The De Beauvoir Arms

 

113 Southgate Rd

London 

N1 3JS

The De Beauvoir Arms is one of our many incredible local pubs - it was something else when we moved to this neighborhood but I love the new incarnation. Sunny and bright inside, with plenty of outdoor picnic tables for good weather, it serves really satisfying pub grub and some small tapas style dishes as well, so I can always find something I want to eat. Great for vegetarians and pescetarians as well, which means we visit quite often with A's mum. The menu changes every day, so sometimes when you have something really nice it's sad to not be able to just order it again, but some things do repeat regularly. This picture is from a Sunday lunch with a group of eight adults, one baby. I had the spring chicken roast, while A went for the lamb - both were fabulous (I stole a bit of the cauliflower cheese that came with the lamb) and if you know me, you know how much I adore deconstructing small birds. It was perfectly cooked, full of chickeny juices and plenty of veg. I usually don't have the patience to make Sunday roasts myself as there are a few too many components for a meal just for me and A - so it is great to know that aside from the Drapers, this pub around the corner can also satisfy all Sunday roast needs.

Bacchus Pub & Kitchen

 

177 Hoxton St

London 

N1 6PJ  

I should start this by saying I believe Bacchus is closed now. But I’ll forge ahead anyway. E, S and I were looking for a place to go for a Saturday lunch with our boys right before Christmas. When the first few pubs we tried wouldn’t take reservations, I remembered Bacchus – I’ve been here both in its previous incarnation as a fine dining restaurant but also in its current pub form and enjoyed both. At 2.30pm this day, it was essentially empty and we noticed loving goodbyes scrawled on some walls and pillars – indications that we were there for the last throes. But nevermind, my sea bass was still great, with crisp skin and fluffy roast potatoes underneath. A’s fish pie was good as well, and our two bottles of red helped us all celebrate merrily. And our final chocolate mousse with some tart Morello cherries was much darker and richer than expected, making the portion size perfect. So farewell, Bacchus – I hope something great comes back in your place.

Lardo

205 Richmond Rd
London
E8 3NJ

I’m becoming very fond of going to the movies on Sunday afternoon or evening – it’s something to look forward to on a day which usually just feels like the end of freedom. Sometimes we need a bit to eat before the movie as well, so on this occasion, P, AJ, A and I had an early bird dinner at Lardo. My octopus starter was great – chewy yet tender octopus chunks interspersed with briny capers and fresh greens. This was a light beginning which was then followed by pure indulgence – a pizza topped with lardo, spinach and a just-set egg. I loved it, though the rest of the table thought it was over-the-top and couldn’t quite get used to eating pig fat. They liked the margherita pizza more. A wild boar pasta and a hen-of-the-woods pasta were also perfectly savory with a good al dente chew to the fresh noodles. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and it’s a good option for Italian if you’re not friends with AJ who can cook all this stuff at home!

Hackney Picturehouse - The Kitchen

270 Mare Street
London

E8 1HE

The Hackney Picturehouse is my favorite movie theater in London. The seats are all stadium so you always get a good view, they're super comfy and recline a bit for an even more relaxing experience, and it's actually reasonably priced (for London). After seeing Alpha Papa there, T, A-M, P, A and I all decided to stick around for dinner. The Kitchen is right in the lobby of the movie theater and serves a menu of specials - the night we were there I had the salmon fishcakes. What came out was three giant hockey-puck sized fishcakes full of flaky pink salmon, with very little filler. They were tasty but actually too filling for me, so I had to share them around (don't worry, none of them went to waste!) The crispy fries were great as well - fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Is it possible to love the Hackney Picturehouse even more? If so I do.

Unpackaged

Arthaus
197 Richmond Road
London
E8 3NJ

Before seeing Blue Jasmine, F, C, A and I all wanted to get some brunch. I'd heard about a couple of new-ish places on Richmond Road, including Lardo, but seeing as how A and I had just returned from our Italian holiday the night before, it seemed like a good idea to go with a non-Italian option. I was pleased to see Unpackaged had opened up a bigger shop that includes a cafe (and I was also trying to hunt down caraway seeds) so it seemed like an ideal place to meet. I went with the simple grilled mushrooms on toast, which was so incredibly rich that I could barely finish it. There must be a ton of butter/cream/fat in those mushrooms, but that also explains why it was SO GOOD. A and C liked their pancakes, and F was happy with his bacon and eggs, but if I may say so myself, those mushrooms kicked the ass of all those other dishes.

Hop-Namo

Second floor of Boxpark
2-4 Bethnal Green Rd
London
E1 6GY

There is a glut of Vietnamese restaurants in the Shoreditch area, and this newcomer has set up in the "pop-up" shopping area of Boxpark. A bunch of shipping containers have been stacked to make tiny individual stores and food outlets. Being the trendsters that we are, P and I arranged a meetup to look at the stores and see what kind of dinner we could get. After giggling at hipsters in onesies, we decided to pit Hop-Namo against the rest of the places in the area. I ordered a regular beef pho, and it was definitely not the dish I usually think of - the flavor of the broth was quite different and it was missing a depth to it - when I think of good pho, I can feel my bones getting stronger from the richness of the stock that the noodles are in, and this was certainly lacking that feeling. No plate of cilantro, beansprouts, basil, chillies, and lime was served alongside it either - so I just ate what was in my bowl with no adjustments for personal preference. Not to say it was bad - I finished it - it just isn't what I want when I want a good bowl of pho, so I doubt I'll be returning.

Duke's Brew and Que

33 Downham Road

De Beauvoir Town

Hackney

London 

N1 5AA

Duke's Brew and Que is my favorite new neighborhood joint - they've got pretty decent barbecue for London standards (including some pretty outstanding pork ribs), and a great selection of beers, some of which they actually make themselves. The chips are crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and the mac and cheese is as cheesy as it should get. The only dish that I wasn't quite as keen on was the creamed spinach, but then you're not really going to a barbecue place for greens, are you? Add that to a boisterous but not rowdy atmosphere, and it's a place I will be spending many nights in!

Choc Star

The Choc Star van is one of several street food trucks getting raves from people - something about getting your food from a passionate cook on the move makes people go nuts. Since I was at the Towpath Festival, waiting for my burger from the Meatwagon, I figured I could spend some of my waiting time in the line for Choc Star as well. I was thinking about what could be wrapped up and saved for a post-burger sweet, so settled on their ultra dark brownie, which is as fudgy and decadent as it sounds. My only complaint is that the top of the brownie was quite dry - but aside from that minor flaw, the rest of it was smooth with a high quality deep chocolate taste. I'd like to try their ice creams if I ever run into them again.

The Meatwagon

The Meatwagon has received quite frenzied attention among food-lovers in London. I made a mental note to try and find them somewhere in the depths of South London, where they are usually based, but never quite got my act together. While running along the canal, I was pleased to notice that they were making an appearance for the Towpath Festival, so I made sure to catch them while they were in my 'hood. A and I showed up on Sunday a little after noon, and the festival was clearly off to a slow start. The only guy around said that everyone got sh*tfaced Saturday night, so they probably wouldn't be up and running until after 2pm. We trudged home sadly, but I ventured out again around 4.30 to try once more, and got there in the nick of time to snag two of the last fifteen burgers of the day. I think I waited for about an hour and a half before my order was called? Then I quickly snapped a picture and shoved the burgers into my bag, racing home on my bike to make sure they were as fresh as possible. A and I chowed down on these and they were certainly excellent burgers, but I'm not sure I'd ever wait that long again (mainly because I don't really see the point in waiting that long for food). At 6 quid each, the bacon cheeseburgers were fairly priced for the quality of ingredients, and I'm glad I tried one - if they can get the wait down to 30 minutes I'll certainly think about trying another.

The Scolt Head

107A Culford Road
London N1 4HT

This is one of my favorite meals in recent memory, and it's at one of my local pubs! The Scolt Head was a regular haunt last summer because of its fantastic beer garden, and while I knew they served food, I didn't try it until now. Silly, silly me. Sunday lunch options all sounded great but I went with the whole grilled lemon sole with brown shrimp, capers and lemon-butter sauce, served alongside a gratin of fennel. The menu changes daily to reflect what is fresh and seasonal and based on this one dish, I'd say the kitchen really knows what its doing. The fish was cooked perfectly and the gratin was scarfed down even though I would usually avoid fennel. I am definitely coming back to try more dishes here and have some more pints in the sun once it warms up outside...

Viet Hoa

70-72 Kingsland Road
London E2 8DP

Viet Hoa is the first Vietnamese restaurant I went to in London, back in 2006. Little did I know that I would end up moving into a place only 10 minutes away by bicycle - and that it would undergo a complete renovation, setting itself apart from the other Kingsland Road Vietnamese places with its modern and clean  design. Apparently we can even expect a bar area to open soon.  Thankfully, the renovation has not changed the tasty menu, and there has only been a slight increase in prices. C and I had fried tofu to start and then both ordered the Bun Xa with pork and lemongrass. This is a giant bowl of rice vermicelli noodles, grilled pork, bean sprouts, coriander, crushed peanuts, fried shallots and a fish-sauce based marinade that you pour in and mix with everything. Every bite is full of sweet, salty and sour flavors balancing against each other, and all for under six quid. I will be back.

Cheeses

A trip to Broadway Market inevitably results in some cheese buying - the stalls are just too tempting! We were initially drawn in by the Comte (upper left), but ended up picking out some Cropwell Bishop Shropshire Blue (upper right) and Crottin de Chavignol (bottom) as well. The Comte was delicious as expected - the nice man that was giving us tastes explained that they age their Comte for 16 months (which is probably why it tastes so much nicer than the cheaper stuff at Waitrose). The blue cheese is apparently very mild (my aversion to blue cheese meant that I could just about handle this stuff, but the blue cheese lovers at the table complained that it wasn't blue enough). The little round of goat cheese was fabulous - the tangy sharp goat flavor really came through but it was tempered by the creamy quality of the cheese. Next time, we'll check out the stalls for Italian and French cheeses too.

Huong Viet (Revisited)

An Viet House
12-14 Englefield Road
N1 4LS

A's parents were in town and expressed interest in trying out our local Vietnamese restaurant, so A and I introduced them to it on a busy Friday night. Surprisingly, we managed not to over order this time, though we were still very full by the end of the meal. Starters included the crispy duck with pancakes and chargrilled squid pictured above. We also had summer rolls with prawn and A's dad ordered a small soup with tofu and greens. After we tore through those, the mains came out: steamed sea bass with chili, spring onion and ginger, lamb in a lemongrass and chili sauce, tofu with garlicky greens, and tofu with aubergine in a dill sauce. Everything was delicious and I liked the sauces so much I even ate a bit of white rice topped with nothing but sauce. Service was a bit of a shambles as usual, but at least they're apologetic for it. Thanks, S&C, for a nice meal!

Mangal Ocakbasi

10 Arcola Street

London

E8 2DJ

Mangal Ocakbasi is located across the street from the Arcola Theatre, where A and I had tickets to see The Line, so it made sense to have dinner there beforehand. When you walk in you're greeted by the sight of a huge charcoal grill, manned by a couple of guys who are moving spits of different kinds of meat to make sure they are all cooked perfectly. Fresh bread was brought to the table immediately and we tore into warm, doughy slices. We ordered lahmacun to start, which is described as Turkish pizza. This came out quickly - four slices of incredibly thin, crispy dough topped with a savory mix of minced lamb, onions and peppers. There was a nice bit of spicy kick to this as well and it was really delicious. I'm declaring it the best 2 quid starter I've ever had. Next up was one mixed kebab to share - there were grilled pieces of lamb, lamb chops, some kind of rolled up lamb thing, minced lamb with spices, and chicken wing. This was all accompanied by an incredibly fresh salad with rocket, carrots, red cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and some vegetable that might have been jicama? Pity that A and I both hate raw onion, maybe next time we can ask them to leave it out. We were absolutely stuffed after finishing this and it was only made better by the shockingly low bill of 14 quid and the friendly, quick service. They allow you to BYOB with no corkage fee. We will definitely be back!

Shanghai

41 Kingsland High Street

London

E8 2JS

Rain ruined our day trip plans with F&C so we ended up doing a little tour of East London instead. We went to a vintage jumble sale at The Victoria, then ambled along Columbia Road and saw the flower market, and ended up at Shanghai for their happy hour dim sum (most dishes are 1.90 between 3pm and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday). Long list of dishes: har gau (steamed prawn dumplings), steamed pork dumplings, char siu buns, spare ribs in black bean sauce, chicken feet in black bean sauce, pan-fried turnip paste (pictured above), roast duck congee, chicken and chinese sausage rice pot, prawn and chive cheung fun, BBQ pork cheung fun. Most of it was quite good - I'd skip the spare ribs next time though as they weren't as good as the rest of the dishes. All this plus tea for four and service came to 28.50, which I think is a pretty awesome deal for a dim sum feast.

Tay Do Cafe

65 Kingsland Road

E2 8AG

Went to Tay Do Cafe (this is different from Tay Do at 60 Kingsland Road) for lunch with H, since we were planning to go to an art gallery close by afterwards. I had the special beef pho and H ordered the spring roll and crispy pork skin bun. I liked the pho - good broth - but next time I may stick to the pho that doesn't have meatballs in it since I think I prefer the thin sliced beef on its own. Iced milk coffees were fine, but nothing special, and sadly it did not wake me up at all - this may have been due to how full I was after the pho though! As usual, photo was taken after eating most of the food - still trying to remember to take a picture before I eat. Sigh.

Huong Viet

An Viet House
12-14 Englefield Road
N1 4LS

M&S are thinking about looking for a place to live in our neighborhood, so to help sell them on how great it is, A and I took them to a couple of our favorite pubs and the Vietnamese restaurant Huong Viet. A successful attempt to show off the charms of the area, I think!

Between the four of us, we ordered prawn summer rolls, half a crispy duck with pancakes, chargrilled squid, fried spicy squid, fried spare ribs, steamed sea bass, rice vermicelli noodles with pork, and chicken with cashews. This resulted in a feast where as usual, I ate too much, but it was all very tasty - I think my favorites are the chargrilled squid, crispy duck, sea bass and noodles. All for a very reasonable 16.50 per person, considering how much we ordered (we brought our own wine, for which they charge a 1.50 per person corkage fee). I think we probably could have ordered half of what we did and still been quite satisfied, but when you're trying to convince someone to move close by, you have to pull out all the stops!

Broadway Market

Broadway Market, Hackney, E8

J and D have their own bikes now so A and I rode with them to Broadway Market to pick up goodies for an impromptu picnic. Tomato focaccia, garlic sausage, avocado, cherry tomatos, peaches, spinach quiche, tomato and pesto quiche, comte, smoked cheese (gubbard?), fresh pesto, olives stuffed with almonds, and a dense chocolate brownie later, we were in London Fields lying in the sun, stuffing ourselves. Perfect way to spend a few hours on Saturday. Apologies for the lousy picture though - we ate everything so quickly that by the time I remembered to take one we had eaten almost everything.