East End Review

Tag: Platterform

  • Hackney Empire cafe reopens as the latest food and music venture by Platterform

    Revamped Hackney Empire cafe is now
    The Hackney Empire cafe has been revamped

    Did you like the Skylodge pop-up over by London Fields before Christmas? And the Sea Adventure dining experience? If so you’re going to love immersive food and music crew Platterform’s latest venture.

    After a succession of temporary installations the creative collective is setting up shop permanently – in Hackney Empire’s cafe no less – with an exotic new venue called Stage 3.

    From 12-course Indonesian feasts and art installations to Tai-chi masters, bands and DJs, Stage 3 promises to be an ambitious affair, with the usual cocktails, craft beers and food, only this time the emphasis is on music.

    The team is collaborating with a network of local artists, musicians and DJs for a programme of live performances this summer. Director Jules Bayuni says: “This is Hackney’s cultural quarter – with the museum, the cinema and the theatre. We’re the missing puzzle piece: music.”

    Inside, it’s a nod to both the building’s thespian history and Bayuni’s Indonesian heritage, with beautiful tropical prints patterning the walls and brightly-coloured puppet masks strung up over the bar.
    So what can we expect? Thursdays will be supper club night up on the mezzanine floor, with a different theme each week – ranging from French Creole to New Orleans to Caribbean nights.

    “The food is what we’ve collectively grown up on – it’s our soul food,” says Bayuni. Fridays will see art collectives like Unity take over the walls and DJ decks, Saturday is for more partying and Sunday is for hangovers, when you can drag yourself down for a day of healing or hedonism –the choice is yours.

    You’ll be able to pick from detox and retox cocktails, gorge on oriental-style duck and pork roasts and even take part in some tai-chi to restore the natural order after a heavy night. Sounds like you’re in safe hands.
    Watch out for updates about what’s on each week, it’s already looking excellent and this imaginative bunch have plenty of surprises up their sleeves.

    Stage 3
    Hackney Empire
    291 Mare Street, E8 1EJ

  • Platterform’s Sea Adventure Series – review

    Sea fare: Platterform's latest pop-up is a fishy affair
    Sea fare: Platterform’s latest pop-up is decidedly fishy

    Well it looks like the howling gales and driving rain of the past months are showing no sign of letting up, so we’d better find some nice places to hibernate until spring comes.

    And I can’t think of a more suitable way to shelter from the mid-Atlantic storms bashing the city than with a seafood-themed popup from the same team that brought us the fantastic lumberjack bar – Skylodge – before Christmas.

    This time the Platterform collective has magicked the London Fields rooftop into a barnacle-clad ship, decked out with rigging, compasses and salty little sea shacks. Lasting 15 weeks, the Sea Adventure Series will see a series of guest chefs taking up residency to dish up a succession of sensational fish suppers.

    Taking the helm for the Maiden Voyage section of the programme are in-house chefs Michele Sweetman and Leona Williams. The inspiration for their menu is the NorthWest Passage – the Arctic waterways that connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans – playing on Dutch, Scandinavian and British palates.

    We kicked off with a magnificent little bowl of smoked haddock chowder with juicy little nuggets of sweetcorn and some lovely savoury scone-like ships biscuits. It was hot and hearty and fully delicious.

    Next we walked the plank. Or ate the plank. A plank of dark rye bread that is, with fat pink curls of honey-pickled Scottish salmon, crunchy beetroot salad and sweet little gherkins. It looked beautiful, the fish tasted as fresh as if it had just jumped from the water and onto plate and it tasted all kinds of lovely.

    It’s a four-course set menu including drinks and portions are decent without being overbearing – which is lucky, because next comes the Lekkerbek. Or Dutch fish and chips to me and you – with a remoulade sauce made from mayonnaise, sage, tarragon. The little bowl of emerald petit pois with onion and sage was a lovely play on mushy peas. The batter was delicate – not overwhelming the tender flaky fish as it often can. Pudding was a delicious creamy key limey pie.

    If that’s not enough to tickle your kipper, the cocktails coming out of the Shanty Shack will certainly put hairs on your chest. We tried the Zissou Sour – a fiery little concoction of egg whites and mezcal and there are plenty of others to stick your oar in.

    The next chapter in this seafood adventure is Maid in the Mist, with Dave Yorkston of Yorkston Smokehouse setting up his own cold smoking house up on the rooftop. His fare is reportedly so good he sells it to his own fishmonger, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

    If the Sea Adventure Series is anything like as popular as Skylodge you better fix up look sharp and get yourselves some tickets. Walk-ins also welcome to pitch up and hang out at the bar with drink and snacks.

    Book via www.billetto.co.uk