Welcome to Waterloo and City. A traditional, British gastropub in Culver City where the cooks maintain their merry gluttony in matching bowler hats. Where the food is rich and the portions so big you'll be unfastening your belt a notch just at the mere sight of your approaching entree. That's right, come prepared for some serious eating, because this isn't for the faint of heart, the gluten free, or the unadventurous. These guys have poured their heart and souls and everything they've got into this pub style tavern, and they're not afraid to lay it all out on the line.
There is nothing subtle about the food here. Even the drink I ordered wouldn't let a little sugar coating get in the way of packing some serious punch. The jalapenos are pureed so that there's no escaping their fiery assault, so grip the table or clench hands with your fellow diners, or whatever it is you need to do, to get it together.
The mushroom soup with creme fraiche came with a deep fried mushroom ball and was creamy and delicious. A true heart warmer, this soup had me slurping up spoonfuls and then mopping up the bowl with bread until there was none left. Like a good book that you just can't put down, when you see that you've almost reached the end yet you never want it to be over, you just might slow done before you finish it all up. You just might savor it while you still can.
The gnocchi with basil and tomato sauce was simple. The potato dumplings were a little on the dense side and I would have liked them more delicately fluffy. They seemed slightly too heavy, doughier than is usually desired for this lovely dish. My best friend always refers to gnocchi as baby angel meat. Disturbing to some, but still acutely on point in terms of texture. Gnocchi should be firm enough to hold together, but light and fluffy. Like a chubby angel with wings! As for the tomato sauce, it could have been thicker. A heavier sauce could have helped coat the gnocchi and softened it a bit. This was a very light basil and tomato sauce which would have been very nice on say, penne pasta, but not the perfect fit for our gnocchi. There was a goat cheese gnocchi on the menu that came as a side to the Australian bass, and I'm convinced that would have been an unbelievable pairing.
Behold the pork chop! It was incredibly tender and came with onion rings and thin slices of buttery potatoes so finely layered that I thought they were a chunk of pork belly. The meat was wonderfully juicy and wasn't the least bit leathery. All together the dish tasted like butter melting in your mouth, and was extremely rich. I recommend sharing this, and getting something fresh like a salad or some greens on the side to balance out the flavors.
For dessert, the sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce and ice cream is absolute perfection. The pudding is moist and has just the right hint of stickiness to soak up the caramel sauce and ice cream. The cold ice cream with the warm pudding will have your inhibitions melting into a puddle along with each bite sweet.
The doughnuts don't stand a chance after the sticky toffee pudding. They were too bready inside and the caramel dipping sauce was too thick.
The menu here changes pretty regularly, which is awesome. I saw they had a special pizza a few months back with braised short rib on it that sounded like a real game changer. And an incredible shepherd's pie that's also not a staple on the menu. So Waterloo and City is full of surprises. It has character and courage and I like it here. It's just a matter of ordering right. I'll be back, and maybe next time instead of a belt, I'll wear my bowler hat.