East End Review

Tag: Restaurant reviews

  • Lobster Bar, Hackney Central, review: sensational crustaceans

    Pincer movements
    Under the sea: Lobster Bar is the latest restaurant to open on Richmond Road

    There is now a lobster bar in Hackney Central. While we were all processing the idea of ramen on Mare Street, Lobster Bar opened with little fanfare in early September, nestled between Raw Duck and Lardo, serving seafood, steaks and cocktails.

    Cristine Leone, its director, runs the popular Ivy’s Mess Hall and, until recently, the now shuttered Little Ivy’s on Lower Clapton Road. Of the latter, Cristine says its success was also its demise: “People who came for a meal would stay for hours,” she says, “which was great…” The small number of tables however, meant the venture wasn’t financially viable without cuts to quality. So the team decided that rather than compromise they would open Lobster Bar, where I can happily report that no such cuts are apparent.

    The seafood is excellent: we had Maldon oysters on the half shell, followed by a smoky, meaty, decadent chargrilled octopus leg (more on this below), as well as seared scallops on a bed of silky cauliflower purée. The lobster melted in the mouth (partially due to generous quantities of butter), without any of the dryness I often associate with lobster. We also had a steak that was tender enough that I suspect it could have been eaten blue, and wasn’t just a standalone for those who hate shellfish.

    The restaurant’s inventive cocktails featured a plethora of Italian liqueurs, and as I am wholly uneducated when it comes to wine that is not of the most basic French or Spanish variety, our friendly waiter gently guided us to a stunning Riesling, with sweet undertones but dry enough to partner up with seafood.

    We concluded the meal with a delicate poached peach, wexcellent food and servicehich brings me to my only qualm with LB, and extends to most new restaurants I’ve visited in the last year: a sense of reiteration. LB’s tasteful, gleaming “warehouse chic” interior is so similar to its neighbours that after being seated, I expressed consternation that Raw Duck had shut, believing to be in its former premises.

    Similarly, there’s food déjà vu: the grilled octopus leg, the single peach as pudding: both have appeared multiple times in places I’ve reviewed in the last 12 months, the peach being at the last three consecutive places I’ve visited. Rillettes and Burrata, while not on the menu here, have also popped so frequently that they seem on track to become the next truffle fry and brioche bun.

    I don’t, however, want to detract from the excellent food and service we received at LB, which, on the whole, seems to be what we’ve come to expect from new local ventures, along with charcuterie and pisco sours.

    Lobster Bar
    205 Richmond Road, E8 3NJ

  • Vegging out – The Hive restaurant review

    Vegging out – The Hive restaurant review

    The interior of The Hive. Photograph: The Hive
    The interior of The Hive. Photograph: The Hive

    My partner and I recently found ourselves at a popular veggie café, sharing a pallid tofu scramble with squidgy fake sausages, discussing why so much vegetarian fare is inscrutably joyless. Whilst mainstream restaurants in East London’s exploding food scene make a point of showcasing the ever-changing palette of colour and tastes wrought by seasonal produce (but with meat), all too often vegetarian places serve pallid and underseasoned food. Yet there’s no dearth of vegetarian food on menus, which made me wonder if the outdated image of the vegetarian lifestyle was the culprit.

    This might at least explain why the Hive, located at the top of Vyner Street, doesn’t mention its own vegetarian credentials too loudly. Instead, its website describes “a dining experience designed to enhance your lifestyle…our cold pressed juice detoxifies, our food nourishes, our coffee ignites the senses and our natural wines warm the soul.” If a bit vague, it at least sounds like a good overall outcome for anyone who has been to the pub too many times in the week.

    The owners take their sourcing seriously. Mainly a breakfast and lunch destination, the Hive serves up coffee from the excellent roastery Square Mile, sourdough from e5 Bakehouse, all natural wines, and biodynamic and organic produce inspired by the Slow Food movement. The foods on offer are enticing and break out of the all too common staid fake meat and dahl framework found elsewhere. Breakfast here could be cashew ricotta cheese, made in-house, and marinated mushrooms on toast, and lunch courgette and squash noodles with coriander pesto. There is limited dairy on offer too.

    When we sat down on a rainy midweek evening, we turned ourselves over to the chef for food recommendations. These presented themselves as tapas – first a wood board with carefully assembled amuse-bouches, such as a raw mini pizza made with macadamias, and a tempeh and aubergine square. Following that, a stack of grilled vegetables, served to us on a mini barbecue crafted out of a brick and smoking coals. I liked the playfulness of this gesture, full of spontaneity and creativity. For puddings, we were served an all vegan trio of caramel ‘cheese’ cake, lemon tart, and brownie, which were all good verging on great, possibly a bit chewy in the case of the brownie. Finally, there are many cocktails and natural wines on offer.

    The Hive may rely a little heavily on soya products in its menu currently for my tastes, but it is certainly a place that I would return to, regardless of my diet. My only fear is that its location on the top of Vyner Street may not capture the right kind of passing foot traffic for it to retain a steady evening service. For the full experience, I would stop by for a daytime meal.

    The Hive
    286–290 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9DA
    thehivewellbeing.com

  • Efendi review – ‘Like you’re sitting down to dinner at a friend’s house’

    Fine homely fare at Efendi
    Homely Turkish fare at Efendi

    My favourite restaurants are restaurants that don’t feel like restaurants. They have good, simple food, nice people and a well-stocked bar. They feel more like you’re sitting down to dinner at a friend’s house. Just with waiters.

    That’s why Efendi popping up in the neighbourhood was such a pleasant discovery. It’s the latest venture from the team behind This Bright Field, which used to stand in its place on Cambridge Heath Road.

    This time owner Emel Sumen is going back to his roots and serving authentic Turkish food. It’s billed as a neighbourhood kitchen and is just that – a light and airy restaurant full of scrubbed wooden tables and a long serving bar where you can see the chefs at work.

    One wall is floor-to-ceiling windows, so it’s full of light all year round and outside there are plenty of tables to take in the evening air and watch the bustle as the days get warmer.

    We took too long picking, so they started bringing out heaped platefuls to try.

    We kicked off with a very decent carafe of house red, mopped up with some freshly baked bread and lemony, garlicky hummus goodness.

    Next was a mezze plate laden with everything from sigara boregi – warm little cigars of crispy filo pastry stuffed with feta and herbs – to sucuk – grilled discs of spicy Turkish sausage, to crunchy falafel.

    The icli kofte was another highlight – moist little balls of bulgar wheat with minced meat, herbs and walnut – as were the fried squares of juicy halloumi-like hellim from Cyprus. I fear there is no upper limit to how much of that grilled cheese I could eat.

    Luckily the mains came out before I could find out for certain. We had an impressive platter of morsels from the grill including gently spiced chicken shish – and lamb too for good measure – as well as lamb ribs.

    Emel says nothing goes on the menu without his approval and that’s clear. The food is simple, but delicious.

    This is a wonderful, homely Turkish kitchen that will draw you in and post you back out into the night well-fed, well-watered and well looked after.

    Efendi
    270 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9DA

     

     

  • Bones review: ‘Remarkably understated and un-gimmicky for Shoreditch’

    Burrata with basil oil, chili flakes and sourdough bread. Photograph courtesy of Bones
    Burrata with basil oil, chili flakes and sourdough bread. Photograph courtesy of Bones

    Shoreditch has an excellent new eating and drinking hole to wrap your chops round.

    You won’t find fussy dishes with overbearing flavours here. As the name suggests, the menu is stripped back to good quality meat, fish and vegetables gently seasoned and put together with light touch and an artist’s eye.

    The pigeon salad is outstanding. Delicate slices of meat teamed with hazelnuts and vegetable crisps on bright green leaves. It’s short and sweet, with a perfectly judged combination of textures and flavours. I could happily have eaten it all evening.

    Then there’s a plump chunk of burrata to tear sumptuous little mouthfuls off. The creamy mozzarella-like cheese would be beautiful on its own, but the splash of basil oil and scattering of chilli flakes and wafer of sourdough elevates it to glory.

    Keeping it nice and light, we tried a lovely plate of sautéed baby squid thrown around in a pan with potatoes and cherry tomatoes. The chilli warms without burning and the lemon brightens each bite, pulling all the flavours neatly together.

    At the heart of the menu is the ‘Bones’ section, offering everything from sirloin to salmon and including a stew from Provence made with pearl barley and chicken that sounded wonderful.

    We went with a rack of lamb in a fragile herb crust with some braised baby gem that was great and the garlicky bowl of rosemary roast potatoes that came with it were even better.

    Another highlight is the aubergine, thinly sliced and gently roasted, then topped with bright blood-red sequins of pomegranate seeds. Another well-judged dressing, this time with chilli and tahini, which adds a nutty layer of flavour and is topped off with a scattering of feta that cuts cleanly across the palate.

    Remarkably understated and un- gimmicky for Shoreditch, Bones combines great food with an potent cocktails and is the perfect night out for dates, mates and lates.

    Bones 52 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DP 020 7033 9008 

  • Dishoom – review

    Taste of Bombay? A Dishoom bacon naan roll
    Taste of Bombay? A Dishoom bacon naan roll

    There isn’t much that beats a fiery Bloody Mary first thing on a cold rainy morning. By the same stroke there isn’t much worse than a disappointing one.

    I’ve had some that tasted like a glass full of watery ketchup, some that tried to be way too clever and many where whoever made it can perhaps only ever have seen a picture of one and tried to make it based on that.

    At Dishoom, a Bombay cafe in the heart of Shoreditch, they’re cold and refreshing, the recipe made with tequila instead of vodka, which gives them a bright and zesty flavour. I can advocate having two of them as you peruse a breakfast menu that is bursting with excellence.

    I felt compelled to try the bacon naan because I’ve heard a lot of hype. Believe it. Warm, freshly baked soft bread, chargrilled bacon and a chilli tomato jam to sweeten the mouthful and brighten the palate. Cream cheese
    and fresh herbs elevates each mouthful to brilliance.

    We also tried the akuri: spicy scrambled eggs whacked on ‘fire toast’ – soft white bread chucked on the grill – and served up with an oven-roasted vine of sweet cherry tomatoes. It too was excellent.

    ‘Cafe’ might be a bit misleading for this sophisticated joint, but does resonate with the relaxed atmosphere of the place. Breezy and open-plan with fans idling on the ceiling, it’s the kind of place you could easily while away a morning watching people streak past on the busy high street outside the window.

    If daytimes at Dishoom are tranquil, night time certainly isn’t. I’d seen the dinner menu and was curious to see what it was like so headed back a week later.

    You can’t book and there’s a queue in the bar and out of the door practically all night. And that’s no surprise. It’s stylish, the food is exceptionally good and the atmosphere is buzzing. Get down there as soon as possible.

    Dishoom Shoreditch, 7 Boundary Street, E2 7JE