Looking for a crackling (and cracking, to use the British slang) fish and chips? Who isn’t? It’s just one of the items bringing in fans to Vienna pub Hawk & Griffin. The fresh cod in question stands up valorously to a frying that would make lesser fish, cooked with lesser expertise, weak and mealy. Instead, this seafood provides a slick, meaty center to a beer-battered jacket that’s crisped to an irresistible bronze. The fries are a bit less successful. Though showered in fresh herbs, the wands of potato lost their crispness before I’d cleaned my plate. Perhaps that’s really just an argument to dispatch of them quickly.
Hawk & Griffin is named for the rivaling local Madison and Marshall High School mascots, the warhawk and the griffin, respectively. It’s the result of another unexpected collaboration, between friends Michael Burgess, known in Vienna as the British-born owner of Pure Pasty, and architect Tom Kyllo. The result is the very embodiment of conviviality, as evidenced by the overfilled parking lot on a recent Sunday. Talk to the owners, and it’s a bit like watching a comedy team in action.
Guests are likely to meet at least one of the pair when they belly up to the bar, which is inspired as much by American-bred Kyllo’s travels and studies abroad as Burgess’s time in his homeland. With brews like Guinness stout, Boddington’s Best Bitter, and a house Pilsner pouring from the taps, there isn’t really anything else necessary to attract crowds to the pub, but there’s also hand-pumped local beer, crafted for the pub in Euro styles like the current Yorkshire bitter from Ashburn’s Dynasty Brewery.
Kyllo also hopes that Hawk & Griffin will be the “tip of the spear” to reintroducing gin to our region. The list at his bar includes 20 gins, listed with tonic suggestions, from Beefeater London Dry to Monkey 47 with its 47 botanicals.
And to eat? The goal, says Burgess, was to create a gastropub like the culinary destinations that dot England’s countryside.
Among starters, there is always the flaky sausage roll fans have grown to love at Pure Pasty, and a Welsh rarebit that’s sure to keep diners warm come winter with its cheesy layer of cheddar sauce. But the microgreen-covered Scotch egg is too pretty to ignore.
House mustard rings the plate, while the two halves of the egg are sunken into a pool of tomato and onion relish. The local pork sausage, from Midland’s Mast Farm, which provides almost all of the kitchen’s beef and pork, is spiced just enough and crisped to a bite that bears repeating. The only issue is that the whole thing spends just a little bit too much time in the fryer, resulting in a touch of dryness.
Should you order one of the pasties? Only if you’ve been dreaming of eating your to-go Pure Pasty inside a real restaurant. Otherwise, there are too many other options to settle on something that, while appealing, is also available elsewhere.
For example, you’re unlikely to find a finer British pie in the region than the the steak-and-stout specimen here. That tureen is filled with chunks of beef from Mast Farm in Midland that has been braised in Guinness with carrots, onions, and celery. More of the stout-based gravy is served on the side, but it’s unnecessary. The soft chunks of meat melt into the gravy, all hidden beneath a flaky crust. Despite the veggies, though, the large portion can feel a bit one-note. I recommend a side of mushy peas to add a fun dash of green to the meal.
The Instagram-worthy cottage pie is less impressive. The ground beef, peas, and carrots beneath the crusty layer of potatoes is advertised as being served in gravy. The reality is thin and red, and rather less satisfying than the thick sauce I was imagining.
Another mixed experience is the chicken masala curry. Though satisfyingly spicy, a dining companion commented that it tasted like a British or American home cook’s efforts, not what one might eat at an Indian restaurant. The lackluster naan bread only amplified this impression.
But the truth is, the gastropub’s chef, Chris Savage, can’t be expected to make all sixes. For those in search of something that many pubs in the U.S. attempt, but almost as many fumble, there is the bangers and mash. The ultra-fine-ground sausages are sourced from RJ Balson & Son, which began doing its meaty business in 1515. The creamy mashed potatoes and green peas mix admirably with the comforting gravy, topped with fried onions. There’s no drama, but diners will leave satisfied.
This is especially true if they order the Cambridge Cream. “Crème brûlée was not invented as crème brûlée,” Kyllo explains. “It was invented as ‘Cambridge Burnt Cream’ at Trinity College.” The version at Hawk & Griffin omits the bruléed cap in favor of berry coulis and a fresh mix of berries. It is surprisingly light, and provides sparkle to the end of the meal.
The team recently added two new desserts, a chocolate bombe filled with mousse, as well as a mixed berry and apple pasty. But Burgess and Kyllo are quick to say that the menu continues to be a work in progress. More Christmassy desserts will soon fill the sweets menu, and after the holidays, Burgess promises “rich, comforting desserts” will get locals through the cold winter months.
But the item I’m holding out hope for is also coming after the holidays—Sunday roast. The tradition of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is sure to bring in purists for a meal difficult to locate outside of the U.K.
It’s clear that Hawk & Griffin has the potential to be the British-style gastropub of diners’ dreams. And it’s well on its way. A few tweaks, which Burgess and Kyllo are already working on, and the spot will earn its place as a Vienna institution.
435 Maple Ave. West, Vienna
See this: A pair of “snugs,” (rooms off the bar) are decorated to an Edwardian T, complete with a fireplace in one. The bar itself? It’s just what you’d expect back in Blighty, complete with footie matches on the TV.
Eat this: Scotch egg, fish and chips, Cambridge Cream
Rating: ★★★
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Feature image by Alice Levitt
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