This is a deliriously niche statement, but there probably aren’t many pubs where you can pop in for a cheeky pint and casually order a bar snack of house-label Siberian Baerii caviar with a side of turbot-dripping potatoes.
But the Prince Arthur? Is one of them.
The Prince itself has been there for a couple of centuries on its well-heeled Belgravia corner, and it’s been a pub of some kind or another for pretty much all of that time. Well, for its latest outfit, it’s wearing the guise of a disarmingly chic Basque-style gastro, with a pretty stellar chef at the helm.
Step inside, and you’ll immediately feel the buzzing embrace of the convivial atmosphere. The space balances mid-century modernity with the ghost of European café culture. It’s all very polished – literally – thanks to a palette of dark reds, deep woods, and the occasional gleam of a well-cut cufflink resting against the brushed steel bar. This is Belgravia, after all. Said bar swells into the room like it’s jostling for space, elbowing aside the tables and making it clear that this is, first and foremost, a pub. The restaurant bit? Safely tucked away upstairs, where it won’t get in the way of a well-pulled pint.
Of course, this is not just any pub. There’s champagne. There’s caviar. Hell, they have their own brand of caviar. But none of the menu items are as terrifyingly multi-zeroed as you might fear (although if you do want to splash out, they’ll basically uncork a dam for you).
Helming the kitchen is chef Adam Iglesias—a man whose CV includes stints at the Michelin-starred Alameda in San Sebastián, the Michelin-Starred BRAT, Barrafina, and Sessions Arts Club. So he’s not a total neophyte, basically. And he comes from the Basque region (“not Spain” we’re reminded by the manager) too, and pours his heritage into anything he can slap on a grill.
On the menu, a few of the standouts include a whole cured red mullet, lightly kissed by flame, and resting in a pool of ajo blanco, as well as the rather inventive turbot-dripping potatoes, which come topped with a creamy heap of Txangurro crab. And coming off the mains and onto the coals, you can get the likes of a sizeable rib of Galician blonde ex-dairy beef, which comes with all that vividly rich ex-dairy flavour. The standouts, though, are the lobster-adjacent Carabinero prawns, which are plump, tender, and suffused with a potent, smokey, and legitimately gorgeous flavour from the grill. You’ll want to order dozens.
On the dessert menu, the Guinness ice cream isn’t particularly Guinness-y, but the torrija it comes partnered up with is thick, caramelised, and deeply satisfying. And the Basque cheesecake? You can practicality feel the chef’s pride emanate off it – it’s silky, gorgeous, and justified.
And as for the drinks, there are cocktails, and a nice selection of wines too, with a sommelier dependable enough to find you something you’ll like…
…Or you can just get a cheeky pint.
NOTE: The Prince Arthur is open now, Tuesday to Sunday. You can find out more and make a booking at the Prince Arthur website.
The Prince Arthur | 11 Pimlico Rd, SW1W 8NA
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