After two years on London’s pub scene, people are now starting to catch on to Haggerston’s gastropub The Fox.

The Venue
The Fox doesn’t present itself as anything extraordinary. Absolutely everything about it fits the criteria of the standard London gastropub formula: wooden floors, battered leather sofas, antique mix and match tables and chairs in a dimly lit corner building. But this dominant formula works nevertheless.

There’s a roof terrace here that, surprisingly, is poorly advertised. Despite being right on Kingsland Road this outside space is very quiet and the addition of a gazebo assists in blocking out the frenetic surroundings. Bizarrely, there are tables and chairs right outside the pub on the main road and patrons regularly occupy the on-street seating as opposed to the far more appealing roof terrace. Good news for those in the know!

The Fox also screens major sporting events and football matches, which has undoubtedly led to a sudden popularity growth spurt. Even to someone opposed to TVs in pubs it isn’t that offensive - perhaps in part due to the refined crowd that this pub attracts.

The Atmosphere
The Fox is a funny kind of place. It has all the right elements to work well, but its taken two years to get to a point where it actually does. Even now it should be more popular than it is, especially taking into account the changing nature of the locale.

On weekends, the nights are barely busier than the days, but then that’s not a total disaster in itself as the bar is rarely empty, maintaining a calm flow of patrons. The seamless transition from a day to night crowd testifies to the fact that this place is relaxed and full of people who want to watch the game in peace, or indulge in an early evening tipple. It’s a far cry from its compatriots down in Shoreditch. In terms of punters, there’s the odd local but you can expect to find mostly couples or small groups of friends acting in a very civilised manner. Its much more of a meeting place than a boozer.

The Food
Originally, The Fox advertised itself as an organic gastropub, which was somewhat baffling as hardly any of the dishes on the menu were, in fact, organic. Nowadays it doesn’t profess to be exclusively organic but does offer plenty of organic fare. Confusing. In all fairness, the menu is perfectly proportioned with a focus on Mediterranean dishes such as tapas, pizza and pasta – and the food is delicious. They’re tripping over themselves here to get people through the door with a myriad of offers. The food offers such as 2-4-1 on organic pizza work out as great value.

The Drink
Again, its offers galore on drinks: 2-4-1 cocktails any time of the day, and four-hour happy hours where a glass of Rose, usually priced £3.75, plummets to just £2. There’s a standard selection of beers, alongside a wine list that offers a better selection (and price) than other pubs in the area. The cocktails are quite inconsistent in quality and this is directly related to who makes them. However, at 2-4-1 who are we to complain?

The Last Word
Although it has all right ingredients to become a huge success, you get the impression that the management aren’t quite sure what to do with The Fox, except inundate you with special offers and oversell it. The food is great, the drinks are pretty good and if you live in the area then it has the potential to become your favourite local.

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