything you’ll get in Greece - is served in a large, hollow, shell-shaped bowl with a pungently intense garlic alioli dip and a Greek-style salad of zingy tomatoes and muddled aubergine.

Another, seemingly on-trend starter (it’s doing the rounds on menus at the moment), the quail turns out to be a clever twist on what a member of staff comically calls ‘chicken and chips’. The delicate quail is carefully glazed and grilled, then placed on a long thin plate in three servings with deep-fried stringy potato chips and homemade coleslaw. This could easily be the culinary equivalent of a tarted-up KFC but the quail is succulent and has a slight barbecue flavour to it, the chips are crisp and crunchy and the coleslaw sweet and creamy. Altogether it’s a dish that could easily become a guilty pleasure.

On first glance the clear favourite amongst other diners, the beef onglet (also known as the butcher’s cut) seems to be the perfect choice for the classic pub experience. But, you’d be best advised to think again and choose something like the perfectly pan-fried plaice, which has a golden coating and meltingly soft white fish. The ingredients it’s served with - a broad brushstroke of vivid pureed pineapple, irony spinach and diced peanuts and chilli - create a wonderful mix of flavours and textures that makes it a joy to demolish. Equally good is a shoulder of lamb with coriander, chickpeas and pomegranate seeds, giving it an exotic edge. The piece de resistance of this dish is a separate rolled wrap containing shredded lamb, crushed pistachios and spices. Again, it is all very inventive.

Puddings don’t let the side down. Scoops of naughty chocolate and nut ice cream are enhanced with a white frothy foam poured over the top, and another plate sees a palate-cleansing mix of little round scoops of sorbet enveloped by mango. All in all, one of the most complete meals you’ll have eaten for quite some time.

The Drink
Red Stripe and Black Sheep are amongst the highlights on draught; the wine list features some astute selections such as the ripe and frisky Australian shiraz and a more complicated Argentinean cabernet sauvignon; but it’s the cocktails where the real magic happens. The manager is a cocktail-maker extraordinaire, seemingly able to create flavours in a glass that Willy Wonka would be proud of. The cocktail oddities include a tropical tumbler paired with a huge line of crushed pistachios and a wedge of Turkish Delight, and a signature rhubarb and custard Martini that’s taken months of testing to perfect.

The Last Word
By installing a young, passionate team and allowing them to experiment in wonderful ways with their food and cocktails, The Prince of Wales offers a completely inspiring experience.

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