London - Sepp Platter

So what goes well with a few beers and the Champions League Final? Pub-grub and make it stodgy pub-grub. The location of this dish was the Captain's Cabin just off Haymarket. How do you find it? Well you walk down Haymarket to the Sports Cafe. Realise it is rammed. Then walk back towards Piccadilly until you find this establishment down a little side road to the left once you hit the Spar shop.

Firstly the beer. A fine selection of ales including the all-time-favourite London Pride. It is important that the first pint is well poured as this is the only pint you'll remember by the next day. Here, in the Cabin, the beer appeared well kept and in good condition.

As for the food....my expectations were not high. The Cabin had been a regular haunt during World Cup 2006 and the burger during one Poland v Germany game in particular had resembled a decent piece of shoe leather with a tomato on the side.

So it was with intrepidation, not normally seen until a penalty shoot out, that we ordered a couple of 'City Platters', two rounds of chips, and some deep fried onion rings to get our 5-portions a day quotient in. The platters consisted of some garlic bread, cocktail sausages, chicken wings, roasted new potatoes, nachos with guacamole and salsa, and a couple of pots of BBQ and sour cream dips. It did not disappoint. With an artery blocking fat content to keep a cabal of heart surgeons happy for a good few years the stodge content was perfect. The garnish of lettuce, which has no place on such a platter, was also consumed.

Well the Captain did steer a steady ship and the stodge/beer balance was maintained to perfection.