Young, Orthodox and down the pub

Mr Ovadia added: “We saw an opportunity to do something for the young Jewish crowd. We’ve opened up a new front in the kosher market. Now there’s no excuse for not having a good beer in a kosher place. People said we were mad to take this on because it is so big — the pub can seat 200.

“The pub is a place for young people. We have no problem with them staying until midnight in a place where they feel safe,” noted Mr Ovadia.

When the JC visited this week the pub was packed, although the owners admit they sell “more Diet Coke than is usual in pubs”.

After taking a sip from his pint, Paul Flynn, son of a former landlord, said: “There’s nothing overtly kosher about it. The fact that it’s a kosher pub wouldn’t stop me coming here.”

Rabbi Jeremy Conway, director of the London Beth Din Kashrut Commission, said: “We had no difficulties at all with the licence.”

So what does our pub critic think?

Styling itself as a family pub, Fernando’s has replaced its darts with a toddlers’ play mat, writes Alex Barnes. With eight tables full for Wednesday lunch, this kosher version of Nando’s is doing well. The wobbly tables and collapsing umbrellas need TLC, but the young Orthodox couple and a group of Chinese teens prove its wide appeal.

I would have ordered the non-mevushal wine (mevushal means it stays kosher even when handled by a non-Jew), but for fear of confusing the Filipino barmaid I ordered a half-pint of Carlsberg. My quarter of BBQ chicken was tasty, but corn-on-the-cob was soggy. And while in the kosher world it is great value (£5.95 for the chicken and soft drinks for £1.80), it is twice the price of non-kosher fast-food equivalents.