With so many gastropubs peppering the British culinary landscape, it’s more important for owners to find ways to make them stand out. One of the biggest decisions that any food-focused pub has to make is whether to focus its offering around classic pub dishes or go for something more refined all together. East London’s The Princess of Shoreditch doesn’t have such a problem. Stretching over two floors it serves hearty classics downstairs with a tasting menu on offer upstairs, with both menus overseen by head chef Ruth Hansom.

Carefully treading the line between fine dining and ultra-casual, the intimate upstairs dining room is accessed via a spiral staircase in the corner of the bar area, decorated with pendant lights and leather-upholstered chairs, retaining a distinct 'pubby' feel. Downstairs, meanwhile, is out and out cosy, with tables spaced out around the much larger area and an ever-bustling bar at one end.

Throughout both menus at The Princess of Shoreditch, Hansom focuses in on seasonal British produce and the kitchen often buys in whole animals, using the prime cuts in the upstairs dining room and incorporating the cheaper cuts into the pub menu to ensure nothing goes to waste. Dishes on the regularly changing bar menu might include heritage beetroot with mackerel, orange and horseradish while hearty mains range from mussels with a cider sauce and sourdough to an indulgent venison Wellington with truffle mash. Highlights on the upstairs tasting menu might include Berkswell and truffle agnolotti with spring onion, kohlrabi and a bacon foam or a slow-cooked egg with wild mushroom parfait and pickled walnut, followed by refreshing desserts such as gin sorbet with pickled blackberry, pear and juniper.

The pub’s short but carefully thought out wine list is built around the ethos of only working with small family-owned wineries and features a nice mixture of Old and New World bottles. Playful takes on classic cocktails include a 'Shoreditch Old Fashioned' made with coffee-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon.

With its two contrasting spaces The Princess of Shoreditch ticks all the boxes, whether you're looking for a relaxed Sunday roast or celebratory dinner, but the most important thing is that Hansom’s passion for British produce is able to shine through in all parts of the menu.