Last Updated on September 7, 2025
The Grouse has landed!
4.8 out of 5.0 starsLondon-unattached has previously expressed the team’s admiration for The Jugged Hare, the excellent game restaurant at the edge of the City, sitting conveniently across the road from London’s Barbican Arts Centre. As the evenings start to draw in and the salads of summer are replaced with autumn’s richer, comfort foods, don’t forget that late summer still offers many highlights. The question is, with the annual shooting season underway, are you game for grouse?
For the past ten years, Brazilian chef Raf Liuth has been the Head Chef here, overseeing a daily-changing seasonal menu that reflects a nose-to-tail ethos. Raf studied chemistry and nutrition in São Paulo before training to be a chef and building a reputation for a zero-waste approach, “using what’s fresh, what’s available, and what others might overlook”. His approach is holistic, honouring the land, animals and community that provide his ingredients. At The Jugged Hare, he has built a highly collaborative team that uses ingredients sourced from local trusted suppliers. This award-winning restaurant, with provenance and sustainability at the heart of its offer, was clearly the place for me to have my first grouse experience.
For those of us unaccustomed to marking the “game season”, the concept of ordering game in a restaurant can be somewhat intimidating. We’re not necessarily familiar with the animals as a regular food source, and the meat is not readily on show in our local supermarkets. Most of all, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves in public, particularly, for example, when attempting to eat a rather small bony bird with a large knife and fork.
The Jugged Hare, however, is a very relaxed pub setting, and the waiting team will put you at your ease. I watched, impressed, as one waitress explained the menu whilst squatting down to chair height beside the diner – no using a position of height to establish the power base here!
Our friendly waiter, Heman, offered us his helpful professional advice: the Dorset brown crab was fresh in today, the wild venison faggot would be a nice contrast if we were sharing plates, and a bottle of the Ferraton Samorens, soft and smooth, would see us through the whole meal nicely.
He was right in every respect! The Dorset brown crab on toast, with lemon and parsley, was fresh, light and creamy. The venison faggot, an English meatball and the supreme example of a waste-not-want-not product, sat prettily on a pat of mashed potato laced with a sauce made spicy-sweet by the use of house pickles in its production. All supremely satisfying.
The Yorkshire red grouse came served with its traditional accompaniments of crispy game chips, a divine bread sauce and red wine jus, along with a side of Savoy cabbage and bacon, and a disc of creamy liver pate on toast. This wild bird feeds on heather and moorland berries, and served pink, the delicate, moist meat has a distinct flavour. Heman advised me that fingers were fine, and once the breasts were carved, I set to in medieval banqueting style.
Dining with me, Nick was delighted to see his eponymous Jugged Hare arriving in a jug! Having been marinated in wine and spices, the hare is braised in its blood, producing an intensely unique flavour. This traditional and popular dish is served over mash with a cabbage and bacon side.
We had an expectation, perhaps due to the “traditional” label that game dishes can attract, that the intense flavours would leave us over-sated, but The Jugged Hare blew that notion to the wind. The portion sizes were perfect and the food totally suited to modern palates. Although renowned for its game, the menu also offers equally tempting non-meat options and a small but deliciously formed dessert menu. We opted for our favourite, affogato, with a coffee biscuit and a glass of the house cherry mead.
We relished our meal and enjoyed discovering these, for us, new dishes and flavours. We also really enjoyed the restaurant with its excellent staff and friendly atmosphere. It’s open every day, and like many City establishments, is quieter on Fridays and over the weekend, so it’s a perfect venue for a get-together with family and friends or the Jugged Hare’s famous Sunday lunch. As the menu is seasonal, there’s always another reason to return. On our way home we were contemplating the Christmas menu…..looks good!
Jenny was a guest of The Jugged Hare, located at 49 Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4SA
Tel: 020 8161 0190, www.thejuggedhare.com
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