REVIEW: Zero Degrees, Blackheath

There is an absolute joy to visiting a cosy pub at the weekend. Add in plenty of rainy weather, a village atmosphere and excellent home-brewed beers and you get Zero Degrees. Situated in Blackheath Village, a sweet area in South East London, Zero Degrees is a micro-brewery and family pub that effortlessly blends delicious dining with great beers.

I'm not a massive beer drinker. I normally go for a grim bottle of Corona or Desperados with lime - you can't get much more un-micro-brewery than that! However, my experience at Zero Degrees gave me a broader respect for beers and brewing. Each beer is brewed on site at Zero Degrees using wheat, malt, hops and water. The different beers take a different time to fully ferment, from several weeks to several months. During our visit we were treated to a tour of the beer brewing facility - which is open to all patrons. I tasted the strong differences between a beer that was 1 week old and the same ber at 8 weeks old. The smoothness and richness of the flavour was so notable that I feel I can now truly understand people's obsession with brewing beers. 

Beer Tasting Notes - In Order
Pilsner

• Light, perfect for summer
• Very little bubbles, tingles but doesn't foam in the mouth
• Note of citrus

Pale ale

• Darker finish
• Fruity smell - lots of grapefruit and peach
• Touch of sourness

Wheat

• Banana notes which I find a little confusing

Black ale

• Strong coffee notes and the most bitter so far

Mango

• Smells like orange squash!
• A cross between Fanta and beer - which I love!
• More carbon so the texture is much fizzier

Specialists blend

• American inspired
• Very light and the most fizzy

The Food

We indulged in a classic three course meal. The menu at Zero Degrees is notably Italian with a gorgeous array of pizzas, pastas and risottos plus burgers, sides and fries to boot. Starters take a more Mediterranean approach with hummus, spinach and feta pastries and breaded seafood.  

Starters
I opted for a light starter of 'cigera' - small cigarette shaped pastries filled with spinach and feta cheese. These were lovely and flaky with a salty, soft filling which was very delicious. Although the chilli sauce was clearly from a bottle it worked well with the feta cheese and flaky pastry. The salad was a bit pointless and the French dressing didn't work with the cigera. 

Alex chose the dish of breaded prawns had lovely notes of cumin, lime and chilli which was absolutely delicious. The prawns were well cooked and correctly deveined, however the finished flavour with the salad was a little too salty. 

We also shared a dish of hummus with pita breads. The hummus was OK and the tomatoes brought freshness. The pitta worked well but it wasn't anything to write home about.

Mains
For my main course I opted for a decadent bowl of black truffle ravioli in a butter sauce. When the dish arrived I thought the portion was really small, however, it was so incredibly rich that I couldn't even finish it! The sauce was smooth and buttery which worked really well with the slippery pasta. The black truffle flavour gave a nod of earthiness but was not overwhelming.

Alex's main course was a Mexican inspired pizza. The base was wonderfully crisp and thin which worked well with the smattering of cheese and vibrant Mexican flavours. The additional salsa and avocado toppings kept things fresh without making the centre of the pizza soggy, which can often happy.

Overall I really enjoyed my time at Zero Degrees. The villagey feel of the space and delicious food are well matched to the area, but the beers really are the star of the show! Each flavour is so unique and the experience of tasting each of the beers was really exciting - amazing really for someone who was never really into beers!

Thank you to Zero Degrees for hosting this visit. All opinions are my own.
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