A craft beer joint with an ardent fanbase.
Gavel Coffee Kitchen Craft Beers brings craft beers and English food together. This restaurant comes with a cheering section – the regulars adore this place with a passion. As we were browsing the menu outside, two different patrons came up and raved about how amazing the food was.
Ambience & Amenities
Gavel has a lot of character. The brightly painted facade stands out from the neighbouring buildings. Inside, a motley collection of hanging bulbs and sconces bounces light off the warm red bricks. As I admired the numerous pop art paintings around the room, the owner told me that they were all painted by his friend, a local Malaysian artist.
The toilet is at the back left corner of the restaurant, next to the kitchen window. The washroom was out of order due to a water outage, so I wasn’t allowed near it.
Menu at Gavel
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
The menu at Gavel leans on the English side with favourites like beef wellington and fish and chips. They also have a Sunday roast, which many claim to be the best in KL.
Gavel’s craft beer menu is very organized and helpfully separated by type. It can still be a tad overwhelming unless you’re a craft beer connoisseur. If you’re totally out of your element and pick beers based on how cool the bottle looks, you can peek at the fridge on the left side of the room.
Food & Drink at Gavel
We both got dark ales, the PaperKite Copper Ale (RM44) and Coedo Beniaka Imperial Sweet Potato Amber Ale (RM33). The Coedo is the more complex of the two and the one I recommend if you also enjoy ales. The PaperKite Copper Ale was an easy-drinking beer, almost like a lager, but very forgettable.
The Fish Burger (RM34) was a bit boring. It needed something bolder than tartare sauce to bring it all together. You have to really love fish burgers to enjoy this. Otherwise, I’m certain that any other burger on Gavel’s menu would’ve been much more flavourful. The big fat chips were tasty, though.
The Lamb Pita (RM29) was smaller than I was expecting for the price. It was just one skewer on top of a six-inch pita and a bed of greens. I’m not sure how I was expected to eat this neatly. Trying to fold everything into a wrap was an utter mess, so I used a knife and fork to cut up the pita. There wasn’t a dull bite with the well-spiced lamb and the tzatziki being so strong.
Saturday Worthy?
Perhaps because of the excessive hype from the other guests, I left feeling underwhelmed. There wasn’t anything mind-blowing about anything we ordered, and I’m sure we can get better versions of our dishes for cheaper somewhere else in this city. Maybe we had to be craft beer lovers? I think a large part of it is the service, which constantly gets praised in reviews. The waitresses were quite energetic, and the owner was quick to schmooze with everyone, including a first-timer like me. However, I won’t be back here since I don’t have the wealth to become a proper regular.
Price for 2 Pax: RM163.95
Fish Burger: RM34.00
Lamb Pita: RM29.00
PaperKite Copper Ale (pint): RM44.00
Coedo Beniaka Imperial Sweet Potato Amber Ale: RM33.00
10% Service: RM14.00
6% SST: RM3.78
SST (Alcohol): RM6.16
Rounding: RM0.01
Gavel Coffee Kitchen Craft Beers
Address: No. 20, Jalan Yap Ah Shak, Chow Kit, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 7pm Sunday, Closed on Monday
Alcohol Served: Yes
