queenbean eats...

Eating out: The Florist Arms, London

I used to live with friends in Stepney Green and this, along with its sister pub The Camel, was our local. By which I mean the pub we chose as our local, rather than the pub that was actually nearest to us. That was a Wetherspoons, and not a great one.

The Florist and The Camel (a few doors down from each other, in Bethnal Green) are owned by the people. Back then, the latter was the non-smoking one where couples would enjoy a cosy drink, friends would play board games and families would gather on a Sunday for lunch and the papers. Meanwhile, the former was for a younger, more outgoing crowd and we only headed there if we were looking for a more entertaining evening out.

These days some of those associations remain but there’s less of a divide. And while The Camel had always served food (excellent pies), The Florist has now added a menu of thin crust pizzas, which is a big draw for hungry drinkers like me.

This evening I came with one of my best friends, Collette, who I haven’t caught up with in an awful long time. We shared a Florist pizza, topped with mozzarella, capers and anchovies, and an aubergine & mozerella bake. I’m not a huge fan of meaty pizzas so this is one of my favourites, and they do it very well here.

It’s Karl’s birthday today but he’s at a work team building event, so after my evening with Collette I went home to bake some sausage rolls (more on this next time) and pack a bag in preparation for my weekend of glamping and weddings. Felt slightly odd to be shoving wellies and heels in the same bag, should be an interesting couple of days!