East London Liquor Co, 6th October

Once again London Cocktail Week was badly timed for me. Last year I was on holiday, this year I was in the middle of a month of ‘not drinking’. Of course, I had to make an exception for London Cocktail Week but not so much of an exception that I took full advantage of everything LCW had to offer. I didn’t attend any masterclasses or tours, I didn’t go to a different bar every night and I didn’t even get to Monkey Shoulder’s Cowbell Bar. But I DID manage to go out a couple of times in the week for a few drinks at discount prices.

My first stop was meant to be the Craft Cocktail Co. After much checking of Google, the LCW booklet and more I was assured the places I’d planned to go would be open on a Monday. Not so. We rocked up to the arch and found nothing but a shutter, forcing us to revisit Satan’s Whiskers up the road instead. On a Monday, getting in was easy peasy and we enjoyed their LCW offering of their Silver Pineapple (like a pina colada but without the horrible coconut) before ordering one each off their menu – a classic champagne cocktail for me, a New York Flip for Stephen. Mine was as expected, but Stephen’s was absolutely delicious, like a mini, liquid dessert, perfect for the cold weather outside.

From there we headed on to the East London Liquor Co, which is a fairly new addition to Mile End, and thus of much interest to me. It is closer to Victoria Park than Mile End so may get a little footfall, even though the area doesn’t get many visitors beyond those who live there. This place is also set back from the road, and it was a Monday, so I wasn’t surprised to find it bereft of clientele. It literally was empty when we walked in, making us feel guilty at putting the bartenders to work. They took it in good spirits though and we had a little chat with them about whether and how busy the place gets. Stephen recognised the male bartender and it turns out he was working at Hoxley andPorter when we went.

We stuck to the LCW cocktails here - the Darjeeling Sour, made with the East London Liquor company’s own Batch No. 1 Premium gin distilled on site. This was a light, frothy concoction, which would make pleasant sipping on a summer’s evening. The exact opposite of this evening in fact, but it was nice enough to warrant a cheeky second as a nightcap before heading home. I feel the place didn't have its best side on show as it was so very empty. I can imagine it doesn't ever feel exactly homely as it does have a warehouse feel to it, especially with the grand machinery of the distillery peering from the back of the bar. But, with the calibre of bartender, and based on our drink, a second visit is very much warranted. I"m feeling positively spoiled - this place and The Victoria right up the road from me!

The Victoria, 4th September

One of the closest pubs to my Flat in Mile End was/is The Victoria. But we rarely went in there, because it never really looked open, and the couple of times we did venture in, it was dark and devoid of atmosphere. So it was with interest I noted it had closed and was being taken over by the Yummy Pub Co, the team behind Somerstown Coffee House. I immediately found them on Twitter and was chuffed to be invited to their opening.

We were given the grand tour and treated to some food and some cocktails and other drinks. And yes, the word ‘grand’ is appropriate in this instance because they have turned the reborn Victoria into quite the large, smorgasbord of a pub. We’ll start at the front shall we?

Firstly there’s a little ‘cage’ that opens in the morning to serve the locals coffee and pastries. Then later in the day the pub proper opens, a warm and welcoming large area, with access to the beer garden where they have installed little cabanas and a caravan – Charlie’s cocktail caravan in fact, in homage to the first owner, boxer Charlie Magri. You can hire this out and get it stocked with any kind of booze you want!

We then went upstairs to be introduced to the Board Room, a private dining area that can also be used to host meetings and events. From there we went to The Lodge, one of my favourite spaces – a mini country retreat that can be used for all sorts of things – the other Sunday they made it a child-free haven for enjoying one of their roasts. From there we went into another dining area, this one with full view of the kitchen, and we sampled some of their ‘British tapas’. The expected scotch eggs, honey and mustard sausages etc were on offer as well as some interesting vegetarian items which I thought were particularly nice, in particular some fritters and some goat’s cheese ‘dumplings’ which had just the right amount of goaty tang. I must confess, I didn’t try the scotch eggs as they didn’t look that tempting, and when Stephen was brave enough to try the cod and mushy pea version, he was less than enthusiastic about it. But the rest of it seemed pretty good and they also do plenty of big plate food to choose from, and of course roasts on a Sunday.

From there we were shown the rooftops where the plan is to use the flat roofs to grow herbs and veg, and even keep chickens! All for use down in the pub.

We went back inside and were treated to several cocktails made with the bartender’s own infusions, such as whiskey with orange and cinnamon, and one of the nicest gin and tonics I’ve had – though served in a ‘beer mug’ that was a little too big for a cocktail!

The Vic as she is affectionately known also keeps a little secret, a devious side which I am loathe to reveal, but let’s just say downstairs is not all that it seems. I wouldn’t linger over your reflection too much when you enter or leave the bathroom…

They have a good selection of beers and wines – I was very pleased to see a white rioja on the list,  as well as malbec and picpoul to have by the glass (or you can even treat yourself to some chateauneuf du pape!). We spent another couple of hours in there - the place was busy but not crowded, it felt comfortable, just the sort of ambiance you want from a pub mid-week. 

This feels like a very ambitious project for the Yummy Pub co – in one pub they have channeled all their interests – cooking, drinking, cocktails and coffee and it could go horribly wrong.  However, they seem like the kind of people who like to rise to a challenge – who get a thrill out of pushing their boundaries, and so far it all looks and sounds amazing. I really liked the place and have already been back for a quiet Sunday night wine or two. I hope to be there more frequently and see if they make a success of it. Apparently the last place wasn’t very popular and the local residents didn’t want the pub to reopen so they are having to go out of their way to win over the neighbours and the result is a pub that is a cut above the norm. For Yummy Pub’s sake, and the fact I want a decent local to go to, I wish them luck. 

INK and The Palm Tree, 29th July

I love being part of the Zomato community. Not only do they do great blogger events, they’re not shy about giving away prizes. Just recently I won Foodie of the month and a £75 voucher for Ink, a restaurant I already had on my List. It is fairly new and has opened up about 15 minutes by foot from my flat. It looked modern European and definitely a cut above anything else we have in the area (mainly chicken shops and kebabs, so not difficult).

Our host for the evening (whose name I didn’t catch) was friendly and charming and also a little silly which is always welcome. He was very good at being there when we needed him but also disappearing when we wanted some time to think over our choices.

£75 may sound like a lot, but at Ink it doesn’t stretch very far. However, as it was somewhere I’d wanted to go anyway, we didn’t mind putting in some of our own cash to make the most of the dinner. So we had a cocktail each to start – a whisky sour for Stephen, a classic champagne cocktail (suggested by our host) for me. It could have been a little colder but I liked the sweet/bitter taste. My other drink for the night was a robust picpoul while Stephen stuck with the sours.

The chef is a great fan of ‘textures’ – the word festooned the menu. And of course ink featured – once in the starters and once in the mains in the restaurant’s signature dishes. Burnt onions were also conspicuous.

Choosing was an enjoyable hardship. I got the scallops with peach puree, with pork scratchings crumbled over them and burnt onions. Two fat scallops were perfectly cooked and the other flavours were exquisite. The scallops were so soft that I really appreciated the extra texture (there’s that word again) from the crunchy scratchings.

Stephen had finally decided he wanted the bone marrow and then we were told it wasn’t on the menu for the night. He quickly chose the stone crab with textures of cucumber. Cucumber isn’t something he usually likes but it was done in such a way that he was happy to eat it. Flakes of potent crab sat on a sharp cucumber jelly and pickled cucumber, providing a punchy gherkin tang.

For our mains I had the signature dish of salted cod with textures of tomato, ink soil and confit potatoes. The textures in this case were confit tomato (scraped of their annoying sludgy insides), a tomato puree that tasted like tomato soup (a good thing) and crunchy, tangy tomato salsa. On the side were the spheres of potato confit and there was also a light lemon oil that was startlingly good on the tongue. Before I ordered it, I was warned – it was very salty. And it really was. For the most part, the rest of the dish balanced out the salt, but by the end of it the salt was rather overwhelming. I’m not the biggest fan of salty things in the first place! But the salt had done its job – the fish was nice and firm.

Then, Stephen made a mistake. He didn’t order a dish which had the word ‘textures’ in it. Instead he got the braised beef with peas, broad beans and potatoes. Apparently this beef had been braised for three days but it was surprisingly dry and solid. For that length of cooking the meat should have fallen apart merely under a stern glare. The potatoes were strangely delicious though – a slight crispiness to them.

We had already decided not to have dessert because we’d both eaten bad stuff earlier (me my Crosstown Doughnut) but we couldn’t say no. So we got one to share. Our choices were basically textures of chocolate or textures of vanilla. We got the chocolate. Always a risky choice for presentation but they did quite well, creating bit of a woodland tableau with the two types of chocolate, the chocolate soil (reminding Stephen of chock-lick and consisting of chocolate and hazelnut puffed crumbs) and the pretty mint leaves and flowers (a bit of a theme).

You can’t go wrong with what is basically pure chocolate and this dessert did well enough to almost make Stephen forgive them his main, although I think I would have enjoyed something a little lighter, or with yet another texture to it (namely cake).

Ink is certainly ambitious, perhaps a little too much so. While I welcome having a good restaurant in the neighbourhood I would welcome one even more that I didn’t feel I had to wait for a special occasion to visit. Despite the beauty of the dishes, Ink was just a touch too expensive, and the dishes a tad too small to win my frequent attendance. If they could shave a couple of quid off the starters and/or make the mains big enough that you could come for just a main and leave feeling sated, I think they’d be on to a winner. As it is, they’re not in a well-trod area and they’re not quite spectacular enough to be a ‘destination restaurant’. I'm not confident that many people who might not otherwise have gone to Mile End will venture here for Ink. And the lack of diners when we were there would back this up, even if it was just a Tuesday. There were only four other covers the whole time we were there and despite the easy listening background music and the canalside setting, it was rather too quiet for my liking.

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

The Palm Tree

When I first moved to Mile End, my friend gushed to me about The Palm Tree and how lovely it was to sit outside by the canal. I’d only managed to get there once before, after Field Day when it was absolutely packed and far too late and cold to be sitting outside. It happens to be practically opposite Ink, so we thought we’d go along for a drink after our meal. Of course, by this time, even though the day had been bright and hot, it was starting to get a chill in the air and we didn’t want to sit outside anymore. But that was fine, for the inside has a charm all of its own. There is something Victorian about it, with chandeliers sending out eerie gloomy light over the china on the walls. The circular bar juts out into the rest of the room, turning it into a centrepiece. The red lighting brought to mind David Lynchian dream sequences. It doesn’t have a huge selection of beers but it’s reasonably priced – a wine and beer came to just over £8. A hidden gem.