May's Newsletter

May at The Hawk & Griffin

The sun’s peeking out (mostly), the beer garden is buzzing, and the pints are flowing, it must be May! This month, we’re leaning into longer days, shorter sleeves, and a fresh lineup of comforting classics and cheeky surprises. From our Pie of the Month to sports/entertainment galore (hello FA Cup and Eurovision madness), there’s plenty to raise a glass to.

The H&G Chippy

We have some exciting news!

Straight from the accolade-winning team behind your very favourite pub here in Vienna, VA, The Hawk & Griffin Chippy is our way of bringing our classic seaside British fare to you and the DMV. We'll bring you proper fish bites; mouthwateringly bite sized, fresh, golden, flaky, cone-served, and our house-made tartar sauce to dip - by rolling up to festivals, events, all across the DMV.

The vibe?

British charm meets modern street food. A bit cheeky, simple and yet always proper. A mobile British experience.

Bringing the UK to You - One Cone At A Time.

Interested? While we may be booked up for the 2025 spring/summer season, keep us in mind for weddings, festivals, parties, fairs, and more!

You can catch us at our first official visit this year at ViVa Vienna, OR stay tuned by following us on social media for a secret pop-up coming your way soon!

Here's our line-up of other events this season:

June 14th - Taste of the DMV – Food & Bev

July 2nd - Vienna Independence Day Celebration

July 25th - Fairfax Rock the Block

Sept 19th - Vienna Chillin’ on Church

Sept 27th-28th - Occoquan Fall Arts & Crafts Show

Oct 4th - Oktoberfest Vienna

Mother's Day

A Little Love for Mum (Again!)

We know we already gave Mum her moment back in April's newsletter (British habits die hard), but Mother's Day is making its American encore this Sunday, May 11th - and who are we to say no to two chances to raise a glass to her?

Stay tuned to our social media for this year’s specials!

No reservations needed, just come on down.

EuroVision 2025

The Eurovision Grand Final is back on Saturday, May 17th and yes, we’ll be showing every glitter-soaked, over-the-top performance live at The Hawk & Griffin! Join us for an unforgettable night of outrageous outfits, epic ballads, and intercontinental drama as Europe (plus a few enthusiastic extras) battle it out for musical and international glory. Grab a pint, wave your flags, and sing along. It’s camp, it’s chaotic, and it’s everything we love.

The Beer Garden is already heating up!

We mentioned it in the last newsletter but patio season is properly underway! The pints are flowing, and the pups are out in full force. The Hawk & Griffin's Beer Garden is once again the place to be this spring, whether you're chasing a sunny Sunday roast, Trivia Night with your squad, or just sneaking in a midweek pint with your Vespa crew, we've got you covered.

A Quick Pour Through Beer Garden History

Though beer gardens first took root in Bavaria, the Brits were quick to make the tradition their own. By the 1800s, pubs across the UK were adding greenery and benches outside, offering a pint in the fresh air long before patio culture had a name.

Over the years, the British beer garden has weathered temperance, smoke bans, and plenty of drizzle, evolving into the fairy-lit, pup-friendly spaces we know today. A bit of nature, a proper pint, and the buzz of good company, these are the traditions we’re proud to carry on right here at The Hawk & Griffin.

Our patio is fully dog-friendly, and we absolutely love seeing your “Pub Pups” making themselves at home. Snap a shot, give us a tag on Instagram @hawkandgriffin, and don’t forget to use #PubPups - you just might spot your furry friend featured on our story.

The forecast may keep us guessing, but the welcome’s always warm here. Come join us for a bit of fresh air and a pint. You bring the pup, we’ll handle the rest.

We’ve tampered with dessert perfection, and it tastes bloody brilliant.

You know our desserts. Recipes that we have dialed in through the hard job of trial & error taste-tasting (It’s a tough life, we know.) Lately, we’ve been doing a little soul-searching. What if we could make something great even greater? With Chef Nick onboard and the team ready, we are always striving for that next step up. So, we rolled up our sleeves, gathered our spoons, and dove back in. We've revisited our recipes, rebalanced a few classics, and added just the right touches in all the right places. Think deeper flavour, richer sauces, and a bit of pub magic in every bite.

Take our sticky toffee for instance, one of our House specialties, our flagship dessert. Well, now with a Theakston’s Old Peculier Pour-over, and an updated recipe. We’re bringing to you a whole new level of “Wow.”

Or our bread pudding; Now taller, moister, & firmer. We’ve taken out the chocolate and added more emphasis on the raisins, nutmeg & whiskey sauce, and more of it.

Stop what you are doing, get in your car, and get here, like yesterday- You are not going to want to miss these. This could be the best thing you’ve ever tasted.

After a few bold, adventurous detours; we were worried that our smoked brisket pie would be a hard act to follow, after all it was our best-selling pie special yet. We decided to go with a simpler pie for May. Simple doesn’t mean tasteless, and we are taking a tender turn towards tradition. Our shepherds pie really celebrates the flavour of lamb. Yes shepherds pie should be made with lamb (and not actual shepherds...) Our Pie of the Month is bringing you back to the heart of the British table with a classic.

Close your eyes and picture it: you’re back in Mum’s kitchen. The aroma of savoury lamb and rich gravy fills the air. There’s steam rising from the casserole dish as it hits the table, golden mash crisped just right. Someone’s teasing someone else about not finishing their peas, there’s a bit of cheeky back-and-forth, maybe even a well-placed “finish your homework first”—but everyone pauses, even just briefly, to savour that first spoonful. Hearty, humble, and full of love.

It’s not just dinner. It’s a memory. A moment. A bite of simpler times, when family came together, elbows touched, and the table was the anchor to the day.

This is what we’re serving you in May: filled with farm raised, Colorado Foothills lamb, carrots, onions, and peas, stewed in red wine & fresh rosemary, all wrapped in rich demi-glaze gravy and crowned with crisped mashed potatoes.

Come take a seat, slow down a moment, and let us serve you a bit of comfort. You’ve earned it.

Beef Sunday Roast is back!

After a delightful springtime affair with our Easter Lamb Roast, the name of the game this month is tradition. That’s right, our beloved Beef Sunday Roast has made its grand return! Expect thick, tender slices of roast beef, golden roasties, rich beef trimmings gravy, Chef's vegetable, horseradish cream sauce and rounded off with a proper Yorkshire Pudding.

Sundays just got their hearty hug back - and we can’t wait to plate one up for you.

One may ask; "Could the Hawk & Griffin get any better?"

And our response would be, "Is the King's face on a stamp?!" or how about, "Does a pint taste better after work?!"

We're proud to announce the installation of our new four pump beer engine with expanded Cask selection!

Stay tuned for our next fantastic line-up and while we eagerly await the return of the Old Peculier on cask (should be this May) - we have plenty of other fantastic draughts, nitro & hand-pulled British Imports to keep the beer lover in you satisfied (and now with more taps to pour them!)

Don't be afraid to ask any one of us here at The Hawk & Griffin about our current selection.

Nitro Pub Ale - Charlestown Fermentary

"Coddingtons" as we call it

It was a sad day when Anheuser-Busch InBev decided to stop importing draught Boddingtons to the USA. The Hawk & Griffin managed to snag some of the very last kegs in the country and those went in a flash. Although still available in can, there’s nothing quite like having that smooth draught nitro pour into a proper Boddingtons pint glass. We’ve had our nets out for a while looking for a suitable replacement and have come across a pub ale from Charlestown Fermentory, a relatively small brewery in South Carolina.

These guys have pretty much nailed the Boddingtons flavour. The same malty body, that gentle sweet bready yeast flavour is beautifully balanced against a slight hop bitterness and a similar sessional 4.3%ABV. What’s more it’s served on nitro so goes down as smooth and as easy as the original. It’s certainly had good reviews from our regulars, some of whom have grown up on the original. So come down to the H&G and enjoy the cream of Charlestown.

FA Cup Final has been decided!

Crystal Palace vs Man City

Join us for the unexpected, yet highly anticipated showdown between Crystal Palace, who under new manager Oliver Glasner have shown resilience and growth this season, and Manchester City whose year has been filled with inconsistency and injuries, but despite their league challenges found success in the FA Cup.

So join us on May 17th as the under-dogs take on the mighty, David vs Goliath in The FA Cup Final!

It's the final stretch of the EPL

The Premier League is heading into its final act but there's still lots on the line. Although Liverpool has been crowned champions, there are European Championship slots up for grabs. With every match adding up, every pint poured feels just a bit more intense.

A little about the EPL:

Promotion & Relegation

If you're a die-hard fan of the sport you already know this, but League promotion and relegation are at the heart of what makes the English football league system so thrilling and ruthless. Here's how it works in the Premier League (EPL) and the league just below it, the English Football League (EFL).

The Premier League is the top-level league, which has 20 teams per season. 1st through 5th place gets to compete in the European Champions league (and that's a whole other conversation in itself.) Finishing in the bottom three places' results in being relegated, aka kicked down to the second-tier league: the EFL. So, it goes without saying that there's more than just being in first place at stake; pride, salaries, TV revenue and sponsorships are on the line for the bottom three.

Relegation from England’s top football division is a fate that has befallen every club at some point since its start in 1888, although six teams have never been relegated from the Premiership since it was formed in 1992, underscoring the competitive nature of the league.

Next; there are 24 Teams in the EFL; all vying for the top two spots at the end of the season. These top performing teams get automatically promoted to the EPL, with all the glory, money, and a whole new proverbial field to play in. Teams finishing in 3rd-6th place enter the Promotion Playoffs, where 3rd plays 6th and 4th play the 5th to compete in the semi-finals; and the winners of these play-offs go head-to-head in a big final at Wembley Stadium. Dubbed "the richest game in football" the staggering number of financial incentives make these battles on the pitch more than a simple game.

Maybe now you can understand why fans of the "Beautiful Game" are so intense and passionate about their team performing well, or how heartbreaking it can be to watch their team perform poorly over and over again. To quote the famous Liverpool manager Bill Shankley "Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'.

This season three teams have already been slated for relegation as they are mathematically unable to secure enough points to stay up: Southampton & Leicester City, and Ipswitch.

The top two teams in the EFL to gain automatic promotion to the EPL for next season are Leeds United & Burnley, with the third spot going to the winner of the play-offs.

Be sure to join us for every game in May as we race to the finish line!

We have so many people who come to the pub, both regulars and first-timers, who say "You have such wonderful and friendly staff". And they are right. We have the best staff you will find anywhere. Euan, Steve and I are always amazed at how much everyone cares about our guests and it is a joy to see the bonds that have formed between guests and staff. As owners, we are here at the pub almost every day and we love it when staff ask us to stop by their tables and have a chin wag (chat). From our general manager Alexis to our servers Jasmine, Yusuf, Sydney, Manolo, Fleming, Domenic and Anthony. Our bartenders Svitlana, Chelsea and Benn. Bussers, barbacks and hosts John, George, Andrew, Maryam, Connor and Sarah. Our Chef Nick, Sous Chef Alejandra, grill and line cooks Allan, Ana, Augusto, Darwin, Ildy, Jaime, Moises, Sonia and dishwashers Wendy, Francisco and Martha. Hawk & Griffin wouldn't be the same without these dedicated people all working together to give you the experience you deserve.

We are lucky we get to work beside such wonderful people.

Cheers!