The Beagle, Hoxton

Last Friday night some friends and I had dinner at The Beagle, which is based under the railway arches next to Hoxton over ground station. The décor here is industrial and trendy but warm and homely at the same time. They have a large bar area with inside and outside seating as well as a spacious dining area again with inside or outside dining. It was a glorious day last week so eating out was definitely an option but instead we chose inside so we could watch the open kitchen activity.

Tap water here comes in large fancy bottles but is very mildly carbonated. It reminds me a bit of soda water so it may be best to order a bottle of still if this is not to your taste. Whilst we were choosing our dinner we had some large tasty olives and some deliciously fresh, crusty bread with whipped butter. The girls ordered a bottle of wine and the boys had a couple of Hoxton lagers each.

For our starter we decided to share two plates of mussels between the four of us. They were a decent portion of very large, juicy mussels in a tasty sauce, which worked well with the crusty bread. For our main course the boys chose a rib of beef to share, which came with potato cakes. I went for a duck with lentils and spring greens whilst my other friend opted for hake with potato cake. We ordered a carrot and herb salad, an extra potato cake and spicy cabbage as side dishes. FYI the potato cakes are large fat crispy chips essentially.

We were all pretty full by this point but fancied a small mouthful of something sweet so chose a warm chocolate cake with a yoghurt ice cream. This was decadent and rich and delicious but the portion was teeny.

The menu changes regularly at the Beagle and they always have a specials board. Last Friday it was steak with chips, which came in a variety of different weights.

This restaurant is a great place to come with friends as it's busy (book ahead) and has the perfect bar / dinner combination. It would be OK for a date as it isn't too noisy due to the open space and high ceilings, however, it mainly attracts groups so I think it would be best to visit with companions. Our total bill including service from an extremely friendly, kind and polite waiter was £50 per head. So this isn't cheap bearing in mind we didn't have a tonne of alcohol, however, we did eat pretty well!

The food here is tasty, inventive and fresh. There will be something for everyone on the short menu and they can adapt dishes for different dietary requirements. It's a trendy place and seriously convenient for jumping on the over ground home! They have a great cocktail list too so I would definitely recommend a visit.