The Dovetail

Fantastic food and service
Ordered the braised steak and beef stew, which were recommended by our server and were outstanding
Had a tasty white beer and a sour strawberry and raspberry
Would absolutely recommend this pub

Had a lunch here today with colleagues. Friendly service and good food — although the steak baguette seemed pretty challenging to eat. I don’t drink so can’t speak for the beer selection but it was indeed vast. Definitely a nice spot.

I walk by this place everyday to work and everytime I pass by I feel like getting in for a quick gulp of some delicious Belgian beer, irrespective of the time of the day. Not to mention, their Belgian cuisine which includes some authentic ones such as Antwerp fish stew. They also have daily employee recommendations on a blackboard inside. The whole pub also has a Belgian pub lane feel to it, kind of like the famous Delirium of Grote Markt in Brussels. There are also some trappist murals on the pub wall if I remember correctly.
This place is quite packed on most evenings, and unlike most London pubs, even if the pub is full, you can drink beer on the lane outside. For history buffs (which I also happen to be!), this place is located on a street (or more of a passage) called Jerusalem passage (
) with a plaque dedicated to ‘Thomas Britton, the musical coalman’. There is also the chic St Johns square next to it.

Chorizo burger and frites were just ok. Service was attentive and the beer list was great. Pricing was as expected, and ambiance was exactly what I wanted for a solo trip to Belgian beer heaven.

Hidden gem in London! We only found this place as it was close to our dinner venue hidden along a little alleyway. What a find — dozens of Belgian ales and they even have Delirium on tap! Fantastic staff who are happy to make recommendations (just be careful you don’t end up with something at 12%!) Really lovely atmosphere too and the two times we popped in over the weekend we managed to find a table as well. Can’t fault the place — will definitely be recommending it to people for a while!

The 3 stars are JUST for the quality of the beer! Really tasty beers.
HORRIBLE service. We waited about 10 minutes for the guy to serve one beer to person before us.
Very slow and not very interested in serving, in talking and generally in life itself…
Oh and make sure you know the name of what you are ordering cause their menus are scrambled up and you might end up getting a glass of rose wine for no reason

Went there for a quick afterwork beer with a fellow belgian yesterday evening. Posters of Tintin on the walls, vintage «Westmalle» drink menus, these details clearly made me think of an old «bistrot» as we call them back home. The amount of draught and bottled beers is pretty amazing as well. The place is pretty big and monday isn’t specifically the busiest nights, and so it kind of felt «cold».so I’ll have to come back later during the week (or this might just be a good excuse :)
Location is very convenient though, and I guess it’s just nice to know that whenever I feel homesick, I can come here and drown my sorrows in a good old belgian triple ! Hips.

This is a Belgian pub and restaurant with a hugely extensive list of beers, and an amazing menu.
We went on a Friday lunch time and thank goodness we reserved. It was full. Most people were ordering burgers; they looked amazing, especially the veggie burger. But whenever there are mussels on the menu I have to have them. They were delicious. Big portion, great sauce, and good quality mussels. They come served with fries and fresh bread. That’s a lot of food when you have to go back to your desk in the afternoon!
The rest of the menu looked great; plenty of delicious veggie options too.
Service was good and efficient, despite the lunch hour crowd. Definitely want to come on an evening to check out the atmosphere.
Will definitely be coming back here.

Oooh, it’s a squeeze in here alright! But that’s what I love about British pubs. The whole place feels like a nook of some other place, and whilst we’re talking on that — cheers to the table service meaning we didn’t have to scooch (sp?) to the bar at all. In fact, double that, as our waitress was amazing and tolerated many «just one more» orders. Fair play.
Smokers get to hang out and hang easy in the cool alleyway out front. Next to the bins, sure, but that’s what we deserve. (Love hate relationship with the cigs.) The range of beers is huge and I was not careful to remember which individual tipples I tried — to be fair, I started out on a lager around 4.5 percent (because, can’t drink on an empty stomach) then my steadfast refusal for the tougher stuff waned and I ordered something crafty at 6 percent ish. Either way, all the sips are sound.
Sadly, they’d run out of beef burgers, so I had the bison. It was really good — sturdy, huge, trimmed well, but alas, a little too gamey to finish. Solid chips. Decent array of eats. My friend had a cauliflower burger, which you might sniff at, but seriously — I made the wrong choice. I think cauli is the new brussels sprout, lads.
Anyway — love this spot. It’s happening, it’s friendly, it’s got great options, and it’s only a short run to the tube. I’m into it.

Really really liked this little bar/​pub. Somewhere definitely not on my radar before with it being situated just up Jerusalem Passage, but somewhere I really want to get back to in the not too distant future.
Basically these guys sell awesome beer, amazing Belgian beer, loads of awesome amazing Belgian beer in fact!
Heading off here for afterwork drinks on a Thursday we were lucky to get a table with it being pretty busy by 6 and a lot reserved for later (book ahead peeps) but from this point we were nicely settled in and made it into quite the epic evening.
The food was fairly rustic Belgian fair, I enjoyed digging into the cheese fondue as a starter and the steak baguette was good for a main — but I wish I’d spent more time looking at the menu (as opposed to gabbing away with my friends first off…) as there looked to be some pretty interesting things going on there.
Fun conversations with friends mixed with tasty Belgian IPA, white Chimay and lots of random stubby bottles with foreign names scribbled on them made this a super fun night.

The definition of Dovetail: «fit or cause to fit together easily and conveniently.»
And, indeed it is just this. The Dovetail and I, we just fit together… and conveniently, it’s located fairly close to my office, but even if it weren’t, I’d find my way back here. The Belgian siren song is fierce, my friends.
So let’s see, my most recent outing involved a Duvel, a few Saisons, some blonde beers, maybe a Leffe? Wow, now that I think about it – I lost count. Which probably explains the drunk dial to my mum on the walk home and waking up snuggled with the dog on the sofa at 3am. Guess there are worse outcomes eh?! I guess I had some fun.
Make a booking! We lucked out on a recent Thursday night but unless you’d like to hang outside in the lovely old Jerusalem Passage (it really is quite nice), call ahead to book a spot, particularly for the eats. The menu is pretty heavy (cheese fondue? deep fried avocado? anyone anyone?) — but there are some light bites to be had for those that want them (the miso glazed salmon was pretty spot on), and even a few veg-​friendly plates.
BUT THE BEER. Man, it will punch you in the face if you aren’t careful. Read your labels (or don’t), and pace yourselves.
3x I’ve been, the service has been pretty great given the fact that its usually pretty busy with folks clammoring for more of those face punchers.
A fun night out with pals, after work spot, a festive spot to kick back and enjoy a few. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though, you’ll be hooked. Belgians do it up right in the beer department.

The Dovetail is one of those surprising spots, since it doesn’t look like much from the outside or inside, just another pub.
Well, first you have to find it. It’s tucked down Jerusalem Passage, which means you’re never going to find it unless you’re looking for it. And then when you do, you may walk right by. Don’t. Go in. Grab a table at the rickety bench or the wobbly wooden table, because this is a spot for drinking.
You may realise from the TinTin posters on the wall or the epic beer menu that this is a Belgian bar. And they do not fail. The beer is epic, they have delicious mussels, fries and fondue. The staff is friendly. The atmosphere is lively. It’s a good place.
Sometimes, they’ll take your order at your table. But sometimes you have to fight your way through the crowded bar of people just standing there or people trying to order themselves to get food or drinks. It can be kind of crazy depending on what hour it is (it also can be incredibly calm and easy to do.)
Be bold, walk down that passage you’ve never walked down and enjoy your night!

Everything here is so delicious! I had an amazing baked Camembert and wild boar sausage which was the perfect thing to pair with a crisp Belgian beer. I’m usually not a huge beer lover but Belgian wheats are an exception. Loved all the fruit beer options as well for the summer months. Cute little bar right off clerkenwell with a little bit of outdoor seating; can’t wait to make this place a regular haunt.

I came here on a Friday after work and it was jam packed but the beer selection is awesome and offers something different to the usual pub. Also they have great Tin Tin posters on the wall

Ein weiterer Stop auf meiner Tour durch London. Und was für einer! Bier-​Liebhaber kommen hier voll auf ihre Kosten. Denn hier gibt es eine sooo große Auswahl an belgischen Bieren, dass man gar nicht weiß, wo man zuerst anfangen soll. Gar kein Problem, die Jungs hinter der Theke stehen mir Rat, Tat und einem kleinen Probierschlückchen zur Seite.
Da kann man locker den ganzen Abend verbringen, denn auch für genügend Grundlage ist gesorgt. Angefangen bei einem wirklich tollen Beer & Cheese fondue (Daumen hoch dafür), einem Riesenpott Muscheln bis hin zu verschiedenen Gourmetburgern ist alles dabei. Geschmacklich war alles wirklich gut, am besten haben mir Fondue und Muscheln gefallen. Und die Pommes — wenn die Belgier eins können, dann Kartoffeln frittieren! Vegetarier werden hier wahrscheinlich nicht ganz so glücklich werden, darüber muss man sich im Klaren sein.
Der Service war super freundlich und bemüht, uns trotz enormen Andrangs ein tolles Erlebnis zu bieten. Auch wenn wir auf den ein oder anderen Burger warten mussten, haben sie das definitiv wieder mit Charme wettgemacht.
Ich fand’s toll und werde bestimmt mal wieder vorbei kommen!

Dans une petite ruelle mignonne, ce bar/​restau né paie pas de mine de l’extérieur mais, franchement si vous passez par là, poussez la porte: quel super lieu! Ici, on est dans une ambiance pub avec des gens qui boivent des pintes debout à l’entrée, et tables au fond pour ceux qui souhaitent boire un verre et manger.
Et The Dovetail est un bar belge! Affiches de Tintin aux murs, superbe sélection de bières (beaucoup sont fruitées, j’ai notamment pris une bière à la pomme et à la poire, très subtile, délicieuse), et en terme de plats on peut y déguster burgers, hot dogs, cheese fondue et même moules!
Tout ça mêlé à une atmosphère tout de même très britannique: un mélange hyper réussi. On s’y sent très bien au Dovetail. Le staff est très gentil, à l’écoute malgré le niveau de bruit plutôt très élevé (d’où mon quatre étoiles), et le burger que j’ai choisi était parfait! Cuit comme je le souhaitais, très bon bun, sauce parfaite, les frites étaient également au top.
Un lieu idéal pour un dîner après le boulot, ou juste pour prendre une (ou plusieurs) bière!

The Dovetail is one of those magical bars that beckons you in off the street and the longer you stay the harder it is to leave. Their wide range of strong lager and simple but effective food may be responsible for this magic formula.
They have more fruit beer on offer than many bars have normal beer. I feel that this is part of the draw of The Dovetail. Every time you go to the often packed bar you can come back with something different. Try the apple beer, the name escapes me (not because I was drunk) but ask the chatty bar staff who will be able to assist you on your quest.
We had grub at The Dovetail. Some of our group are locals and weren’t aware that The Dovetail did food but I can assure you that it does food well. For main I had a hotdog wrapped in Parma ham and feta. The meal was excellent, served with real pace and eaten even quicker.
I was a fan of The Dovetail as you can probably tell. It harvested an extremely relaxed, casual atmosphere and is the perfect post work destination.

Twice have I visited and stuck to the meatballs.
What a find, this place. I do enjoy its relative quiet on weekday lunch times, ideal for catching up with colleagues over very decent grub.
The ambiance is that of a low key gastropub but furnished with what looks like salvaged abbey bench seats. The low ceiling gives it a cave-​like vibe.
The Dovetail can be quite a zoo after office hours, and the smallish bar means patrons will have to exercise a bit of patience.

¿Qué puedo decir yo de un pub lleno de cervezas? Si acaso, ¡ponme otra…
Me encantó el ambiente de pub inglés, con montones y montones de tipos de cervezas… Empecé por una Delirium Tremens de barril, y continue con varias belgas, de las que no recuerdo exactamente su nombre (por mi memoria de pez, no por exceso de cerveza ¿eh?) y que nos iban recomendando los camareros que eran muy simpáticos y atentos…
Respecto a la comida, pues todo lo que probamos estaba riquísimo… He de reconocer que cuando pidieron croquetas para compartir, me entró un poco de risa ¿croquetas? ¡vamos hombre! ¿aquí… y menos mal que no abrí la bocaza, porque me hubiera tenido que tragar mis palabras… Elegimos dos tipos. Las primeras de carne estaban superiores… en serio, crujientes, contundentes… y las siguientes… ¡de remolacha y alubias negras… un zas en toda la boca me merezco por bocachancla…
También probamos los mejillones cocinados al vapor, con algún tipo de caldo que adivinamos que llevaba vino blanco y puerro y que estaban riquísimos y la fondue de queso y cerveza que era un locurón de buena, y venía acompañada de rodajas de salchicha, tostones de pan, tomatitos y pepinillos…
Después cada uno eligió un plato individual. Yo me decanté por una hamburguesa de búfalo. Al tomar nota, te preguntan si quieres la salsa «especiada» o no… lo que viene siendo un ¿te mola el picante… pues a mi si, me pierde, hasta niveles demenciales… así que dije, «si, si… tú trae la hamburguesa bien spiced». Estaba muy rica, tampoco picaba tanto, sólo un ligero puntito picante en la salsa que venía genial para pasar la hamburguesa que, cómo único defecto que le encontré, estaba muy hecha para mi gusto (no me gustan hemorrágicas, que conste).
Respecto al aspecto del local, pues lo dicho, un pub inglés con influjo y temática belga en el que sobre todo, me llamó la atención que en una de las paredes, colgaban un montón de posters de Tintin.
Si alguien me pregunta por un sitio molón de Londres, este será uno de los que le recomiende sin dudarlo.

I really, really like the Dovetail. Partly because they have great Belgian beer selection, but mostly because their food is really scrumptious (and not even «for a pub»). Although it can be quite busy Thursday/​Friday, it’s worth a visit any day of the week. My recommendations food-​wise include the spicy wild boar and chorizo burger (yuuuuuuummmy) and the kilo pot of mussels. I invite people to visit me, specifically so that I can peer pressure them in to ordering both of those things and sharing between us. I’ve had both fondue dishes, and they’re great… but the burger/​mussels combo is so good I’ll still take those any day of the week. Scrumptious (have I said that already?) and awesome!

An absolute beer drinkers dream. I mean there’s a full 7-​page beer menu.
It’s a Belgian inspired little gem with an impressive bar and some delights on the food menu. Tucked away in a small alley in Clerkenwell this beauty gets nice and busy most of the time but it’s all good fun and has an excellent post-​work drink atmosphere.
I’ve only drank here a few times and although the food looks incredible it still remains firmly on my to do list.
I’ve slowly made my way through the variety of drinks and the fruit beer options they have here are excellent. Real hard to beat anywhere else.
Some nice table seating in the back and really worth a visit. Great atmosphere and yes the beer works well…

Stumbled across this cute little pub in Clerkenwell last week with some girlfriends…
This pub is pretty cosy so fills up quickly after work hours…
I have to be honest I am not a massive beer drinker but for those who are– this place specialises in Belgian beers, they have quite an extensive beer selection and hold tastings here on a regular basis!
The food is «gastropub style» with Classic French bistro options like Moules Frites and of course no pub menu would be complete without burgers. I ordered the bison burger with spicy tomato & rodenbach relish (£10.95) The menu said the meat was «naturally 97% fat free and 40% more protein than a beef burger» definitely in keeping with my «weekday» diet. You real foodies will not appreciate this but… I also swapped up the brioche bun and chips for seasonal vegetables and salad, which they surprisingly had no problem with! Verdit? It’s a pretty damn good burger despite the lack of carbs to pack it out (the picture proves that the healthier alternative still looks appetising!!)
Overall a low key chilled pub, non invasive service to let us get on with gossiping and generous portions of food including alternatives for the health conscious! But next time I really should try some of the beers!
Bonus: The Zetter townhouse is also just round the corner if the beers just aren’t hitting the spot…

Four stars for the drinks & service, a definite 2.5 stars for the food.
Not that the food is bad. It’s good. Or, it should be. Sourdough buns. Boar and/​or Bison burgers, both done properly and well. Beef stew that’s basically gravy with beef wodges simmered in it until it’s falling apart. All good. Chips: indifferent. Seriously, people. Belgians are serious about their chips. And mayonnaise. And bread. And other things. just… just stop letting yourself down.
Beers & service: fabulous. Bloody expensive, but, eh, nice work if you can get it, and a fabulous selection, including the lucky dip — for the adventerous.
Definitely go here. Just mind what you order. I want to give this place five stars, and I also am tempted to give it three. Sort the bloody food out.

Lecker, lustig, lebensfroh. Im Dovetail fühlt man sich einfach wohl… oder wie viele meiner Kollegen sagen «Dovetail, is dangerous!». Ja, das ist es. Gerade deshalb fasziniert es mich ja. Ich hatte hier einen wahnsinnig schönen Abend.
Danke Dovetail. I will be back!