The Garrison, 99 Bermondsey St, SE1

Beautiful Jen

I’ve been going to The Garrison on Bermondsey Street for a few years now and the gastro fayre never disappoints. After buying some foodstuffs in Borough with my mum on Saturday we headed there for a spot of lunch and a glass of Pimms before jumping aboard a Thames Clipper for Greenwich.

The best steak sarnie and chips in London

I was craving their bloody steak sandwich but she was far more abstemious and ordered a summer salad of prosciutto, peaches, boccini mozzarella with a light vinaigrette and a side of hand cut chips. This seasonal dish is so simple but always delicious when the ham is good and the peaches are ripe.

We were eyeing up the pudding blackboard before we had finished the mains and were taken by the salted caramel ice-cream. Sadly they were out of this so we shared three scoops of pistachio and walnut which were still very good.

I had a birthday meal here a few years ago after being charmed by the shabby chic decor while out on a work lunch. As it’s just along from our flat I often go for breakfasts or an evening drink if it’s not too packed in there.

Petits mots left in the secret drawer

My favourite thing about it is a secret drawer I discovered on a night out. I had to get a snap of it (above) on Saturday as we were seated on the next table along- it is filled with amusing little notes left by Garrison regulars/scrawls from bored diners fed up with dates who have nipped to the loo- go for lunch and add to the pile!

All aboard to Greenwich!

The Anchor & Hope, 36 The Cut, SE1

I finally got round to trying out The Anchor & Hope with the brunette after a short tour of the Southbank chocolate festival to whet the appetite.

Sadly, we went the day after a glowing write up in Friday's Evening Standard magazine so the place filled up rapidly. Expecting a long wait (as this is another eatery that doesn't take bookings) we turned up shortly after 5pm - dinner service isn't till 6- and shared a bottle of Beaujolais at the bar. The wine came with quaint little goblets that we sank very easily. Half an hour later a red haired lady appeared and the crowd pinned her down to put their name on the coveted list. We were in a prime spot so were told we would be seated at 6pm and carried on drinking and watching staff prep herbs and bread.

By the time we sat down we'd run through the menu several times and both decided to go for the baked pig's cheek and fennel, shredded celeriac and mustard as it sounded interesting. I nipped to the loo to wash my hands and came back to find the dish already waiting for me. I like efficient service at restaurants but not if they churn you out the door as soon as you've walked in so we agreed to take our time and admired the wall of charming paintings above our head, all by artist Aldous Eveleigh.

The pig was an impressive rich brown colour and looked pretty against the celeriac and green cabbage but when I put my knife to it, it was rather gelatinous and quivered like a breast implant. I was expecting it to be crispy like pork belly but when I flipped it over found to my disappointment that there was a limited amount of meat there. Having said this, it was very well seasoned, as were the accompaniments and was not wholly unpleasant but like my mum I have a certain fat threshold with meat and left a fair bit of it.

Our waiter was very friendly and upon looking at our plates asked how we had enjoyed the dish. We confessed that we hadn't expected so much fat and he agreed adding: "but at least it's crispy". The brunette looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I'm not familiar with pig's cheek- should it be like that? Or, in their efforts to rush plates out did this little piggy lose its crunch? We saw subsequent covers emerge from the kitchen that looked more in line with what I was expecting..

Puddings were a triumph. Mark had a pistachio cake with rhubarb and creme fraiche. It was quite a dense piece but as we weren't overloaded by the first course this wasn't unwelcome. I went for buttermilk pudding and blood oranges which were nicely caramelised. I was expecting a hot rice pudding but it was like a pannacotta, and like my main had a wobbly consistency though this time was sweet and creamy and a lot more appetising!