We had a visit from the discerning yet enthusiastic Tom Capon of Design My night recently and it looks like he enjoyed himself:
Sat with a prime position next to the brewing vats, we knew there was only one way to approach the menu: drink beer, eat food. For starters, we chose beer battered Cajun king prawns (£6.95) served with a chilli soy sauce, and fried pastry rolls filled with feta cheese (£5.25), ricotta and spring onions, with a sweet chilli dip. With each course we were recommended which beers to drink, so started with the wheat (£3.95) and mango (£4.15) beers.
The prawn starter was equally tasty as they were hearty, offering up large portions of juicy seafood perfect for sharing. The pastry rolls were surprisingly fresh, and within seconds vanished from our plates. While the wheat beer was certainly packed with flavour, the mango one was a bold and fruity delight, which complimented the rolls perfectly – I would definitely recommend this the next time you head over to ZeroDegrees.
As our mains were placed in front of us, I knew we were in for a treat. The carne asda (£13.95), wood-fired rump steak pizza, with smoked cheese, fresh chillies and red onions, looks mouth-watering, and one bite confirms what your eyes have guessed (though there was a tad too much coriander on here for my liking). But the kilo pot of Thai green mussels (£16.50) stole the show: the mussels themselves were juicy, but the sauce was delectable, and by the time we were finished the small cauldron its served in was bone dry.
To pair, we drank a pilsner (£3.95) with the mussels, which was crisp and quite the session beer, yet our favourite of this beer bout was the grapefruit pale ale (£3.95). The hint of fruit stops the hops from being overpowering, but to a beer drinker like me the punch of hops was exactly what I was looking for.
By this point we both were full enough to be rolled out of the entrance, but somehow made room for the dessert. Your childhood dream of eating pizza for dessert comes to life here as we were served up a caramelised fig and mascarpone pizza (£5.25), with balsamic syrup, maple syrup, vanilla ice cream and pistachios, alongside a classic tiramisu (£4.75). As someone with quite the sweet tooth, the pizza was the perfect way to end the meal, washed down by the thick black lager (£3.95).
To round this out, Tom said:
“ZeroDegrees’ reputation for great beer proceeds them, yet the food shined through here too thanks to their hearty portions with interesting flavours. If you find yourself looking for a pint and a meal in Blackheath, you can’t go wrong with these guys”.
We’re grinning just a little to ourselves – do love it when people enjoy themselves with is, that’s the whole point!
You can read the full review right here.
