The Square Pig, Holborn

The Square Pig sits just off Red Lion Square, one of the quaint little parks that are common in Bloomsbury. It has the feel of a pub that has its best days in summer where its large open spaces can accommodate large numbers of drinkers. With the drizzle and the cold of winter drawing in, you want your pubs to be a little more intimate and welcoming. The interior lacks the kind of personality that is needed to attract a loyal clientèle as you tend to feel a little lost whilst marooned in the space.

The food on offer at the Square Pig is billed as tasty light bites but this does a disservice to the variety and the nuance of the food on offer. My companion and I started off with a respective choice of buffalo chicken sliders and Square Pig nachos. The sliders came with butterhead lettuce, pickle, bacon bits, blue cheese dressing, and were very engaging in terms of their flavour and how well the meat combined with the dressing. My nachos, which came with tomato and coriander salsa, Gouda drip, spring onions, sour cream, BBQ steak and jalapenos had everything that good nachos possess. They were sloppy in the best possible way and had an extravagance of flavours and textures.

For main course, my companion and I picked the Hickory smoked ribs and the Smoke House burger respectively. The Hickory smoked ribs were accompanied by homebrew BBQ sauce, Caesar slaw, garlic and lime buttered cob corn, as well as house seasoned fries. The quality of meat was exquisite and was expertly paired with the sauce. The Smoke House burger was made up of a rare breed burger, succulent pulled pork, cream bun, homebrew BBQ, maple bacon, American double cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, along with house seasoned fries. Although this was not one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, it is a very competitive field and the Smoked House burger did not disgrace itself in comparison to some of the more renowned burger joints.

The Square Pig has all the foundations for making itself a fantastic place to idle away time in Bloomsbury. The food is good and the service well informed and friendly. There is also a downstairs cocktail bar for those looking for something a bit more refined. However, it needs to make better use of its space in order to make its customers feel like they are coming to a welcoming venue.

The Square Pig
30-32 Procter Street
Holborn
WC1V 6NX