Hill & Szrok and The Gibson, 28th September

There’s very little point in going to Hill & Szrok if you don’t eat meat. They started as a Butchery and cookshop in Broadway market and their pub is pretty much an excuse to show off the meat they butcher. Having said that, there are a few sides which are just as good to eat as the meat.

The sautéed potatoes were gorgeously golden discs of salty crunchiness and soft potato inside. Hispi cabbage which seems to be flaunting itself all over town on many a menu was as good here as I’ve had elsewhere – sprinkled with chilli to liven it up and apparently anchovy was also somehow involved although I couldn’t spot where. Blended into the sauce it was dressed with I imagine. It was a really delicious bit of veg. The salad we ordered was probably unnecessary and barely got a look in after the cabbage and potatoes were all done. It was crisp and fresh but rather too mustardy for me.

While not normally a fan of the pork chop I thought it stood a good chance of being done well here, and I was right. Nice and thick it had a good amount of fat on the edge (although some of that fat could have been a little more melty than chewy) and wasn’t in the least dry. A chunky applesauce accompanied.

I had a white wine and a red wine over dinner. The white was dry but had some personality to it and the red was a montepulciano which I know is always a safe bet and had a pretty heady aroma. Our waiter was so sweet he even offered to let me try the wines I was deciding between – how often do you get that offered to you?

I really liked the set up too. I was worried the place would be more restaurant than pub but they have delineated it so that seated service is at the back and does feel more prim whereas the front is definitely a proper pub where you can pop in for a drink without feeling any pressure to eat.

After this we took a short walk up to The Gibson, a cocktail bar I have been eying for some time now. It wasn’t quite what I expected – I thought it was going to be more serious, classic drinks, instead they like to surprise you with added extras and features. Some of them not altogether welcome. I had a shaky start when I ordered the Tiger balm and what was set down was a huge glass with (I thought in the half light) Bombay mix pinned to the side.  Before I reached in to get a few, the waiter explained they were worms! I literally yelped and shrank away, banishing them from my sight. My date was braver and tried one – said they tasted a bit like candied ginger. I would not be persuaded. The chunk of tamarind that it came with was also odd to eat and after one bite full of seeds I abandoned it.  

My companion had ordered the Dry Gibson which came with pickled black eyed peas and a spoon to scoop them out with. That was delicious. They managed to make what is basically a glass full of gin completely moreish. 

My second drink was more like a dessert than a drink (well it was called a Tiki toffee pudding), topped with a thick waffle, with the glass encased in chocolate. But I went back to savoury with my last drink. 

We both had Asian-inspired drinks to finish – my 'Big in Japan' was topped with warmed wasabi peas and my companion had his 'Way of the Dragon' served in a teapot (dragon-shaped of course) which blew smoke into his glass.

But anyone can come up with fun things to do with cocktails. The main thing about this place is that each one tasted as good as it looked and I would have been as happy with them even without the bells and whistles. They’re just my kind of drinks – strong enough you taste the alcohol, with the extra ingredients smoothing and rounding it out.

The number of drinks on the menu is ridiculous so you could easily come back again and again to work through all their inventions. When we went, we even had a bit of jazz being played on the piano, which was a nice surprise. And, unlike Nightjar down the road, you would actually stand a chance of getting a seat on a weekday – when we went at 8:30 on a Wednesday there were but a few others there. 

Wenlock Arms, 8th February

I almost forgot to post this! So here it is, out of order:

I do seem to have a lot of things on my List without any real idea of why they’re there because they’ve been on there for so long. Such is The Wenlock Arms. I have a vague feeling it came from my Time Out 1000 Things to do book but I’m not sure. I know it was threatened with closure at some point but was saved from such a fate and opened by new management.

I went on a Monday night, and it was far from heaving. I cannot imagine it ever gets particularly packed as the amount of passing traffic it would attract would be around nil. You either know it’s there and have it as a destination already, or you would never stumble across it. It’s down a residential road about halfway between angel and Old Street.

It’s very much a ‘proper’ pub but not especially cosy at that. It’s all tables and chairs with very little adorning the walls. It feels like it is made for men, with none of that fancy nonsense. Just chairs, tables and beer. (But luckily also wine). So it is not very atmospheric. They seemed to have quite a few beers on offer and the prices were good. But I am not a beer lover, and good prices are not enough to tempt me back. Ultimately, it felt too stark.

Golden Bee, 17th October

I was really surprised by Golden Bee. Depsite having it on my List, I really expected to end up disappointed by the place – I imagined it would be full of suited banker wankers and the prices would be too high. I was wrong. Prices were pretty decent - £8.50 for most cocktails, although the selection didn’t exactly make me go weak at my knees. I had a lemon tarte flute (vodka, limoncello and Prosecco) but it was a little too heavy on the limoncello, making it a little bitter. A beer and a wine only came to £8 which is really not bad at all for a rooftop ‘City’ (just) bar.

The rooftop really is where it’s at - it reminded me of the White Isle even though I've never been there, and I wasn’t the only one to say so (I assume the others who said so, had been). Palm trees and sunset hues give it this ambience. And the heaters are potent enough that even if it had been chilly, we wouldn’t have minded being outside. And so, everyone was loving it… until it started raining a bit and we were all herded downstairs whether we wanted to admit defeat or not. Suddenly it was way too cramped for comfort. This was basically our cue to leave – although I have to say that even then, with one bar less to service everyone, it didn’t take me very long to get served at the bar.

As long as there's no rain on the way then I would head here in mild or chiller weather – especially if I wanted to impress.

Loves Company and Manero's, 23rd August

Loves Company

Loves Company is a funny little bar… that turned out to be quite a big bar. It’s on the corner of City Road and seems to be divided into two, rather snug areas. When we got there at 9, no-one was in there apart from the staff, so we said hello and collected the menus and had a few ‘bants’ over the frisky ingredients of the cocktails such as purple passion and tears of ecstasy, and went and sat down in the other half. There were only about three tables. Soon enough a rather boisterous (too boisterous) group came long and transformed the place from what I would have said was a classy drinking den to something approaching a Wetherspoons. They were just too loud for such a small space.

And then I went to the loo and discovered they have a whole downstairs area, which sounded like it was getting ready to be a pretty jumpin’ place to be. Either we, or they, should have gone down there! We only had the one cocktail, but they were well executed, lovely tipples (I think I had the Blossoming Kiss). We then had a very decent glass of wine before heading off for further adventures.

Canvas

I had been thinking of taking us to Portside Parlour or White Lyan but we passed the newly opened Canvas bar and thought we might as well see what it was all about. It was moderately busy for a Saturday night, but not too busy to not get to become a little friendly with the bar staff. We could smell popcorn and asked where that was coming from. The bar girl disappeared and came back with a glass full of it – all fresh and warm. And that glass was replenished no less than four times during our two drinks there!

The inside is dark and sleek, with wooden touches in the form of barrels to sit around or wooden-topped high tables. They have a wide selection of cocktails and all three of the ones we tried were accomplished, especially the Gentlemen’s Reservation (I think) – an old fashioned with maple syrup (y’all know how I have a weakness for whiskey and sweetness). I then had a version of Long Island Iced Tea but cola was replaced with something much fruitier that I now can't remember!

The location of this place, very prominent when you come out of Old Street Station, and opposite Aquarium (which has a Carwash night on Saturdays) means it’s definitely prone to being overtaken by hen nights, and there was indeed one that made an appearance, though luckily just the one and they didn’t stay long. I think this is a great new bar, but you might want to pick your moments as to when you go.

Manero's Private Members Club

We had one quick wine (bottle) in Electricity Ballroom and then went to our final destination of the night – Manero’s Private Members Club. We arrived at about 1:30. Plenty of time for the party to have got warmed up we thought. And, according to the bar staff, ordinarily we would have been right, but on this occasion, the place was more or less empty. We were prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt though, and settled in to await other attendees. It must have got to about 3 before there was a sudden explosion of activity, clearly when the other bars had all shut down. We hadn’t minded not having very many people there – it gave us a chance to chat with the DJ, request our favourite songs, and make friends with the bar staff. But it was even better once a few more people turned up. Manero’s is one room, with a bar at the front, some mismatched furniture in a couple of corners and an area where people dance at the back. I thought the place was excellent – just like stumbling into a house party where you don’t know anyone but the host. Some people’s idea of hell maybe, but it worked for me. Intimate, friendly, I don’t think there was anyone there we didn’t talk to!

Lazybones and Trapeze Bar, 6th May

Lazybones

Lazybones suffered a bit from the same syndrome as Caboose – my food was nice enough but couldn’t quite reach the giddy heights of some of the other places cooking low and slow meats. I had a pulled pork bun which came with coleslaw mainly because the beef one came with yoghurt, which I thought was a weird accompaniment to guacamole. The meat was juicy, and had a good flavour, the coleslaw added a bit of crunch and it even came with a pickled pepper (which actually was rather bland, I ate it without even remembering it was there). A similar verdict was given to the beef version - tasty but not particularly memorable. If we really wanted food of this kind while you were in the area, on a whim, we'd come back, but we'd be more likely to travel to somewhere else for a superior version.

Especially as Stephen had a burger and even as a non-burger eater, I could tell when it was placed that it looked pretty poor. A boring bun encased an overcooked burger. A disappointing eating experience for him. 

From the outside the place looks like a City wine bar, which is at odds with the food it serves and its interior. While we were there, sitting outside, two girls actually walked in and then left again abruptly when they realized it wasn’t what it looked like.

Inside the place looks lively and I like the yellow and black combination. Unfortunately the atmosphere doesn’t live up to this – when we went there was barely another soul in there. Tucked away behind the main drag, I can’t imagine it gets much passing traffic at all, and, while there isn’t really anything else in this area doing this thing, it’s not quite worth seeking out especially. 

Trapeze

The decor is faded circus glamour and it looks great. However, as much as on paper it sounds like the kind of place I would frequent, I can't see myself coming here on a regular basis, which is a shame. Service is a little strange. I went in on a Saturday evening to see it at its peak, and it wasn't full, yet it took me an age to get served. The bar staff seemed pretty blase about making sure people at the bar were actually able to order.

On the Tuesday, service was much better, and friendlier, than on the weekend. But we ordered a bottle of wine and were then left to the whims of the bar staff to keep our glasses topped up. For some reason we weren't allowed to keep the bottle of wine with us at our table, and instead they came round and topped us up when they noticed our glasses were nearing empty. They weren't too bad about it, but I didn't like them controlling the pace at which I drank. I don't know if this is a normal policy, or if it's because we were there for an event (Sounds Familiar, just as fun as the first time I went).

We'd already eaten at Lazybones so I wasn't hungry when complimentary food of a similar ilk was placed before us. We duly gave it a try though and it was nice enough (and uninspiringly on trend - wings and Korean-style pulled pork) but I don't think you'd come here for the food especially, unless you wanted a burger from Burger Bear on a lunchtime. 

On top of our wine we had a house cocktail and this was really nice actually - vodka and berries, it was light and fruity and the dusting of cinnamon on the top was pretty clever.

I did like Trapeze, but it's main downfall is that there's just no getting away from how expensive it is! The house white is £5 a glass, but that's for a 175ml serving, it then jumps to £7.50 for the non-house alternative. Beer is sold in cans for the same price as pints in most places: £4.50 to £4.90.

Far Rockaway, 2nd May

Far Rockaway is a riot of colour and art. Every surface is covered in it, even the support structures and pillars and bathroom walls! It’s loud and it’s fun and I liked it straight away.

I had been invited to come down and review a meal. I’d seen a few comments and knew they did big, American-style pizzas and wanted to compare them to the other scant offerings in London. I didn’t have very high hopes, expecting another quantity over quality affair a la Earlham Street Clubhouse.

As for the other food, I strongly suspected that, for the type of American diner stuff they were offering, you could get it better elsewhere (thinking Red Dog, Orange Buffalo etc). But I am always willing to be convinced otherwise.

I got there at about 7:30, and while waiting for Stephen to arrive ordered us a couple of wine cocktails on tap. Being as I didn’t actually see the cocktails poured, the novelty was rather lost, but they were a pleasant enough, summery drink, nothing particularly special about them.

I already had an idea of what I wanted to try – I haven't seen a mac n cheese spring roll on anywhere else's menu so we had to get one of those. And Stephen wanted some wings to start. And then, we just had to share one of the 18-inch pizzas, choosing the 'Garbage Pie'. A very unattractive name belies a rather grown-up sounding pizza - pancetta, USA sausage and artichoke.

The table looked like it was (and indeed turned out to be) only just big enough to hold said pizza, so we got our wings and spring roll to come out beforehand.

The wings were ok - a little spicy, kinda on the small side, not much meat to them, a touch of sweetness. I ate them quite happily but knew they weren't a patch on others I'd had elsewhere. The mac n cheese spring roll however, was rather delish. It was more like a big mozzarella stick - the cheese inside all stringy and gooey rather than runny. I dread to think how bad that was for you.

Both plates came with some side crudites and a dip, but we didn't even get a chance to pretend we were going to eat them – as soon as we'd finished the main event, our plates were whisked away. Probably no one does bother with the veggies, in which case it seems a shame to waste them as mere decoration on the plate.

Soon after that came our pizza. Set up high, with room for chilli oil, parmesan and chilli flakes underneath, this certainly looked the real deal. 

And honestly, it tasted as close to it as I reckon you're ever going to get over here. A crispy, thin base, lots of cheese, and toppings that each had a really good flavour of their own made a bit of a masterpiece altogether. I was so surprised! The sausage was garlicky, the artichoke was beautiful – possibly marinated in lemon. And, crucially, after the equivalent of two US slices of the pizza, I was pretty stuffed. However, we were going for a few drinks after and I couldn't bear this pie going to waste, so I forced in a fourth, feeling proud of myself for conquering half the pie, sipping red wine as I digested. They give thanks to two guys from NY on their menu, and these guys deserve thanks and praise indeed. 

As we ate, we surveyed the other customers' food and saw quite a lot of burgers. I had no food envy – they didn't look particularly appealing. No, the pizza is where it's at here. I would be hard pressed to choose between Voodoo Ray's and this joint. So I won't. Voodoo Ray's has more adventurous toppings but I reckon Far Rockaway might just pip them in authenticity. Hats off to you!

I was way too full to contemplate dessert, or even one of their dessert cocktails, so I didn't get to judge the Mississippi Mud Pie I'd have gone for. But it won't be the last time I grab some pizza from here, I'm sure. 

Troy Bar, 18th April

It wasn't my intention to go to Troy Bar, but as we stumbled round the corner from the Dead Dolls House, in our cocktail fug, realising it was 11 pm and places were shutting, there it was shining like a beacon, beckoning to us. A light of recognition went off in my mind - I had this place on my List!

And so we entered and had a wicked end to our evening. So good, that we implored our friend who had a transatlantic flight at 10 am the next morning to stay out just for one more, and one more after that - and he did!

I think they have different gigs going on every night of the week, but Fridays is jazz jam sessions and we were probably a little too boisterous for the serious stuff going on in the main room. We were aware of this though and kept our hijinks to the bar area where we wouldn't disturb anyone but the fabulous bar staff whom I'd like to think we befriended.

The place is low key and, as I said, has a live-music focus though there's plenty of room by the bar for socialising away from the performers. They call themselves 'London's Best Secret' and it's not too preposterous a claim. I've been out in Shoreditch countless times and had only heard about the place through a friend. It's not hard to find at all - it's in the middle of Old Street, just sitting there, waiting to be discovered, on Hoxton Street. But it's not the kind of place to attract the Essex hoards, it makes no claims to be a hipster haven and won't be serving Korean anju any time soon. That's probably what keeps it under the radar. It's a perfect late night venue in Shoreditch for a more discerning clientele. 

So, if you read this, keep it under your hat - we want to keep it that way.

P.S. I was having too much fun to take any pictures!

On the Bab, 28th March

On the Bab is a cute little Korean place on Old Street serving up 'anju' (food meant to be eaten with beer) plus a whole host of other Korean staples and otherwise.

Unfortunately, the food flip-flopped between tasty and tasteless or 'takeway Chinese'.

We ordered a range of dishes to try out all the different things they did. First to arrive were the kimchi jeon – a kimchi pancake, and the bibimbap with bulgogi beef. The pancakes - delicious and cripsy, working well with either the surprisingly light chilli oil, or the more pungent chilli sauce.

The bibimbap was pretty hopeless. We were advised to put some of the chilli oil on it, which we did but even this didn't really give it much of a taste. It all comes in a bowl and you're supposed to stir it all together, normally making sure it all gets coated in the flavouring. This had none, not even any lovely meat juices gathered at the bottom. Also, I'm sure when I've had it before it has come in a really hot dish, with a raw egg on top which cooks when you stir it in. This had a partially fried egg which was too cooked to really get distributed throughout and the whole dish was verging on cold. There was also rather a lot of it, which, when it's not that great, is not a good thing.

Next came the yangyum chicken which was a tale of two halves. The soy garlic nuggets really allowed the crushed peanut to come through and were nice and crispy, with a strong garlic and possibly lime flavour. The sweet and sour were also crispy but were too reminiscent of takeaway sweet and sour chicken for me, getting quite cloying and sickly after a while and overpowering any peanut. The garnish of julienned cabbage with a sauce was really nice though. I had ordered the 'small' serving (as opposed to extra small) and we must have had at least eight pieces - it was another substantial dish.

We ended on a high with the kimchi rice balls, bab twigim, which were packed with gooey cheese and came with a knock-your-head off chilli sauce.

I wanted to like this place, and hoped it would be a better alternative to Jubo, where we liked the chicken but didn't like anything else. But it was too much pot luck as to whether you would like what you got. And if it was really good fried chicken I was after, I would forgo both the Korean places and head to Clutch!





Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

McQueen, 5th September

I love it when things transpire in my favour (who wouldn’t?). McQueen was on my list and then lo and behold, a couple of months ago, Time Out had an offer for a discount on a meal there! What better excuse could I need to finally go and check it out?

I stumbled upon this place during one of my strolls through London and was intrigued by its location slightly off the beaten track of the Shoreditch triangle, and also its sleek look. I investigated what was on the inside and decided I wanted to try it.

McQueen, named for Steve McQueen has the lot – a restaurant, a bar and a downstairs club. Its design is supposed to emulate American cool, in homage to the coolest of cool cats, Steve McQueen himself. I think they do achieve the look they’re going for, the space is pleasing to be in, and the odd quirky, slightly gothic touch such as the candelabra or bizarre human tree sculpture gives the place a bit of personality. I do wonder if the clientele it attracts are quite what they had in mind – there were a lot of City types in there; young guys doing Sambucas on a Wednesday night and then patting themselves on the back after each one. (Well done guys, you can take a sugar hit.)

Sorry, poor quality picture!

The restaurant was pretty empty when we got there at a little before 7, but it did get busier through the course of our meal. Our voucher was for a meal for two, for £25 for three courses and a bottle of wine. What a bargain! It was of course a set menu, basically one choice for meat eaters and one for the veggies, so Stephen and I had the same as each other for our starter and main. This was, a salmon and haddock fishcake on a bed of lentils, and then the bavette with thrice cooked chips and a turnip puree.

The fishcake was good – nice and crisp batter on the outside with big flakes of fish inside, the lentils were cooked perfectly for me and it all tasted great. I could have eaten more of it. 

The bavette was decent but not the best steak I’ve ever had; it will take a long time for anything the beat the bavette at Vinoteca. We weren’t convinced that the chips were triple cooked, but they were fine as far as chips go, a little on the thin side. What really stole the show was the turnip puree. What a discovery! It was incredibly rich and pungent tasting, reminding me almost of truffles. Definitely miles above your normal creamed potato. When spooned onto the steak, it added a touch of luxury to every bite. This should be on more menus.

For our desserts Stephen and I diverged on choice. I had the chocolate fondant and he had the pecan pie. At first he proclaimed his very good, but then he decided that it could have been more moist. I certainly didn’t have that problem with my fondant, which oozed as a good fondant should, the moment I pierced it with my spoon. Stephen had food envy and with good reason. My dessert was rich, gooey, warm and tasty.

I asked for the bill even though we had prepaid and she said ‘no bill, you’ve paid already’. I had thought they might present us with one so that they could charge us for service and I was interested to see if it would be 12.5% on our voucher price, or what the meal would have cost normally. The fact that they did not even give us a bill was a big plus for them, and inclined me to leave a tip anyway.

We then went next door for a drink. The drinks were a leetle pricey but not too far above the average for Shoreditch. I enjoyed the setting despite the Suits, and we had a couple of seats at the bar, which is my favourite place to sit. The only seats available in fact as even though no one else in the bar was sitting down, they had festooned all available sitting surfaces with their bags and accessories. We only stayed out for one drink, as we had unexpectedly ended up drinking both the night before and the night before that so the visit was brief but enjoyable.

I don’t know if this will make it into my repertoire of regular drinking establishments, but it is very close to XOYO so good to bear in mind for drinks beforehand if I’m going there. And of course, they have clubnights themselves which I plan to try out some time as well.