Dusty Knuckle and SK London Fields, 30/31st August

Two days off mid-week meant getting lunch from places I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to get to. First up – Street Kitchen. I’ve tried all their different places I think – the airstream, the sandwich place in Broadgate Circle, plus when they’ve popped up in other places. Of course I had to try their hatch in London Fields.

They were predictably good. The special was lamb with crushed potatoes and roasted veg with pesto. They offer 'slow food fast' and this was as good as I have come to expect. Slow cooked lamb that broke away easily when nudged with my fork. Plenty of potatoes and roasted carrot and courgette providing sweetness. Not exactly the most summer-centric meal to have on what was a lovely sunny day but plenty tasty nonetheless.

On day two, I went over to Dusty Knuckle in Dalston and had porchetta in brioche. While it tasted nice, the experience of eating it wasn’t that pleasant. It was absolutely stuffed with different things, which made the bread horribly soggy and all just seemed to fall out all over the place. There was fennel, kohlrabi, red cabbage, plus the tomatoes the pork was cooked in and some ogleshield cheese. The bread didn't really stand a chance against all of this, and as a result it was hard to get a mouthful that contained most of the ingredients. I was mainly picking individual bits out, or scooping them up where they fell. Which isn't the ethos of a sandwich. 

Rudies, 9th May

Rudies…. A message to you Rudies…. And that message is: Nice one.

On a Monday I went down to sample a new jerk chicken joint in Dalston. Two days after my superb fried chicken meal at Chick ‘n’ Sours might have been overkill but I figured the two types of cuisine were different enough that I wouldn’t suffer chicken fatigue.

Just to make sure, we started with some fried calamari with a coriander and lime dip. Oh my. I would say these were the best calamari I have had. The batter was so light and crisp with the squid being a little chewy within, but not at all rubbery. The pop you got from the dip was incredibly moreish – this is a spicy one! Great start.

On Mondays they do 50% off the half jerk chicken, so who’s gonna order anything else? Jerk chicken it was. I am certain I can polish off half a chicken whenever I used to order from Nando’s but these ones must be more plump than others as I was struggling to finish it. Of course – we also had sweet potato fries and an avocado, mango and onion salad to contend with too.

The sweet potato fries were pretty good and the salad which was a little superfluous was fresh and sweet. The chicken came with a sauce of your choice and not only did papaya sound the nicest it was also the hottest. The chicken was nicely charred on the grill (although seemed to take so long to come out we actually thought they’d forgotten about us) and had solid jerk flavours.

Of course, I couldn’t not try a cocktail. The Governor General which was rum orange curacao, vermouth and sorrel. A subtley Caribbean influence, though there was nothing subtle about the amount of alcohol in it.

An all-round enjoyable meal out. 

Chick 'n' Sours, Feeling Gloomy, 7th May

Chick n Sours. Oh yes. Oh yes yes yessssssssss.

I’m a fan.

It took me a while to get here, took me a while to try any of Carl Clarke’s food in fact but it was worth the wait. This place is chicken heaven and we loved everything. Except the fries. The fries were way too ordinary. But everything else was fabulous. Stephen and I shared a chicken burger between us (which is a monster of a burger) and a plate of the guest fry chicken – black bean and ginger, spring onion and pickled bamboo shoots, plus the aforementioned boring fries, and the charred hispi, kimchi salad cream and bacon salad. Plus a bit of bone marrow BBQ which was delicious but in some ways superfluous because the chicken was delicious enough on its own.

The ‘salad’ was a well needed bit of crunch and freshness to act as a counterpoint to all the fry going on elsewhere. It also packed a welcome poke!

The chicken was definitely the star of the show and we couldn’t help remarking to each other as we ate how much we were enjoying it. That burger! Firstly, it was a behemoth. One of the biggest burger specimens I’ve seen. And secondly, it was just delicious. Crunchy, spicy, well balanced in terms of meat to topping to bun. A joy.

The plate of fried chicken we equally well received, with the Asian, slightly sweet flavours really complementing the juicy, crunchy chicken. I’m salivating just thinking about it now. I need to get more in my person as soon as possible. 

I then went out to Feeling Gloomy to dance to 'miserable' disco. I seemed to pick a bad night because the place was rather empty but the night itself was fun. Of course, the songs aren't all downbeat and miserable at all - the lyrics might be but the music is still danceable. They played The Smiths and The Cure, a bit of Kate Bush, and that was all good fun. Just a shame it wasn't busier. 

Behind This Wall, 18th March

There are very few bars in the East London area that I haven’t now been to. So when a new bar opens it pretty much goes on the list immediately.

Behind This Wall is a new one on Mare Street – but not the end of Mare Street you probably think. It’s up past Hackney Central, not near the bars and restaurants that have sprouted by London Fields. Which might explain why, on a Saturday night when I walked past the first time, there were people outside trying to beckon you in. We had other places to go that night, but I returned about a week later, on a Friday. It wasn’t hugely busy, but it’s also tiny so that’s probably a good thing. It’s got a very clean, DIY feel to it. The tables and chairs feel like they’re all made of MDF, reminding you of being in Homebase or MFI (if anyone remembers that). It seemed that most of the clientele were the owners’ friends – which is exactly what I would do if I owned a bar. For such a small place, and one that doesn’t stay open that late, we did wonder why the music was quite so loud, but I liked the place.

The drinks are classics with a twist, in the main. For example, the mojito my friend had was made with sake, yuzu, mint molasses and despina. I had the Corpse reviver – which was pisco, herbal liqueur, coffee liqueur and had an umeboshi plum sunk into it. Do not eat the plum. It is most definitely there to infuse the drink with its flavour and not for consumption. It is basically a pickled fruit and tastes of bitterness and vinegar. Apart from this, couldn’t fault my drink. The Sandy Collins I followed it with was also very good, and my friend got them to spike their Shirley Temple with vodka for her drink. I would happily venture behind the wall again.

Speaking of cocktail bars that are off the road well-travelled, I also popped to Machine No 3 the other week and completely forgot to write about it. Named for the launderette that it used to be, this is pretty much in Homerton, very near the Kenton. At 11 pm and so far from everything else, I was unsurprised that there were only about 6 other people in the place besides us. We had a Basil and Blueberry that was made with quinoa vodka and a Rum Manhattan with xocolatl mole and marasca syrup and they were more than lovely enough but it’s too far for me to come back to on a regular basis. We especially liked all the different cocktail ingredients laid out like an apothecary's shop, and the place is also good for craft beer, so if this was my neighbourhood then I imagine I would be very tempted to pop in more often than I should. 

Anyway, after BTW, we went over to Dalston for a variety of whisky sours at Whisky Sour taking place below Pelicans and Parrots before giving Ruby’s Lounge another shot (was not a fan of the music), heading to The Dalston Jazz club which had emptied because of a fire alarm and ending up at the stalwart that is The Haggerston. Another successful Friday night crawl.

Rotorino, 13th March

I had wanted to go to Rotorino since it first opened but neither of my foodie partners in crime were keen. They may have had a point, as it was a little hit and miss.

My companion was a bit of a glutton and wanted to do it right – a primi, secondi and thirdi course. Plus dessert. I knew I wouldn’t be able to manage that much but was happy to try a bit of his along the way. He ordered the bresaola as his primi, whereas I, of course, couldn’t resist the bread-based starter of ‘Three toasts’ – three rather large slices of bread topped with tomatoes, cannellini beans and cime de rapa (not all at once). These were great actually, but incredibly filling. Each one provided a very different flavour profile and I'm not sure which I liked most. Light and juicy tomatoes, earthy and rich beans or the irony tang of the greens. 

Luckily, I was not a fan of the gnudi we ordered to follow this and contented myself with only one of the rather claggy balls of pumpkin with sage. They sat in a buttery, thick sauce which did nothing to stem the overall stodge. Genuinely did not want to eat more than one of these. One of the most unpleasant textures my tongue has ever been presented.

The pasta with sausage, chilli and breadcrumbs however, was very pleasing and just the kind of buttery pasta dish I enjoy. It was a little light on chilli (as most things are for my tastes) but I liked everything else about it. My friend assured me his steak was very good, and I availed myself of one of the mound of fried potatoes he’d got with it (very apt, considering he is Irish).

We debated about sharing a dessert, which somehow turned into having one each. I had the panna cotta with rhubarb, he had cannoli. The Sopranos were mentioned more than once in this meal.

The lack of delicate presentation aside, for the panna cotta, it was alright – the rhubarb was on point but I was neutral about the panna cotta itself. Mayhap I was just too full to enjoy it.

Visually stunning

And I confess I've never really got cannoli. These ones were the same as others I've had - I could take 'em or leave 'em.

Silk Stockings, La Cabina et al, 29th January

Let it never be said that Carolyn and I do not know how to bar hop. For we most certainly do.

As with other parts of the city, Dalston/Stoke Newington is ever changing with bars closing and opening all the time. We knew there was a bit of a backlog of new places to explore and so, one Friday, we set off to conquer them.

The main aim was to try out Silk Stockings, the newest bar from those behind Satan’s Whiskers, and to hopefully try out Haunt and La Cabina as well. Both achieved. And more than we expected in between.

The fact it was a cold January night worked in our favour to begin with – we had made no reservations but were able to slip into a space for two at Silk Stockings with no trouble. On another night I dare say there would have been a wait as the place was pretty full anyway. For our first cocktails of the night we had a blood orange margarita for me, and an airmail for Carolyn. Perfectly tasty, and the bar was a very welcome offshoot of Satan’s – could have happily whiled away the whole night in there, listening to their similar soundtrack of old school hip hop.

But instead on we forged, popping into the newly expanded Ruby’s to see what the Lounge area was all about. This had a fun, relaxed vibe but we were a little put out by the fact they stop doing their cocktails at 10:30. Isn’t part of the reason you go to Ruby’s their cocktails? I was upset I couldn’t get my hands on a chilli apple martini. Also, this was the first of many times we realized January was now working against us. We could see the potential but it could have done with double the number of people in there.

The same could be said and more for Hammerschlagen which we stumbled into next. This bar is centred around the Scandinavian drinking game of Hammerschlagen which the only 4 punters in the place were playing. You hit a nail with a hammer (or not) and it is supposed to lead to one of you drinking. We weren’t sure how this worked exactly and neither did those playing it but it didn’t seem to stop them having fun. One drink in here and we were off.

To Victory Mansion, another unscheduled stop on the way. It was time to cocktail it up again but if you think I can remember what we were drinking by this point, or indeed much about the bar you are mistaken. I remember I liked it but that’s as far as it goes.

For some reason Haunt sticks out more in my head, possibly because as we approached the door, we were pretty much dragged in and shoved downstairs by a very merry guest. We went down and had a little dance. Again, very empty but I would venture back again to see if it improves once people had got over their January blues.

Our final stop was the reincarnation of Manero’s, now known as La Cabina and sporting a ‘secret’ entrance in a phone box. Except that at this time of the night the door is just open anyway and rather ruins the mystique. And lo! THIS is where everyone was! It’s funny what a rebrand and a bit of PR can do – both Carolyn and I had been to Manero’s before and it was nowhere near as busy. But La Cabina was heaving! It didn’t feel too different to before, but had less of the house party vibe it had before, and more of the feeling of a proper bar. Which I kinda think is a shame, but it’s always good to have a bar that stays open late and attracts customers so it gets a thumbs up. We had one cocktail between us (which I have to admit I don’t recall being particularly spectacular) but that’s not really the point. Let’s hope it keeps bringing the revelers in.

R & She/Tipsy, 28th March

So, a gay R & B night, especially one that plays nothing but tracks by women can rightly be described as pretty niche. But what a popular niche that is!

Monthly at Tipsy is R & She, a clubnight covering just such a niche. Doors open at 9 and by 11:30 the place is already a sweaty mess. Tipsy is one of those basement clubs that is basically just a space, a bar and a soundsystem, no more no less. Everywhere else is for dancing, and so it is used. They warned on their Twitter feed that it gets busy and to get there early. We made a concerted effort to get there before 11 and I wouldn’t say it was very busy at all. Half an hour later and that had all changed. I was so pleased we got there that little bit earlier as it meant we could dance with a bit of room. We do like to spread out when we're dancing! And everyone was dancing straight away - the music defied you not to!

Especially with such a strong start – Amerie’s 1 Thing, Beyonce’s Naughty Girl and Aaliya’s More than a Woman made an appearance. It mostly stayed at that level although there was a weaker point in the night where we noticed they were cheating a little – playing remixes of songs made famous by men originally. For example Pretty Lady by Savana.

But other than that it was pretty solid – we bumped and ground to Nina Sky, Destiny’s Child and lo, not very long after I said I would love them to play a song by Cassie, so they did!

I don’t know if Tipsy has air conditioning but if they did it could not compete with the sheer number of bodies and the heat they were creating by moving. After a while, you just had to give yourself over to the sweat. It was all part of the fun! Naturally we stayed to the very end, even when my feet had more or less given up on me. I was happy to take a seat and sit-dance along. Fabulous, darling!

Stokey Crawl, 30th January

Another Friday, another bar crawl. Quite an extended one this time – it was time for some list ticking in Stoke Newington/Dalston.

125 Church Street

I met Stephen at the relatively recently opened 125 Church Street where White Rabbit Cocktail bar was previously, and before that it was the Baby Bathhouse. I don’t know why but places that open on this spot don’t have much longevity. We shall see whether the folks behind the Blacksmith and the Toffeemaker have better luck.

The place looks very different from the last time I was there – it is clean and bright, and feels more like a café than a bar. We had just the one drink here and some food. Their food menu is short and simple – American-style sandwiches: The Cuban, The Reuben, a Grilled Cheese and a sandwich of the day. Being that reubens are somewhat proliferative in London now, I gave the Cuban a go. Stephen, still in his pescatarian month had the grilled cheese. They each came with crisps and some coleslaw that had a very light touch on the mayo and included mint; a simple twist that made a big difference.

The sandwiches were lovely. Mine had gherkins and American mustard giving it a nice tang, and had a decent amount of pulled pork in it along with the ham and cheese. Stephen’s sarni was so full of cheese it cascaded down the side of the basket. He was duly impressed with the taste – it had everything but the kitchen sink: mozzarella, swiss, cheddar and an American-style cheese. Pretty good value at £5 for his and £6.50 for mine. I also had a fruity but dry white wine at £5 for 175 ml. Would happily revisit but it’s a little out of the way for me, and I suspect many others, and this could lead to its downfall. I hope not though.

Original Sin

Then off we went to Original Sin, the new cocktail bar from Happiness Forgets which just oozes American at you as you enter its subterranean sepia setting – it’s a bit like walking into an Instagram filter. A long bar down one side and booths down another plus a pool table (with brown felt) at one end create a sophisticated but fun ‘Mad Men’ atmosphere. And the pool table is free! I was surprised at how big the place was, especially compared to Happiness but it soon became quite full so the space is needed. 

We had two drinks in here but I would have happily stayed longer if I didn’t have other places to try. The cocktail list is not overwhelming and prices are a pleasing £7.00 for highballs and £8.00 for the rest. My Mr Sandman tasted strongly of the all spice it was flavoured with, which I liked, although it felt more appropriate for the Christmas season, to be drunk with a ginger biscuit. (Funny I should end up ordering a drink made with Remy Martin when it was Remy that got me to Happiness forgets in the first place.) Stephen’s Perfect Storm was fiery with ginger and sweet with plum brandy and I loved it. 

He liked his second one, the Kashmir, even more though it was a bit too heavy on the cardamom for me. Actually, my second drink was a misstep for me as well – the Sea City didn’t have enough of the smokiness I associate with mescal for my taste and was way too salty for me. It was a bit too much like drinking the sea, rather than the refreshing drink I’d imagined. 

We played a couple of games of pool while the place filled up before sitting down in our booth to finish our second drink. It was both cosy and lively once a few people were there, playing some easy-on-the-ears blues and soft rock (there was some song overlap with here and High Water so this must be the music to drink cocktails to) . Overall though, this is a great bar to get comfy in but we had two more places on the list to cover so we moved on.

High Water

Next we went to High Water which is where Bar 23 used to be. While I liked the bar itself, and the bar staff, the cocktails didn’t do much for us. They were rather plainly presented and the tastes weren’t as complex or as rich as I would have liked. And, especially compared to where we had just been, it seemed expensive for what you got (£9 or £9.50 standard). I couldn't resist the ridiculous-sounding Foo Foo Band Night but it didn't live up to its crazy name and flavours of peanut butter rum, lime and banana. It was incredibly subtle. Stephen's French Leave was the same - tasted alcoholic and faintly fruity but not enough of its ingredients to make a huge impression. We switched to beer and wine after, and while I’d be happy to come back here, I wouldn’t make a special effort for the cocktails again.

Dalston Victoria

Final stop for the night was the Dalston Victoria, something of a Dalston institution I believe, and frequently a gig space, though not on the night we went. There was no getting away from the fact that it smelled awful when we arrived but our noses soon acquiesced to it and we rather liked the place. Definitely of the ‘dive’ variety, it was kind of bare and not even very busy when we were there on a Friday night. A round cost £10 on the nose (rare to find a place where two drinks is £10 or less) and the drinks were good. It had that typically east slightly shabby, eclectic thing going on with a lightbox of Victoria's head and a wall of books making it feel a bit like someone's house. I believe this has either just changed hands or is about to (a quick search reveals the Dreambags crew are taking it on), and that they might even have a street food residency in the kitchen soon. From this lot I wouldn’t expect it to lose too much of its ‘diveyness’ and should remain a proper boozer with a gig space out the back as it has been for so long. One to remember.

Hash E8, 18th October

When I first saw the pics London the inside instagrammed from Hash E8 I got super excited. I immediately suggested we go and try it out, the very next weekend. Stat!

And so we did, this weekend falling on the one Saturday in about five weeks I’d been horridly hungover, and meaning I wasn’t able to get myself out of the house much before 3. (And I returned to bed straight after brunch.) So, was it worth leaving my bed for however briefly? Yes, I think so, although  it was a little rough around the edges.

They do brunch all day on weekends, and in the week as well, although they also do normal lunch options then. At the moment they only stay open until 5 but we were told they have plans to extend that and have their license all set up, they’re just still quite busy getting it all properly running. They must only be a few weeks old.

So, we rocked up just an hour before they shut. They have a couple of sweet options that sound delicious (stuffed French toast!) and many savoury options that sound equally tempting. They clearly also have a fondness for pig, with a piggy treat or option of adding one on nearly every dish. All music to my ears. Stephen had the special – a plate of pulled pork, potatoes, mushrooms and onions. I had the Hash benedict. With pork belly slice.

I sometimes think the foodie gods do not smile upon Stephen. I’m often more than happy with my choice while his is underwhelming. And so it was the case here, but mainly because the advertised mushrooms weren’t present, meaning his plate was a little meagre. We asked the waitress about this and she was duly mortified (especially as they’d kinda forgotten my pork, although it was brought out just as I was peering under my egg to see if it was there). They quickly rustled up a side of mushrooms with parsley, and Stephen added them to his plate. He said they made all the difference and seemed much happier after that. Our waitress (who was lovely, really) also gave us a complimentary diet coke each to make up for it.

But what about mine? Well, mine was pretty fab to be honest. Atop two fat, crispy hash browns sat a mound of kale, giving the dish a hefty iron tang, with two perfectly poached eggs. I highly recommend adding the belly pork – I got two bits which slotted easily under the eggs and gave the whole thing a nice salty, meaty high note. I was stuffed by the time I’d finished it all. The only thing that I would have added to both dishes was some hot sauce, but we could have just asked – we noted someone else did just that.

You are also welcome to add whatever sides you might want and pretty much every ingredient listed in the dishes can also be added as a side so you can mix and match to your heart’s content.

Hash itself just feels like a cute little café, not overly trendy, just basic and friendly. My seat had colourful astro-turf style upholstery but apart from water being served in milk bottles and a big slab with the special on it, there was no uber-quirkiness going on.

I think they may still be finding their feet but even with our little mishaps, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. Anywhere that does brunch all day is A-OK in my book, and I just have to try that French Toast!