Beagle

I first heard about Beagle on twitter a few months ago and was straight away intrigued due to the location... Revamping railway arches seems to be the new East London thing (see Hackney Downs Studios). I then got to try a sample of their food in March at Feast in Tobacco Docks. Their buttermilk fried rabbit being our favourite dish of the night. I reserved a table at the first chance I got.

Fast forward nearly 2 months and after debating whether or not my mother's dress showed too much cleavage, we wondered up to Hoxton station to search out the restaurant. The design is very good - clearly a lot of planning has gone into the place. The outside area makes me think that Beagle will really come into its own in the Summer (you know.. that time of year which is meant to come around this time of year).

Once seated we chose some cocktails. I had heard great things about the cocktails. My sister went for the rhubarb bellini - a success. I went for the Tisane. Now I don't like really sweet cocktails and prefer them to be too sour rather than too sweet. On the other hand, I wish I had taken a picture of my mother's face when she took a sip. The grapefruit juice was just too acidic, making it hard to really taste anything else.

We went for 3 different starters to share. The pigeon and prune terrine, octopus with potatoes and grilled courgette salad with Ticklemore. Surprisingly for us carnivores, the real winner was the courgettes. The dressing was perfect and the cheese added a feta like saltiness which worked perfectly with the slightly bitter courgettes.

For main, I had a sole with Monk's beard and braised cucumber. The fish was nicely grilled and I discovered I'm a huge fan of Monk's beard - you learn something new everyday. The other two opted for the onglet steak with horseradish and duck fat chips. On my way to the bathroom, I quickly noticed that the majority of the rest of the customers went for the same choice. The steak was cooked rare as ordered and the chips were amazing. The fresh horseradish added a nice kick though some might find it a bit overpowering. 

Overall the food was near faultless - as you might expect from the ex Rochelle Canteen chef who has taken over the kitchen. The place has obviously had some serious money and thought put into it - the design of the place is impressive and I often judge a place by the loos - and at Beagle they are as smart as they come. However, maybe I'm just too used to smaller cosier places these days which made the slightly higher end dining at Beagle a little too polished for me. Having said this I think I'm going to pop back on a sunny day (if we ever have one) and enjoy another tasty meal in the sun. 


Beagle 
397-400 Geffrye Street
London
E2 8HZ

The Clapton Hart - Sunday Roast

The Clapton Hart is quickly becoming a firm favourite. This was my third visit and I have a feeling now that everyone is more prepared to crawl out from under their duvets without the need for 4 pairs of thermals and some fetching long johns… it will be a more regular event.

One thing I love about this pub is the building itself. It was redone and reopened a year ago but they have left it in what I can only call extreme shabby chic – and it works. I will do a more detailed review of the place after I enjoy a few more sessions in the sun, but for today I want to talk about their roasts.

Generally speaking, I’m not a roast person. I did not grow up in a family where at 5pm on the dot, my mother carried over a bronzed chicken whilst wearing a frilly pinny. I also don’t see the big deal about roast potatoes… but anyway these are my issues.

On Sundays, The Clapton Hart offers a selection of Roasts: Roast beef, Pork Belly, Roast Chicken Breast, Roast Chicken Leg or a Nut Roast for the veggies. All of the above come served with the same sides, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, boiled new potatoes, celeriac mash, carrots and lashings of gravy. I went for the pork belly (I tend never to order chicken - as a general rule I don't order things I could do at home). 

The Hart have their kitchen organised like a well-oiled machines on Sundays. By the time I ordered at the bar and wandered back to my table about a metre away, someone had already popped to the table with cutlery and a little pot of apple sauce (horseradish for those who ordered beef). About 3 minutes later the plates appeared. I would normally be suspicious of this type of speed but when the plate in front of me looks like this I can let it go.

It was good. It was very good. The only complaint I have is that the skin on the pork wasn't quite crackling so I couldn't really cut it and it had to be left. Apart from this, the meat itself was delicious and the gravy and yorkies a success. After demolishing the whole thing I had to sit there for another hour or so rubbing my belly. Luckily I had chosen stretchy trousers for the occasion – a brilliant move on my part.

I will be back soon on a Sunday ready to take on another roast… stretchy pants and all. 

The Clapton Hart

231 Lower Clapton Rd  

London 

E5 8EG

020 8985 8124

The Village Green - Launch Night

When I moved into my new flat in November I was aware that it wasn’t located in the busiest part of the Hackney/ Dalston area. My end of Hackney Downs (the top corner off Rectory Road), seems to have a slight identity crisis – it’s caught in between Dalston and Stoke Newington and yet by being on the right hand side of Rectory Road has an E5 Clapton postcode. Having said all this, the area seems to be going through a bit of a revolution.

Hackney Downs Studios hosted Street Feast on Friday nights until December (they have now sadly moved to Haggerston), and the railway arches are home to a little café called the Russet where I have enjoyed many an eggs benedict on a Saturday/ Sunday morning. I then found out that they were opening a few permanent shops opposite the Russet and have called the whole thing The Village Green. This opening featured in last Tuesday’s Timeout and so last Thursday I travelled the whole 60 seconds from my front door to check out the opening night. 

The little courtyard was full of people. I’m not sure if it was the bunting or the free gin and tonics but everyone definitely seemed to be cheery. Me and my companion grabbed a gin and started to have a wander through the 4 different shops. First there is Atomica Gallery – the walls are plastered with modern prints of all sorts of styles. At the back they had some rum and ginger punch – a treat. I’m not sure if it was the rum talking but I’ve got my eye on some witty prints at the back and left my details with one of the lovely owners so will definitely be popping back this week. 

Next we headed into Smoking Gun Vintage and had a browse through the rails. Now I’m not a vintage shopper. Whereas most people manage to come out laden in trendy outfits, I tend to come out looking like I’ve stolen my great aunts curtains. Smoking Gun though is small, making it less intimidating than some of the more TK Maxx style Vintage shops. I managed to pick up some sunglasses and a stripy mint and black knit. With 20% off on the night the glasses were only £8 and the jumped about £18. Bargain.

We only stopped in briefly on The Hackney Peddler with neither of us being in the market for a bike (though maybe this summer… I do live in Hackney after all). Last a brief tour of Portamento – a shop which sells.. well I’m not quite sure what. There is a mix of clothes, shoes and jewellery, and at the back I’m pretty sure I spied some pasta. I will have to revisit to have another proper look.

The Village Green is a cute and cheerful addition to the area, and I’m glad I’m only a stone’s throw away.  Well done to all who obviously put loads of effort into the launch night!

The night continued onto another launch night – this time the locals launch of The Star by Hackney Downs who have taken over the grotty looking 3 Sisters pub on the opposite side of the park. But that’s for another time. 

The Village Green

Amhurst Terrace

London

E8 2BT

Huong Viet - Englefield Road

I have a confession to make. Yesterday evening I committed adultery. No not to anyone of the male description (this isn't Made in Chelsea) - in fact I cheated on my favourite Vietnamese restaurant on the Viet mile in Shoreditch. I have for the past 18 months stayed completely loyal to Mien Tay - but since they have stopped being BYOB my eyes have wondered. I was told about a Vietnamese place in Dalston on Englefield Road which was apparently not only delicious and cheap, but still BYOB - I had  to try it. 

Initial online research seemed to generally agree that the food is authentic but the service can be slightly abrupt (that is me politely brushing over some of the stronger language used). I warned my dinner partner of these reviews and we made our way down towards Haggerston, picked up a couple of cold ciders on the way and began our search. Had I not read reviews warning me that the outside was easily missed I kept my eyes peeled and eventually found what can only be described as a derelict old gentleman's club (again being polite). 

At 7.30 we were the only people there but the place quickly filled up. After perusing the lengthy menu I went for some Vietnamese clear spring rolls with spicy pork (£4). They were nice and refreshing if too filled with noodles and not enough veg for some crunchy texture. 

For my main I went for my usual favourite - a spicy Pho with prawns. Now call me childish but one of my favourite bits of a pho is adding the bits of foliage/ herbs and chillies and lime juice myself. I think that maybe had I ordered the normal pho they would have provided this but instead I entertained myself with adding chilli flakes in oil... and then quickly choking. Having said all this the broth was nice and flavoursome and a big old generous hug in a bowl for only £7. 

I was assured by Jenny that her Singapore noodles with chicken, pork and prawns was good but I was too full from the 10 or so king prawns in my pho. 

All in all the food was really good and you can't complain at £14 each for a main, a starter, corkage (£1.50pp) and service charge. And to be fair - the service wasn't as bad as I had read about... Sure there were some slightly short and snappy moments - but we were given glasses of water without asking for them and they took our drinks away to open them for us with now complaint. No worse than some other places I've been. Now the main question... Am I dumping Mien Tay? The answer is no. I may stray from time to time back to Huong Viet due to proximity and BYOB but when I want the best Vietnamese, I will still be travelling down the Kingsland road. 

Huong Viet

12-14 Englefield Rd

London 

N1 4LS

Shanghai Dalston

My sister and I have a slightly bizarre hangover cure. When one of us is feeling rough on a Sunday morning, we call the other one for sympathy and eventually if able to get out of bed, we make our way from our respective flats to Shanghai in Dalston for some Dim Sum. Now I completely understand why some people would not associate dim sum with a hangover - the usually glutinous and slimy textures, the often unidentifiable meat content of the dumplings – but for some reason, it just works for us.

The small entry to Shanghai on Kingsland Road makes it easy to miss despite the bright yellow exterior. Once inside there are a few booths at the front or you can go into the back room which is much more spacious and if busy feels slightly buzzier. The décor isn’t glam and to be fair neither is the service, though having lived in Shanghai (the city not the restaurant) I can say that in a way it’s relatively authentic.

We usually order a pot of jasmine tea straight away whilst we pointlessly look at the dim sum menu before always ordering the usual culprits anyway. These include siu mai (prawn andpork dumplings), har gao (crystal prawn dumplins), king prawn cheung fan (the most slimy of all), lotus leaf rice parcels (the epitome of unidentifiable fillings involving meat, shrimp, egg yolk), xiao long bao (Shanghai special dumplings with sort of burst in your mouth)… and a few others. We once decided to be adventurous and ordered the yam dumpling. Don’t.

Now having been here a few times the quality of the food varies. When it’s good, it’s really good but on occasion it can be a bit disappointing. The service also varies – sometimes you get sauces, sometimes you don’t and quite frankly don’t bother to ask for tap water or if you really do want some then be prepared to ask a few different waiters a few times.

But to be honest I always leave slightly less hungover, full of dumplings and feeling like I might just be able to go on. Also value wise you couldn’t complain – I usually leave absolutely stuffed and it tends to be between £10 and £15 each.  If you live near Dalston and fancy a dimsum fix then this is the place for you (and if you are seated near 2 blonde girls looking sorry for themselves - I can only apologise). 

Shanghai 

41 Kingsland High Street London E8 2JS