The Black Door, August 3rd

This is a rather odd complaint to make of a bar, but the The Black Door was entirely too popular. I guess it has been a long time since I went to a cocktail bar that is more like just a bar, and not the kind of place where you make sit-down reservations. I was ill-prepared for the masses and just didn’t warm to the place, and neither did my party. When I suggested we move on after one drink, everyone was very enthusiastic about this idea. Perhaps it was because there was a sizable group of us and too many people in the way for us to be able to mingle as we would like. I had made arrangements ahead to reserve an area, which was waiting for me when I arrived, and throughout the email exchange they were very professional and accommodated me, but I must admit, they did come across as a bit cold in email. I had a nagging impression they didn’t really care if they got our custom or not (understandable once we got there and saw how full it was). This is in contrast to the Star of Kings who I also emailed about reserving an area and who seemed somehow to exude cheeriness over email, even though, in the end they hadn’t actually set aside an area for me. That didn’t really matter though, as when we got there we pretty much had our pick of places to sit.

After a very enjoyable few hours at the Star of Kings (which was markedly busier than the first time I went there), we moved on to the Black Door. I was firstly disappointed that you couldn’t actually get to the cocktail bar through the black door down the side street. Instead we had to go in through The Fellow, which definitely ruined some of its mystique. Then, there were the aforementioned crowds. So, we found our table, but it was so crowded that not everyone could fit near those of us who were sat down. My friend and I ordered a julep and this was nicely strong and tasty. I have no complaints about the drinks. But the music they were playing wasn’t at all what I was expecting – I thought they stuck to retro 50s and 60s but apart from one Talking Heads song (which doesn't fit that brief anyway), I didn’t know or care for what they were playing. In some ways, this didn’t really matter as there wasn’t any room to dance like I’d hoped there would be anyway. It was a shame though as I am very fond of The Fellow, the pub downstairs. I’ve had a few drinks in there on more than one occasion and think its lovely with a menu that I plan on trying one day. As you’d expect from the sister pub of the Owl and the Pussycat. So I was expecting more of the same charm from the Black Door, and it didn’t deliver.

So, we moved on. To the downstairs part of Drink, Shop and Do, which is called Drink, Shop and Dance. This was MUCH better. Busy, with an atmosphere, but not crowded – there was enough room to start dancing by the bar, but they also had a dedicated dance area at the back which we made much use of. The music policy was commercial but eclectic. Perfect for people who had been drinking for about 5 hours, then.

And, the cherry on the cake, was when we spotted John Torode dancing away in there. So far Stephen and I have seen Michel Roux, Monica Galetti, and now John Torode. Only a matter of time before we see Gregg Wallace chowing down on a pud somewhere and we'll have spotted the full deck.

Flat Iron, 27th July

Flat Iron is a new pop-up restaurant above the absolutely lovely Owl and the Pussycat pub. Ever since I had heard about it on Twitter, I had been dying to go. It is only in residence for six weeks (but this could be extended if it proves popular) and I was pleased to be able to go in the first two weeks and feel like I was slightly ahead of the pack.

It’s another place specialising in only one thing, and another place that doesn’t take reservations. We decided to go on Friday, when hopefully everyone would be elsewhere getting ready to watch the Opening Ceremony, and we went straight from work to be doubly sure we would avoid queuing for ages. We were, in fact, the very first two people in there and we didn’t have to queue at all! An excellent start. I don’t know if we were just lucky, or if it is always so easy so early in the night. Quite a few people had trickled in by half an hour later, but it wasn’t packed to the rafters, and, while we decided to leave after we’d eaten and finished our drinks, we could easily have stayed for another one or two drinks without feeling like we we were taking up valuable space.

So what is Flat Iron’s handle? Well, it’s aim is to make steak affordable for the masses, and they have done this by serving one type of steak – the Flat Iron – which rarely gets used and is thus cheaper. After the first night of opening, the next day I waited with baited breath for the reviews – but almost more importantly – the prices. I wanted to know what they considered ‘affordable’ considering steaks in the good places (Hawksmoor for example) can go for around £30, sometimes more depending on the cut. Good reviews were flooding in but no one was mentioning the price. Why? I was suspicious. Someone reviewed it on their blog, again without mentioning the price, so I asked. I could scarcely believe her when she said that steak and a salad was £10. That was unbelievably good value. And it doesn’t stop there. Sides come in at a mere £2.50, and cocktails are also very reasonably priced at between £5.50 and £7 (most places start at £7.00).

The restaurant space is also delightful. It has a bit of a rustic, slightly Wild West feel to it. As we went in fresh horseradish was being pounded in a pestle and mortar. There’s a lot of dark wood. The place feels relaxed and comfortable. But it is clear that great attention to detail has been given – from the mini-cleavers that take the place of steak knives, to the little jars of ketchup and mustard, to the way your bill is presented at the end of the meal – on small but heavy letter presses. This sort of thing might not be strictly necessary but for me added to the enjoyment of the experience.

Flat Iron asks, please don't steal the cleavers!

But what of the food? Well, I enjoyed it. The chips were tasty, though not mindblowing, and we were also persuaded by our very lovely and knowledgeable waitress to split a side of roasted aubergine (at these prices, why on earth not?) which was absolutely delicious. This may be verging on blasphemy to say so, especially coming from a meat lover such as myself, but I think it might have been my favourite thing of the night!  Seriously, seriously good. I wish I’d had a whole one to myself. For vegetarians, this is what you get as a main dish so you shouldn’t feel at all short-shrifted. 

The steak itself is also good, I think. Stephen wasn’t too enamoured with it. It has a ... how shall I say this? ... distinct... smell to it which is not overly pleasant, and Stephen thought it leaked into the taste, which he didn’t like. To be honest, for me it wasn’t exactly STEAK. I think people who go out for a STEAK will know what I mean. It’s not a thick, juicy porterhouse, with chewy, bitter char on the outside giving way to melt in the mouth meat in the middle. The steak at Flat Iron is altogether more delicate, laid out on the board almost like a charcuterie delicacy. I liked the taste – it did taste different to other beef, a little bit gamey. And I thought it was cooked beautifully (medium rare as standard though they will cook it to your liking if you request otherwise). But I couldn’t help but feel that if I was in the mood to go out for a STEAK, this wouldn’t have satisfied and I would still probably head to Buen Ayre, or Hawksmoor and pay the extra. I want to feel like a man when I eat STEAK.

But if what you want is expertly cooked meat (or steak with a lower case ‘s’) at a truly affordable price in a completely charming restaurant, then head over to Flat Iron. The cocktails were tasty (and created especially to complement the steak) - I had a smoked thyme bramble which was lovely and yes, very smoky and thymey, and the wait staff are incredibly friendly. I think it would make a lovely addition as a casual place you can drop in with a group of friends before a night out or a few jars downstairs. Even the presentation is geared towards a convivial group sitting as you can fit several portions of steak on each board, to then pass between you. 

Meat for two with bloody mary sauce and bearnaise

They are also currently serving for dessert (again at only £2.50) a scrumptious chocolate caramel ‘mousse’. Nevermind that the consistency of it was completely different to any mousse I’ve ever had (it was thicker and more solid, heading towards ice cream territory – maybe like semifreddo), the taste was amazing. Our waitress put them down before us and took a pinch of sea salt and crumbled it over the top. It went perfectly, which will come to no surprise to anyone who has tapped into the current salted caramel craze. We really do need to put more salt into sweet stuff.

Flat Iron is only around for another four weeks as it stands. I really like what they’re trying to do and the amount of effort that has gone into the place. They're not just making steak affordable, they're making eating out in general affordable. Everyone go and ensure it makes the transition from pop-up to permanent. 

Press presenting your bill

Owl and the Pussycat and Deviation, 7th March

Who knew such a lovely little proper pub existed so close to Shoreditch? Well, quite a few people, evidently, as it was pretty busy in The Owl and the Pussycat and it was only a Wednesday. I heard about this place through Secret London and popped it on the List. I was going to Deviation at Concrete which is just around the corner so thought this would be an ideal place for a couple of drinks first.

This place goes in for big communal tables that you have to try to nab a place at, ending up potentially sharing with another group or two. The pub itself is quite small but it has a sizeable (heated) courtyard at the back to squeeze some more people in, and it has a separate restaurant upstairs for people who just want to eat. Prices were quite reasonable. A normal-sized (ie not the 250ml bucket) of wine was under £4.00 – which is becoming increasingly rare these days.

The crowd was pretty typical hipster – I don’t think there was a single girl in there without a flat fringe- and it was mostly groups of people. But the pub’s low lighting and woody décor also made it quite a romantic pub (I think the poetic name helps) and I can imagine going with my boyfriend for a few drinks together and some tasty sounding bar snacks – duck’s egg, chorizo and garlic frites, mmmm!

After two drinks in there it was time to move on to Deviation.

This is a monthly club night curated by Benji B and which was celebrating its 50th session last night. (Cue lots of balloons.) To mark the occasion they had Hudson Mohawke as their speical guest DJ and also James Blake (but I didn’t stay late enough to see him unfortunately). Benji B got things started, easing people into the night with some house music that made you want to move, then journeying into tunes which were more soulful and ambient. At 9 when the doors opened there was a queue to get in and by half ten the place was not only busy but everyone was on the dance floor. Benji responded to this by ratcheting up the atmosphere and getting some dirty, dirty, bassy dnb on and then moving into some heavy hip hop. The crowd was pulsating. It was obvious that the people there loved these nights, loved the music and were intent on making the most out of the limited time they had to enjoy it. Once a month for only a few hours (9-2) isn’t much time. So no wasting precious minutes having a few drinks in there first – once you were in, you were dancing.  I was also impressed by the eclecticism of the crowd. Because of the hip hop influence, it wasn’t just your typical electro-geek. Black and white, young and older, were all there-even an annoying Canadian.

At about 11:30 Benji switched tacks again and moved onto some bassy house music to segue into Hudson taking the decks. Hudson's debut song was a remix of Bjork of all things (sorry, not sure which song), followed shortly after by TLC’s Silly Ho. Why haven’t I heard that song in a club before? It warranted getting right into the crowd to make the most of it. From there the music returned to some major hip hop which the dancefloor was lapping up and at about midnight I decided I should get the last tube home – well it was a school night.

Unfortunately, the cloakroom system was a little inefficient. I had to queue in the same queue as people putting their coats in, and even though there weren’t many people in front of me, it still took about half an hour for me to get my coat. I hope it's not like that when I return later this month for Stumblin' Slims! I missed the tube and had to walk down Brick Lane to get the bus, which put a bit of a dampener on the evening. I’m just glad I live so close by, that it still didn’t take me too long to get home.