FOOD IN THE EAST END
Blair and I have eaten at all these restaurants, many times. All are in a square mile (give or take) of one another.
Dishhoom.
Dishoom in Shoreditch (www.dishoom.comshoreditch): It's a reworking of old Bombay canteen style dinning, with a rather exceptional chef and ridiculously good cocktails. (Pictured above.)
Sesta
Sesta at the site of our beloved Pidgin, a new venture by some of the Pidgin staff (www.sesta.co.uk): Sesta is tiny (just 28 seats) and, unless you live in east London, a total pain to get to. The menu offers creative take on British and European classics, with nods to Chef Snaith’s travels in Southeast Asia and a focus on live fire cooking. Starters include dishes like braised beetroot with blackcurrant molasses and sunflower seed cream; and smoked eel and lovage quiche, ahead of mains including cider flambee mussels, mutton bacon ribs, and Cornish brill with aioli. There are also large sharing cuts of meat on offer, such as slow grilled stuffed duck, and morteau sausage, plus snacks of Doddington cheese scones topped with rarebit, and nduja scotched olives. It’s amazing!
Waterhouse Project
This place is ace! The Water House Project was set up by Gabriel Waterhouse, former chef at 1 Michelin-stared Galvin La Chapelle in 2015, intending to bridge the gap between fine dining elegance and relaxed, comfortable and informal atmospheres.
Menus are monthly changing, reliant on local, seasonal ingredients when they are at their best. They believe in using small amounts of ethically and sustainably reared meat and fish, and partnering with suppliers who share in their values. Wines come from small scale producers across Europe who use traditional, low intervention methods of wine making, putting back into the soil what they take out.
They serve a 9-course tasting menu paired with wines and offer an at Home delivery service of 6 courses, also with wine, to easily be put together and enjoyed from the comfort of your home.
www.thewaterhouseproject.com
Brawn.
Brawn, Columbia Road, near Shoreditch (www.brawn.co): Mediterranean small plates menu with an “all things pork” section in two simple but stylish rooms. (Pictured left)
Columbia Road: On Sunday the street is transformed into oasis of foliage and flowers. Everything from bedding plants to 10-foot banana trees is up for grabs. The air is intense with the scent of flowers and the chant of the barrow boys: “Everthin' a fiver.” (Pictured left)
St. John’s
St. John's in Spitalfields (www.stjohngroup.uk.com): There is also one a short hop away in Smithfields. Both are great. The Smithfields one is next to the meat market and is very nose-to-tail dining oriented. Smithfields Meat Market has traded meat and livestock (latterly just meat) for 800 years. The Spitalfields one has a broader menu and some excellent breads, in fact it is called Bead & Wine.
Lyles.
Lyle’s in Shoreditch (www.lyleslondon.com): A fab British restaurant in Shoreditch from James Lowe and John Ogier. This stripped back dining room serves seasonal British fare as a la carte lunches and set suppers – small and excellent wine selection.
Inis.
Bloody incredible! Derived from the Irish word for "island" (pronounced "inish"), this cozy spot feels right at home by the water, nestled at the meeting point of the Lee Navigation and the Hertford Union Canal, on Fish Island (which is unrecognisable from the last time I was here 20 years ago)
It’s the creation of the bloody lovely local duo Lindsey and Lyndsy, a wife-and-wife team. Lynsey, formally a director at The Ginger Pig butchers and now a consultant for Borough Market, takes care of the Front of House with Lindsay, a designer and art director working within the food and arts industries. Chef Craig Johnson (formally of Arbutus, The Corner Room and Newington Table) heads up the kitchen, with a focus on seasonality, sustainability and top quality produce.
Inis celebrates the best of British and Irish flavours, guided by a commitment to sustainability and seasonal produce. Innovative and resourceful, the menu transforms every ingredient into something absolutely memorable. www.inisfishisland.com
Little Duck The Picklery.
The large marble table in the centre of this ‘fermenting kitchen’ also doubles as a display area, with jars and plates in the middle and chairs along one side. Anywhere you sit, expect an eyeful of the pickling projects. There’s even a muslin bag suspended from the ceiling, containing the Picklery’s own labneh, of course. Little Duck/ The Picklery lives up to its name – it’s basically a sexy, edible version of the Grant Museum of Zoology. (littleduckpicklery.co.uk)
Bistrotheque
Bethnal Green, 30-minute walk up the canal from the flat, (www.bistrotheque.com): Modern European restaurant in white-painted converted warehouse, with bar and private dining room. It’s housed in a converted clothing factory in the East End (a street away from where I ran a warehouse gallery in the early 90s).
Casa Fofo
Casa Fofò is a small neighbourhood eatery in the heart of Hackney. They offer a set menu featuring seasonal ingredients sourced by local producers. It’s lovely. www.casafofolondon.co.uk
Polentina
A small, glass enclosed restaurant within sustainable clothing manufacturer, Apparel Tasker. We are open Wednesday to Saturday for lunch, and Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner.
“We offer a small, daily changing menu of humble, home style cooking.” Yes they do!! www.polentina.com
Ragged School Café
With a reputation for outstanding food and great service, the renowned team of Limpet Baron and David Hughes are now running the Ragged Café, based at The Ragged School Museum. Uniquely situated by the Regent's Canal at Mile End, it offers both indoor and outdoor settings.
Open from 9.30am for coffee and pastries, through to a light lunchtime menu with drinks and afternoon tea with homemade cakes. The Café will be open during the summer on Fridays and Saturdays evenings, with a special menu. VERY SHORT trot from the flat. www.raggedcafe.com
The Clove Club.
The Clove Club, Shoreditch (www.thecloveclub.com): Britain's highest-ranked entry in the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards. Located inside Shoreditch Town Hall, a space now transformed into an arts and events venue, The Clove Club opened in March 2013 thanks to a successful crowd-funding initiative. The restaurant prides itself on its relaxed atmosphere where guests don't have to worry about being "hassled" by staff. The Clove Club earned its Michelin star in 2014. Fairly expensive.
12:51
This is actually North London, but happens to be yards from my first home in London back in 1987.
12:51 is James Cochran's signature restaurant. With parents from St. Vincent in the Caribbean and Glasgow, Scotland, he grew up by the sea in Whitstable, Kent - a mixed-heritage reflected in his innovative and exciting dishes. After getting his first job at Wheeler’s Oyster Bar in his hometown, his talent took him to the world-renowned, two-Michelin-starred, The Ledbury - where he honed his skills under mentor Brett Graham - before he went on to run the kitchen at Michelin-starred gastropub The Harwood Arms.
He opened 12:51 in Islington, north London in 2018 - the same year he won the BBC’s Great British Menu - a feat he repeated in 2020. A winner of the prestigious Eater London Chef of The Year, James also runs Around the Cluck offering a gourmet twist on the classic fried chicken takeaway.
Morito.
Moro and Morito chef proprietors, Sam & Sam Clark, opened their third restaurant, located at 195 Hackney Road in 2016.
Morito Hackney Road's Head Chef, Sevan Tchivitdji, draws influences from Southern Spain, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean including the island of Crete
Morito has a concise offering of wines from the Mediterranean - primarily mainland Spain and Portugal - with a couple of lesser-known wines from the Canary Islands. There is a selection of sparkling, white, red, pink, and orange wines, with many available by the glass. For those looking to venture past these, there is also a list of Sherry and Vermouth.
The restaurant has been designed in collaboration with artist Dillwyn Smith and features a horseshoe-shaped marble-topped, bar, polished concrete floor, bright shots of colour, an inviting open kitchen and large windows allowing for a light and airy space. Further contributions came from Hackney-based designer Sam Newton.
Manteca
Shoreditch, not far from Lyles.
A nose-to-tail italian-inspired restaurant. we focus on whole-animal butchery, hand-rolled pastas, wood-fired breads, and our own in-house salumeria. www.mantecarestaurant.co.uk
