Grocer

The Grocer is the second Geronimo Inns owned venue i have in of late. No firm plan just purely my accident. This is more of a wine bar than pub. In fact, if it didn’t have the engraved wine glasses and familiar menus I would have thought I was in a Drake & Morgan bar. The snazzy lighting, bunkets, sofas, high ceilings, feels very unpub like which is what I would associate with Geronimo.
Anyway it is a great spot for drinking. Right in Spitalfields market. You can prop up the bar or settle into a sofa. The drinks offering is the norm, decent wines and beers.
Where they get it wrong, once again, is the food. A burger and some stodgy mac and cheese type thing later and we are miffed as to how they can label this food. The burger meat could be used to scrub my pots and pans, the crab mac and cheese apparently tasted of someone thing defrosted and microwaved.
Owl & Pussycat was a let down and now The Grocer. Stick to booze guys, food just isn’t your forte.

Came here on a cold Sunday afternoon, hoping to get delicious sustenance and respite from the cold, only to be bitterly, bitterly disappointed. There were five of us, so we were seated in the booths by the window, which turned out to be no warmer than outside, so we ended up huddled in our winter coats throughout our meal.
Scouring the rather limited menu, which seemed very much focussed on British options, I opted for the fish and chips, primarily because it came with a side of mushy peas. What I received was an enormous piece of cod covered in incredibly doughy batter, a decent amount of chips, and a spoonful of mushy peas. I can’t deny that they didn’t give me what they said they would, but I did expect them to be a bit more generous with the peas.
The fish in itself was pretty tasteless, but the batter, oh the batter! It was TERRIBLE. It wasn’t light or crispy. Instead, it was more bread-​like. In terms of volume, it was probably equal to the size of the fish. My companion thought they used the wrong flour — self-​raising instead of plain. Whether that was an accident, incompetence or intentional, I couldn’t say, and even the copious addition of any kind of condiment I could lay my hands on didn’t help. I even slathered malt vinegar on to the fish to no avail.
Was there anything I liked about this place? Well, there were obviously some saving graces, otherwise this would be a one star review. My companion said his chicken wasn’t bad, but everything else that came with it was terrible. So there you go. One additional star for not having crap chicken.
So, would I come back? Hell, no. There are other places in the area that would serve much better food, and keep you warm for the same amount of money.

I was impressed with the Grocer. For having just opened, they seemed organised and well run, and there was a decent selection of beers and food. I think they could have gone a little bit further to find more microbrews (it’s east London after all!), but you’ll find plenty of Meantime and some good cask ales as well.
One thing I wasn’t quite able to figure out was whether Grocer wants to be a restaurant or a pub, and I think the answer is somewhere in between. Most of the interior (which had a cool style and décor) was reserved for diners, but there was an area by the bar where you could probably stand and get a drink. It’ll be interesting to see if enough people want to go just for food, or if they’ll need to change their interior plan at all.
On to the food: mostly very good. We shared a few dishes — the wings, crab mac & cheese, beef fries, and the chicken BLT (which had no bacon…). Everything was good, but it just wasn’t quite five starts. I’d go back again and see how it stacks up after being open a few months though!