la.foodblogging

Having been to England, I have often marveled at how much different their cuisine is from anything I’ve had. Perhaps it due to the lack of spices used, which generates a much more natural flavor. Additionally, the ingredients don’t have much variation. Being someone who loves different styles of food as well as the many different offerings I can have, English food is fairly low on my list of desirable cuisines.

Nevertheless, when I do have a craving, I find myself heading to Ye Old King’s Head in Santa Monica. With many British ex-pats frequenting the pub/restaurant, I know that the food has to stand up to high standards.

As with any British pub, the dish by which they are all judged is the fish and chips. Here, they do it very well. They use fresh cod and their preparation leaves the fish juicy and full of flavor. While my girlfriend wasn’t a fan of the batter, I found it complemented the fish very nicely. The key with good fish and chips is to find the right ratio of batter and fish because it can be easy for one to overpower the other.

I ordered the special of the day, which was a lamb pie. This dish blew me away. The lamb chunks were succulent and soft. Too often, I find that restaurants overcook lamb, which turns it into some hard, stringy substance. The gravy was extremely flavorful, imbued with the taste of lamb, carrots, and peas.

I loved the pastry that came on top. It was light and crispy and delicious once it had soaked up the gravy. Given a choice, I would always order the mashed potatoes. Mixed with the stew, the combination was scrumptious. Heck, they even gave me some extra stew, knowing full well how good it and the potatoes were together.

Perhaps the best part about the King’s Head is that it doubles as bar, so after dinner you can hang out with your friends. Or, if you want to head somewhere else, the 3rd Street Promenade is right around the corner, so you can walk off all those calories.

Ye Old King’s Head
116 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401

By Jeff (see more of his posts).