East End Review

Tag: Victoria Seabrook

Lizzy’s at the Coal House, Stoke Newington, restaurant review

Grilled crispy pancetta, with trimmings. Photograph: Victoria Seabrook

The Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve on Stoke Newington’s east reservoir is startlingly beautiful for something in inner London. Wild flowers roam rampant across the banks and birds and butterflies shelter in towering reedbeds.

So beautiful, in fact, that to take in the surroundings most would happily tolerate a café offering only greasy fried eggs and watery coffee.

Thankfully you needn’t do so at Lizzy’s at the Coal House, the café in the converted former 19th century coal store.

For the healthy there’s bircher muesli or eggs any way you like them. For the indulgent, choices include grilled pancetta, or truffle mushrooms with chevre. There are a few less common options too, such as hot smoked mackerel or homemade salt beef.

It is a sweltering July day when we take a seat on the lawn outside. The weather doesn’t scream soup, but the chilled and creamy lentil, pistachio and mint soup was quite refreshing and plenty filling.

For mains I (the indulgent one) pick the grilled crispy pancetta, with garlic peas, parmesan, and poached egg, topped with basil oil. With such fine ingredients it is a cut above your regular cooked breakfast and costs only £8. And it arrives piping hot, unlike at some breakfast joints where the food seems to have been kept lukewarm. The added truffle field mushrooms are well worth the additional £1.

My companion (the healthy one) opts for a middle eastern style quinoa and cauliflower salad, laced with cumin and raisins. The light, fresh flavours nicely cut through the earthy tones of the accompanying smokey aubergine paste. The dish was served beautifully, though it was a touch on the small side.

A local flavour runs through the menu, with much of the food sourced from London businesses. Most of the bread – nutty flavoured seed-packed rye or crispy sourdough – and delicious cakes – think date and cashew or chocolate and Guinness – are baked by the local Spence bakery. The ice cream is from a North London gelateria – we recommend the salted caramel or pistachio.

To my surprise few of my friends in Hackney even knew the reservoir existed. So I am somewhat loathe to sing the praises of Lizzy’s café too loudly, or the beautiful surrounding nature reserve, in case I might no longer be able to find a free table. But the food is so delicious, such good value and the café is in such a peaceful setting, this eventuality is surely inevitable.

Lizzy’s at the Coal House is open 9-4 daily and the kitchen closes at 3:30pm.

August 1, 2016
Chriskitch, Hoxton, restaurant review – ‘weird and wonderful delights’

Main attraction: Mushroom broth, vegetable salad, Korean rice and crunchy bean curd skin

You are not always sure of what you are eating in Chriskitch, a new restaurant tucked behind Hoxton Square, but as I learnt, it pays to put your trust in the chef.

Surprising combinations are the order of the day here (BBQ duck ravioli and quinoa popsicle anyone?) all of which inspired by the worldly travels of the restaurant’s chef Chris Honor.

The starter of champagne-poached oyster, truffle oil, caviar and scrambled eggs struck me as something a child would dream up, asked what grown-ups eat.

But there is nothing childish about this starter, which bursts with rich truffle and sea flavours. It is beautifully presented – just like everything else on the menu – in an oyster shell propped up by sorbet, on a bed of ornamental seaweed.

Starter’s orders: champagne poached oyster with truffle and chive scrambled eggs

Other weird and wonderful delights pop up around the starters – cheese popsicles, crisped rye bread… even powdered white truffle on a teaspoon to cleanse the palate.

It is the juicy kale rolls that steal the warm-up show, however, which were much more lively than they sound, bursting with south east Asian flavours of basil seeds and fresh herbs. These complimentary bites are welcome in a menu that veers towards the pricey, with mains averaging at around £19.

And with the mains come flavours of the Middle East: the signature blackened lamb dish is enclosed in succulent aubergine strips, topped with salty feta and with the sweet hint of date chutney.

Moving on to Mediterranean climes is the salmon: crispy skin, succulent and flaking apart underneath. Somehow this dish smacks of the sea even more than expected, perhaps due to deep notes of anchovy. Underneath is bone marrow and a bacon and endive tart – though I’m not sure exactly which part is which. What I can vouch for, though, is its deliciousness.

For dessert we forego the recommended chocolate pudding, opting instead for the picture-pretty crème brûlée. It combines all the great things about a crème brûlée – a rich and smooth vanilla flavour with a crispy top – yet is even more delectable thanks to the fresh fruit flavours of thin candied lemon slices and fresh raspberries.

A poached pear poked through a mysterious round pastry crisp, served with a smear of salted caramel sauce, vanilla cream and ‘activated’ walnuts – which, yes, really did taste nuttier than usual.

At Chriskitch you pay more than your usual Hackney joint, but the menu takes you far beyond this borough.

Chriskitch,
5 Hoxton Market, N1 6HG

At work: chef Chris Honor

July 21, 2016
Worth a butcher’s – Hill & Szrok restaurant review

“Easily the best steak either of us has had in the UK…” – the T-Bone at Hill & Szrok

Is it a butcher? Is it a restaurant? Actually it is both.

Hill & Szrok you might know as the cosy Broadway Market butcher-cum-restaurant on Broadway Market.

Its no-reservations table is invariably full of an evening, a fact that has always made me wonder if I will ever set foot inside.

But no more. For the team behind Hill & Szrok have opened a new pub and dining room in what was The Three Crowns near Old Street roundabout.

In keeping with a seemingly increasing trend for nose to tail eating, the team uses up every bit of the animal. The menu changes throughout the day as Alex Szrok, the chef, and his team work their way through the cuts.

All the meat is slow-grown, free range and taken entirely from sustainable farms across England.

The menu is small: a handful of starters, mains and sides, with a few specials on the blackboard that hangs above the open kitchen.

But we found the select choice ample. The smokiness of the roasted romanesco and tang of the pickled radicchio cut through the rich, soft goat’s curd beautifully.

Mussels made another welcome deviation from the meat theme, although they were slightly overpowered by the accompanying pancetta.

For mains we were delighted to have taken the waiter’s advice and ordered what the restaurant does best: big cuts of meat.

We shared a T-bone steak, which gives you both the sirloin and tender fillet cuts. It was easily the best steak either of us has had in the UK – juicy, flavoursome, pink the whole way along the cuts and falling apart in the mouth – and it rivalled any we had tried in South America.

Though the restaurant stands out for its meat, a great deal of attention was paid to the details, which makes a huge difference. The chips were spot on: piping hot and crispy, served with aioli, and the spring greens were fresh, flavoursome and nicely seasoned.

Vegetarians need not be deterred by the butcher’s reputation. The fish and vegetarian options were meals in themselves, not just back ups.

The sourcing and the quality of the ingredients are a cut above the rest. The publicity promised “a no fuss, maximum quality approach”. It achieved exactly that.

Hill & Szrok
8 East Rd, Old St, N1 6AD
hillandszrok.co.uk

April 19, 2016
Fancy cuppas – Stoke Newington Tea House review

Hot proper-tea – the Stoke Newington Tea House. Photograph: Victoria Seabrook

The new Stoke Newington Tea House, as one might expect, does tea exceptionally well. The teahouse is a reincarnation of the Daniel Defoe, an old school boozer on Church Street, which got taken over by small pub chain the Yummy Pub Company. Now they’ve reopened it as a specialty tea place, with a menu of 100 loose-leaf teas that is difficult to choose from.

Thankfully, the staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about tea, guiding you skilfully through the menu: “Lapsang, Pu-erh, Oolong, stem only tea, flowering tea . . .”

Who knew tea was so exciting?

“. . . some have been buried, some have been put in a cave, some smell like sewage.” Fantastic…

The menu also explains the provenance of each tea and why it has been mixed the way it has, something we’d never encountered elsewhere. The house special is Earl Grey-based, with dried fruit peel. It’s tasty, lighter and less bitter than the usual supermarket stuff.

The Hong Shui Oolong, from Taiwan, is a fermented green tea, lighter and far less bitter. In fact it is more like a herbal tea, tasting of fruit and honey. “It’s a whole new world of flavour, like nothing you’ve ever tasted,” our friendly waiter assures us. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is lovely.

Prices at least won’t make you feel like you’ve been mugged, with most teas £2–3, although the more rare varieties push up towards £4.30.

And for the non-teetotal there is a selection of tea-based cocktails. The apple, elderflower and green tea mojito is refreshing and less sweet than its caffeine-free counterpart.

But the so-called Robinson Crusoe cocktail was less successful. Bombay Sapphire, honey, Earl Grey tea – all delicious. Together? It was like drinking gin and squash.

If you fancy a ‘proper brew’, the bar area offers a selection of craft ales and pub drinks. But it hasn’t the charm or atmosphere of a proper boozer – nor is it cosy enough to settle down for an afternoon of tea-drinking. And the food menu consists of only a limited selection of pub staples. Alas, our choices were either overcooked (chicken breast) or lukewarm (chips).

For a fancy cup of splosh look no further, but we felt the Tea House was trying too many different things to a less high standard, a risky strategy with so many other watering holes and cosy cafés to compete with on Church Street.

March 25, 2016
Escocesa, Stoke Newington, review: Scottish tapas is a must-try

Tapastastic grub at Escocesa

The clue is in the name. Escocesa is Spanish for Scottish, and this new recruit to Stoke Newington Church Street serves up food from the Western Highlands, tapas-style.

Inspiration for this perhaps obscure combination came to the owner, a Scot called Stephen Lironi, 15 years ago from an article describing how all the best Scottish seafood was exported to Spain, as there was no domestic market for the more unusual catches.

Stepping inside Escocesa, you feel closer to Spain than to Scotland. A metal-topped bar surrounds the busy open kitchen, from where you can perch on a bar stool, sip Spanish wine and watch the chefs prepare your tapas from ice to pan to plate.

The dishes are served as they are in places like Bilbao and San Sebastian in northern Spain – fresh, stylish and modern – rather than the rustic-looking, oily tapas typical further south.

Standout dishes included the langoustines, freshly caught in Scotland and so flavourful they had us sucking the juice from the legs. Three of the crustaceans for £9.50 was more than enough for two people – and the same goes for all main dishes: each costs between £5 and £10, and is plenty for a pair.

Octopus and hand-dived scallops also graced the specials board, which changes daily as per the fresh stock.

The salt cod croquettes were surprisingly good, a far cry from the usual dried up deep fried parcels. These were piping hot, crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside.

If you’re not wild about sea creatures, fear not: the menu offers meat and vegetarian options too – chorizo with lentils, charcuterie board, goats cheese and fig salad.

Another must-try is the morcilla iberica, a moister, more crumbly Spanish take on black pudding. It arrived warm, loaded with sweet and tangy piquillo peppers and a fried quail’s egg.

Artichokes with pimenton and strong garlic aioli added some welcome greenery to complement all the seafood.

The cocktails are delicious and fantastically presented, topped with fresh ginger or fig slices. At £8 a pop they weren’t that pricey for a London restaurant either.

Some of the food was too salty, coming as it did with a liberal pinch of whole flakes, which was sometimes too much even for my salt-loving companion.

But other than that minor point, Escocesa is a dream: fresh, perfectly cooked, juicy seafood, lively atmosphere and prices that don’t make your eyes water.

Escocesa
67 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0AR
escocesa.co.uk

January 22, 2016
Il Cudega, review: capturing the northern soul of Italy

Italian job: ‘Delica’ pumpkin and barley risotto with crispy salsiccia at Il Cudega

When in Milan, do as the Milanese do.

Well, that’s not exactly how the maxim goes – and this foodie has never been to Milan. But if you visit Il Cudega, a new Lombardy restaurant on Westgate Street, order whatever the staff recommend. You won’t be disappointed.

The Lombardy region in northern Italy takes in the southern Alps, the lakes and has Milan as its capital. To start with we were recommended a complex white wine to accompany a salad with warm goat’s cheese, which was hard, and with an intensely mature flavour.

The wine was a winner with the carpaccio too, which was served generously, with a mustard and lemon dressing and raspadura, a kind of Lombardy Parmesan.

The menu is limited but ample, and changes according to the produce available.

If you can stomach the ethical dubiousness of veal, try the restaurant’s signature dish, Vitel Toné – veal tuna. It is roasted veal served in cold strips, with an anchovy, lemon and caper sauce.

In the 18th century Italians in landlocked Milan could not source tuna from Sicily, the chef tells us. Instead, they pretended to eat the delicacy by cooking thin strips of red veal in a mildly anchovy sauce.

And thank goodness they did, because this is divine. The pairing of a strong fish with a stark meat is unusual – but it works. The veal is so tender it almost dissolves and is served cold – which gives space for the anchovy flavour to come through.

For the more ethically-conscious the vegetarian food is as robust and flavoursome as it comes. I plumped for a main course of dark and meaty wild mushrooms, with a sweet pumpkin puree that cuts through the warm, oozing Gorgonzola served on top of crispy polenta.

For dessert, the Gorgonzola sorbet sounds terrible but is quite the opposite. The cheese flavour is subtle, and it comes served with a scoop of mascarpone gelato, a pear compote and walnuts. The flavours sit somewhere between a cheeseboard served with fruit and a cheesecake. It came with a flavoursome sweet, red dessert wine.

The quality of the produce, the hospitality and the extensive knowledge of the staff are as impressive as each other. The chef and waiter visit each table to explain the provenance of ingredients and why they’ve matched them with others.

Whether it’s the name of the beef farmer on Lake Como, the time at which they harvest the pumpkins, or the type of wine to have – they know their stuff and it enhances the experience.

There’s little to fault about this eatery. It’s pricey, though so are many places in Hackney these days, and the portions are modest. But you get so much bang for your buck.

Il Cudega
358 Westgate St, E8 3RL
ilcudega.com

December 16, 2015
How the Berlin Wall became a catalyst for creativity

Wall politics: Total Demokratie by Ben de Biel

When the Berlin Wall fell, the whole city was reborn. Artists flocked to the capital, creativity flourished, social groups merged and politics shifted radically. Clubs, galleries, squats, studios and workshops quickly sprang up in the many disused buildings. The free space, a sense of jubilation and the prevalence of ecstasy made it just the fertile ground needed for techno and its scene to flourish.

And it is this moment in history that After the Fall depicts. The exhibition features work by photographers, writers and musicians that captures the zeitgeist of Berlin in the early 1990s. Ernesto Leal, the curator, says: “I wanted to bring together all these things that represent Berlin at that time. People were able to experiment with new people, there was new music around, East and West were able to meet. It kicked off the whole regeneration of East Berlin.”

If you’ve ever wondered why Berlin is the epicentre of dance music, this is for you. The exhibition features extracts from Der Klang der Familie (The Sound of Family) an oral and written history from those present in Berlin at that time. Sven von Thülen, one of the authors, says: “Our aim was to let the people who lived the early years of house and techno in Berlin tell the story of the scene’s development rather than us. The many different perspectives and personal – and sometimes contradictory – opinions make for an intimate and close look at what happened back then and why.”

Loveparade 1992. Photograph: Ben de Biel

Von Thülen says the exhibition shows a singular period in history. “Post-Wall Berlin is kind of an historical accident. It shows a city as a temporary autonomous zone. An anarchic time filled with a unique sense of freedom and possibility, which was embraced in a very creative and positive way. And with techno as its prime soundtrack.”

Visitors can study arresting black and white photos of the disruption, building sites and sometimes-bizarre fashion of the time. The photographer, Ben de Biel, studied photography in West Germany between 1989 and 1990 and says his studies of reportage inspired him to document what Berlin was like in the early post-wall years. “When I came first in February 1990 I recognised that Berlin after the fall is a unique time in history and the first people who came from West to East as I did were also artists like me. So my pictures deliberately came from this point of view.

“My studies were about photojournalism and documentary. Traditionally this genre is black and white. But especially by taking pictures of people you realise their characters much better in black and white.”

Leal hopes visitors will draw parallels between East London and Berlin. “There seems to be a connection between the two cities,” he says. “In 1992, there was nothing here in East London. People came to warehouse parties and discovered a new place and new people. I could see the connection between club culture and the resurgence of an area.”

After the Fall is at Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street, EC2A 3DT until 18 October.

redgallerylondon.com

The opening night, which featured live readings by Sven von Thülen, a documentary screening and music, was recorded and can be listened back to via bloop.

Time to go home… Berlin ravers. Photograph: Ziet Machine

October 7, 2015