The Hart is the latest venture for the Public House group – founded by childhood friends James Gummer and Phil Winser along with hospitality veteran Olivier van Themsche.
They are on a mission to open beautifully curated neighbourhood venues and dining rooms which celebrate British farmers and the good old British community pub.
Located at the corner of Chiltern Street and Blandford Street, the former Flowerhouse pub has been renamed after the family who ran the boozer back in the 1840s.
It officially opened on October 13 and now boasts cosy booths and snugs, brown leather and red velvet banquettes, reclaimed wood panelling and screens, and original stained glass in a makeover that resembles a gentleman’s club.
Posting on Instagram the group say they will be focusing on bringing back the tradition of the weekday pub lunch.
The trio who also own The Pelican in Westbourne Park, and The Fat Badger on Golborne Road are serving up snacks such as pork pie, pork scratchings and sardines on toast which can be ordered while sitting on stools in the ground floor bar – along with pints of Portobello London Pilsner or Allsopp’s IPA.
Upstairs there are dining rooms on the second and third floors but all three floors will serve a menu of crab cakes, steak and potatoes, lamb chop with beans, trout with horseradish, and hake with creamed spinach.
There are also soups and salads, kedgeree, bubble and squeak and leek tart which add a touch of nostalgia for those pub lunches of old.
As with all their pubs, meat is supplied by the group’s butchery in the Cotswolds, fruit and veg comes from their own Market garden in Oxfordshire, with other ingredients leaning into the British and seasonal.
Gummer says: “We’re excited to be opening in Marylebone and look forward to getting to know our neighbours. We will continue to serve classics using quality British produce but you will also find lighter options for the lunchtime crowd from soups and salads to tarts and kedgeree.”
The Hart is located at 56 Blandford St, London W1. www.thehartw1.com
