This week, Marc Francis-Baum reopened the George & Dragon in Clerkenwell. It’s something of a time capsule reflecting the area’s changing fortunes. Now Grade II-listed, it opened in 1889 and is riddled with Victorian details, including a tiled wall mural of its namesake St George (fighting the dragon of course), and a sturdy wooden bar. Its mosaic floors still bear shrapnel damage from The Blitz. A few decades ago it was renamed The Peasant, and became one of the capital’s first gastropubs, before it ceased trading in 2023.
When it came up for sale earlier this year, Francis-Baum (founder of Mare Street Market and The Starman in Soho, among others) says “nearly everyone in the industry came to the open day”. His version of the George & Dragon retains a classic public bar downstairs, while upstairs is the first permanent iteration of Island – the clever modern surf’n’turf restaurant by chefs Brad Carter and Tom Brown, which has been a hit in King’s Cross Mare Street Market since it opened in 2025. There’s also a charming conservatory that can be booked for private events (a wedding is already in the calendar).
The ground-floor pub retains its historic appeal, and is built to serve locals. “We’re not trying to do anything new,” Francis-Baum tells Broadsheet. “We’re a beautiful boozer – having drafts and cask ale on is extremely important, and of course we’ve got cocktails. Like most [bars], the Margarita is going to be the top [seller], but we’re not trying to be the next Three Sheets or anything like that.”
Bar snacks are by Island, and include scotch eggs, oysters with butter and a bacon crumb, and a reuben sarnie. “We’ve had a few things that we think are a bit ‘us’, but also very approachable pub classics,” Carter tells Broadsheet. “A few little bar snacks that you can just drop in and order, but then actual [bigger] plates as well.” Those larger plates include salt and vinegar skate, and piri piri chicken with a crab sauce, and Carter hopes the pub menu will lure potential diners upstairs for a full meal. “Our biggest advert is those people downstairs drinking, enjoying themselves.”
Upstairs, the 60-cover dining room is hung with colourful large-scale depictions of St George and the dragon by British artist Blue Logan, which pop against the monochromatic palette of the rest of the space. At its core, the restaurant is a celebration of British produce, including rare-breed Tamworth pork from Paddock Farm in Oxfordshire, and ex-dairy beef steaks from Txuleta Meat. Bread and buns are from nearby St John Bakery.
There are lamb belly and clam skewers, and steak tartare with prawn crackers to start, with larger plates including a mixed grill loaded with chicken, scallops, beef and chops. New to Island 2.0 is a chalkboard menu which, pub-style, will have fish and steak sold by weight, and a range of sauces to choose from. Island’s Wagyu and lobster lasagne has been replaced by a steak and lobster cottage pie. “Obviously cottage pie is a big pub thing,” Carter says. “It’s steak mince with chopped lobster and then a thermidor mash on top. I recommend having a steak, having a fish, and then have that as a side dish.”
Naturally, Island’s hugely popular roasts have made it to the new site. “Our strongest service and food became the roast,” Carter says. “And we’ve gone, where’s the perfect place to put that? In a pub.” He suggests “necking” a couple of Martinis made with caviar vodka, alongside a few oysters “and then getting stuck into a roast”. Options include beef rump and cheek, porchetta and a catch of the day with lobster bisque, as well as a family-style platter of beef, porchetta and chicken, and a seafood platter.
For Francis-Baum, Carter and Brown, the mission isn’t complicated. “We’re all very attached to pubs,” Francis-Baum says. “We all know what a pub is about. So, [Carter and Brown] coming in, doing their wizardry upstairs, and us having amazing pub gastropub food downstairs was just a no-brainer.”
George & Dragon
240 St John Street, EC1V 4PH
Hours:
Island
Wed 5pm–10pm
Thu to Sun midday–10pm
Pub
Mon to Wed midday–10pm
Thu to Sun midday–11pm
