East End Review

Tag: Lower Clapton

  • My Neighbours the Dumplings – restaurant review

    My Neighbours the Dumplings – restaurant review

    My Neighbours the Dumplings' frontage on Lower Clapton Road
    My Neighbours the Dumplings’ frontage on Lower Clapton Road

    As previous reviews attest, Clapton is now home to several quality Asian eateries. The newest among them is the puzzlingly named My Neighbours the Dumplings, which opened last month on Lower Clapton Road. As a dumpling fanatic, I waited impatiently for the opening, and apparently wasn’t alone in doing so: when we visited midweek, the restaurant was so bustling that a passing resident marvelled that she’d never seen such a busy place locally. It took us a few moments to get through the door as a decent crowd had assembled around the sake bar, seemingly just popping in for a drink.

    MNTD has many things to recommend it. The general ambience is outstanding. The interior is thronged in custom-made light boxes, and the music is good, contributing to a celebratory vibe. The service is warm too. And the ingredients are clearly of a high quality, with meat sourced from the Rare Breed Meat Company. This is immediately apparent from the earthiness of the pork and lamb. It was nice to be offered ethically-sourced meat, which is not generally a fixture at regular dim sum parlours.

    Food from My Neighbours the Dumplings

    As dim sum is a brunch food, the food here isn’t strictly traditional. Diners do order from a tick box list, and the dishes are served in baskets, for sharing. The menu is carefully chosen, with classics like siu mai and sticky rice alongside pan-Asian fare such as a cucumber salad spiked with chilli and lemongrass, and a generous smattering of vegetarian options. We tried about eight dishes and although the general quality was high, some were more successful than others. The lamb and coriander potstickers were crispy without greasiness and the turnip cake with Chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms was outstanding. The siu mai, however, weren’t firm enough, and the pork in the filling overpowered the prawn rather than hitting a balance. The prawn wontons were priced quite dearly at £5 (over a pound per piece), but were dry, with a thimble-sized portion of sauce.

    dumplings-2-620

    Far and away the best dish was the whole steamed lemon sole in a coriander butter sauce, the coda to our meal. The fish, sourced from sustainable fishmonger Soleshare, was silky and buttery, with a delicate flavour that needed little adornment. Although the daily fish selection changes, I expect the quality will remain outstanding.

    It took us far too long to receive and pay our bill, which came to £60 for two people with a soft drink and one sake cocktail. A shade too pricey for my tastes but I would definitely head there when hit by a dumpling craving – it’s local, ethical and the joyous atmosphere put us in a good mood.

    My Neighbours the Dumplings
    165 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EQ
    myneighboursthedumplings.com

  • Rootdown, Lower Clapton – review: California dreaminess

    Rootdown – Beetroot with Zata'ar labneh 620
    Beetroot with Zata’ar Labneh at Rootdown on Lower Clapton Road

    Growing up in the nineties, I found the term ‘Californian cuisine’ bemusing, as it seemed vague but pretentious, denoting a lifestyle rather than a cuisine, and evoking images of temperate al fresco dining with Chardonnay. But extra virgin olive oil was a luxury item back then and sun dried tomatoes the height of sophistication. Now, with the internet, food programmes on television and the cult of Ottolenghi, we are all food experts.

    Which brings us to Rootdown, a small restaurant opened by siblings at the top of Lower Clapton Road, serving carefully selected fusion dishes described as ‘Californian’, a descriptor I find both archaic and endearing in a city awash with ‘Modern European’ menus. The restaurant prides itself on seasonal, small-scale food. I did note Growing Communities as one of their suppliers, suggesting this was not just lip-service to sustainability, and upon further investigation, Rootdown smokes its own salmon, makes pickles in-house, serves its own beer, and mixes up carefully crafted house cocktails, all at very reasonable prices.

    For starters we had pan-fried squid with pickled turnips and smoked almonds, a Japanese bonito broth with raw tofu, and some homemade foccacia with zata’ar. All delicious, although the delicate bonito broth unfortunately was too wan up against the strong flavours of the other dishes. To follow, we opted for polenta with wild mushrooms, asparagus and truffle oil, and the bewildering onglet steak with padron peppers, potatoes and taleggio.

    These were rich dishes, not for the faint of heart, but the taleggio and steak combination proved to be a winner – we devoured it. Becca, the owner, swore the polenta’s silkiness was chiefly due to whipping rather than heavy cream, but I didn’t entirely believe her. Even though truffle oil is frequently reviled by chefs as being fool’s gold, I would certainly order this dish again.

    We finished off with a flawless grilled peach and meringue combination before tottering home. The only thing I would reproach Rootdown for is its friendly but disorganised service, a small crime given it certainly delivers on the promise set by its inventive and enticing menu. It’s a shame it hasn’t had more press coverage, but maybe you should visit before it becomes impossible to book a table. I certainly will.

    Rootdown, 237 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 8EG
    rootdownlondon.com

     

  • Verden – restaurant review: a sign of how far Clapton has come?

    Verden
    Bar interior at Verden, 181 Clarence Road, E5 8EE

    Verden, a wine bar that opened in Lower Clapton last year, has been receiving rave reviews in the national press. Throughout, it is described as a locals’ restaurant, and a sign of how far Clapton has come. One review described it as “good for everyone … locals, especially”, while the Independent lightheartedly claimed its owners are here to educate the East End in a good vintage.

    Yet Verden is far from being a neighbourhood restaurant. It was opened by a duo who worked respectively in PR and at Mayfair’s legendary and astonishingly expensive seafood restaurant Scott’s. When we went to dine early one Sunday evening, we were seated between a group who’d ventured there from Kilburn and were debating how to get home from the depths of Hackney, and a family who bought their young child a £17 main.

    This isn’t to say the food there isn’t exquisite. Verden makes its own charcuterie, changes its mains daily, has a gorgeous cheese selection, and serves around 100 types of wine. Diners sit in an elegant, minimalist interior, with low lighting and a long wooden bar. However, when I asked our server to recommend some charcuterie and wine, he gave us chorizo and an unexciting Vouvray with no further elaboration – two ubiquitous menu items that did little to showcase Verden’s wares.

    Exquisite: A wild mushroom dish
    Exquisite: A wild mushroom dish

    The highlight of the charcuterie was the lardo: glistening cubes of pork fat layered with sea salt and rosemary. Following onto the mains, there should have been three to choose from, but the restaurant had run out of the lemon sole, leaving us as options a lamb neck dish with braised baby gem lettuce (flawlessly prepared but also not revelatory in any way), and a cold burrata with peperonata that, while also faultless, was hardly suitable for a cold and rainy March evening.

    The salted caramel chocolate pot that we finished with was rich, velvety and luxurious, and the wedge of Epoisses cheese had just the right ratio of pungency to creaminess, but we left Verden feeling that something was lacking: standing around the corner from a closed community centre and African takeaway, it lacked the warmth and DIY cheer I associate with Hackney, and as long term locals, we did not feel particularly welcome or at home.

    Verden
    181 Clarence Road, E5 8EE
    verdene5.com