Monkey Shoulder Popcorn Flip

Last week I was invited to go along to Monkey Shoulder’s For One Night Only event. Having had a blast at the last one, I happily grabbed a whisky drinking friend and arrived at the Shoreditch Studios ready for what was to be thrown at us. In this case this was literally popcorn. The event was called Popcorn Flip and we had been promised popcorn. Lots of popcorn... a few tonnes of popcorn in fact.

We arrived to be handed an overall to put over our clothes – at this point I was slightly confused and regretting having put any thought into my outfit that morning but we pulled on the thin overalls and made our way into the room. It was like being faced with Charlie and the Popcorn Factory. On one side was a bouncy castle with a popcorn cannon pointed straight at it. On the other side was a giant popcorn holder with some beanbags to sit on. The next room gave us a popcorn pit to sit in. Popcorn popcorn popcorn. It was time to head to the bar to help me mentally process the whole room.

As I have said before when writing up the last Monkey Shoulder event, I’m not a whisky lover. Monkey Shoulder Whisky cocktails on the other hand... quite a different story. I sampled 2 – the Rusty Nail and the Boulevardier No3. The latter is a twist on the oh so trendy Negroni but I actually surprisingly preferred the Rusty Nail which was just a bit sweeter/easier to drink.

Our first cocktail consumed, we decided it was time to brave the popcorn filled bouncy castle. Shoes off and on we went. Having not been on one for about 15 years, this was bloody hilarious. Grown adults falling over in piles of popcorn had an undeniable element of comedy about it and I couldn’t stop laughing (apart from one hairy moment where I thought I was being buried alive by popcorn – luckily I lived to tell the tale/ write this post). 

After jumping in the popcorn it was time to sample the amazing varieties of gourmet popcorn they had to offer which included chilli caramel, blue cheese, paprika and cheddar... and about 10 others. They were all completely yummy – my favourite being the chilli caramel.. very addictive stuff. 

We ended the night with a sit down in the popcorn pit. When has anyone ever sat in a giant vat of popcorn?? Surprisingly comfortable in case you're wondering! 

 

Monkey Shoulder put on yet another brilliant event full of surprises. I had to explain to my new flatmate who I invited along that this was not the type of thing I do every Thursday night. Her text the following day pretty much summed it up ‘I never want to go to another bar unless there’s a bouncy castle’.

They’ve said it’s their last For One Night Only event. I’m hoping this isn’t actually the case. In the meantime whilst I wait to hear about the next fun whisky fueled night, I’m still finding popcorn in my handbag and room.

Lardo

One of the things I have been criticised for the most by my harshest critic (my mother) is that fact that I’m too nice when writing reviews... bearing in mind this is the only situation in which she has ever accused me of being ‘too nice’, I realised she might be right... I should probably learn to give a bit more criticism along with the gushing praise.

Earlier in the week I popped along to an old favourite standby – Lardo on Richmond Road. This was probably my 5^th visit to Lardo over the past few years since they opened and to be honest they’ve never disappointed. Their mix of Italian small plates and big old pizzas has always been a winner. I blood love Lardo, however unfortunately on this visit I had a couple of grumbles.

I had booked for a table of 3 about well in advance for my Tuesday dinner and was slightly annoyed that we were put on a small table obviously meant for two right by the door. This meant that when ordering a few starters to share along with the drinks it was a real struggle to fit things on the table.  

Initial grumble aside, the starters themselves were as usual complete hits. When burrata is on the menu I never refuse, and this one was lovely in a pool of good quality extra virgin olive oil. We also had clams with white polenta which was a combination I’ve never had– one of my dinner companions is a self declared polenta hater – but I think she was converted to a polenta lover... or at least liker. Lastly we had the pigs ears. Now I’m open to trying most things and was very glad I did! These were like bits of delicious crunchy crackling in a perfectly dressed salad. All in all the starters impressed as always. 

The mains we went for were 2 pizzas and a pasta. The two pizzas were one with lardy loin, spinach and egg, and the second with smoked ricotto, roasted garlic and chicory. The pasta choice was a wild boar ragu on homemade tagliatelle. 

Once all the plates were squished onto our little table, they looked absolutely great and we dove straight in. Mine was the smoked ricotta and chicory pizza. After the first bite I was pretty overpowered by the bitter flavour but knowing this is what chicory is like I kept going.. by slice number 2 I decided to let the others try it to see if it was just my taste buds which were screaming ‘burnt!’ to me. The feeling that the flavour on the pizza wasn’t right and quite frankly unpleasant was unanimous and it was mentioned to the waitress.

Now this was just an absolute prime example of bloody great customer service. She was completely apologetic, said she would ask the chefs to try it and straight away offered to get me something else. Having had the starters and some of the other mains I declined. The chef came over to apologise and said it was a new pizza on the menu that day and once again offered to get me something else. The other pizza was an absolute delight so I do think this was just an unlucky choice!

When the bill arrived I noticed that the pizza had been removed from the bill without them even saying anything to us. Perhaps the slightly disappointing pizza was a good thing as it allowed them to demonstrate what can only be described as the best way to possibly handle a customer who isn’t completely happy with a dish. 

The meal was rounded off with a tiramisu split between the three of us who were soon spoon fighting over the last bit and more red wine. Perfect ending. 

Lardo remains one of my favourite restaurants in the Dalston/ Hackney area. I’ve never had a bad meal there, excluding this one pizza, and even then the rest of the meal and the service more than made up for it. As usual I will be back soon...

Lardo
205 Richmond Road
Hackney
London 
E8 3NJ
0208 985 2683