Brix Smith-Start | cheriecity.co.uk

Beauty, London

Nailgirls Pop Up at START

June 2, 2011 by cheriecity

Islington-based Nailgirls have teamed up with Nailgirls regular Brix Smith-Start to host a pop up salon at her Shoreditch boutique, START.

Nailgirls are quickly gaining a reputation as ‘the fashion nail polishes’, with trend-led seasonal collections and numerous catwalk collaborations. So for just one week, you can get your nails painted and check out the designers that have inspired the nail polishes.

Nailgirls have created London Fashion Week looks for the past three seasons, including Erdem, Holly Fulton, Felder Felder and Hannah Marshall.

The Summer 2011 nail polish collection takes inspiration from the neon, khaki and florals seen at Christopher Kane, Lanvin, Paul & Joe, Marc Jacobs and DVF.

I found Nailgirls polishes to be long-lasting, bold and glossy and even better, they are free from chemical nasties, are not tested on animals and are vegan-friendly.

Pop along to START for a shape and paint from 2nd -5th June. You might even see Brix’s pugs Gladys and Pixie indulging in some pampering!

Cafes, London

Old Curiosity Cafe: The Bridge in Shoreditch

January 31, 2010 by cheriecity

Steven’s psycho-geography walks for his Fine Art course have proved to be pretty useful, when he came home with tales of a new Dickensian-style coffee house under the bridge on Shoreditch High Street.

So, after our lunch at Monsieur M. and a gander down to Start London, in the hope of seeing Brix and her lovely pugs (no luck, but two pugs spotted playing in Hoxton Square), we headed to The Bridge for coffee and cake.

The coffee house has been painted in a murky maroon colour and like many Shoreditch establishments, has a grate over the window, so you could quite easily miss it.

Inside, it’s like stepping back in time to a Victorian coffee house, with an almost obsessive collection of old photographs, vintage Coca Cola adverts, tiny trinkets, Tiffany lamps and gilt mirrors. They even have a handful of the most gorgeous copper Elektra coffee machines and an old fashioned cash register (so it’s cash only at the moment).

The coffee house also looks like it might have been inspired by traditional northern Italian local caffes, with shelves and shelves of Italian coffee, syrups, panettone and home coffee machines.

The Cypriot owner and his Italian staff are really friendly and welcoming and you can tell how proud they are of the new venture. We ordered a latte, hot chocolate and a huge slice of cherry cheesecake to share. We were ready to take a seat at the bar, but the owner told us that if it was our first time there, we might like to sit upstairs.

We went up into what can only be described as a Proustian/Miss Havisham salon crossed with an antique shop, with beautiful Marie Antoinette-style furniture. The loft area has high wooden beams, creaky wooden flooring and is literally on a level with the bridge. It has a relaxed, sociable atmosphere, helped by a soundtrack of classical music, and the tables are arranged almost likes booths, so you can have some privacy for gossiping.

The coffee was just as delicious as you’d expect, although the hot chocolate was rather forgettable powder and milk combo – I’ll be ordering a cappuccino next time. The cherry cheesecake was pretty good – a generous but light and lemony filling with a soft sponge base and sweet cherry compote on top. I’m not sure if the sponge base made it more authentically Italian, but it nonetheless, it was a nice treat.

There’s a good selection of comfort desserts like apple strudel, Portugese custard tarts and mountainous cream cakes, which the owner told me are delivered fresh in the morning (although that didn’t win me over, as I still hate cream cakes). Most of the people around us were ordering giant paninis to share, so maybe the sandwiches could be worth a try next time.

The best thing about The Bridge is the warm, familiar service that makes you feel like a local, even on the first visit. The waitress gave us cake recommendations and told us that most of the trinkets and coffee equipment came from Cyprus and Italy. Apparently, the downstairs area took a mighty eight months to complete, while the upstairs salon fell into place within two weeks.

Despite being open for just 17 days, already there’s a steady stream of Shoreditch hipsters using the cafe as their second home, having long, afternoon meet-ups and snuggling in the corners. The waitress told me that a number of people have fallen asleep on the sofas upstairs, and I can just imagine it, as it has such a louche, soporific atmosphere.

We paid £8.50 for two hot drinks and a slice of cheesecake, which seems average for this part of town, although the hot chocolate was overpriced at £3 (go for a coffee instead).

The Bridge isn’t like any other place in London, let alone Shoreditch, so go now and find your regular sofa while it’s still peaceful and bookish – lets hope the media loud mouths don’t invade with their Blackberrys!

The Bridge Coffee House, 15 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London, E2 8AA.

Bars, London, Restaurants

LA pizza in the heart of east London

November 3, 2009 by cheriecity

Pizza East has been on my eaterie radar for quite some time now, so when my mum came down to visit last week, I thought I would make plans and actually book somewhere in the neighbourhood, rather than trawling round Soho in the hope of finding somewhere we both liked. Ok, my neighbourhood is actually Hackney Central, but the Kingland Road stretch just seems like a hop and a skip away when there’s good food to be had.

We tried to book a table for three and each time I rang, they only had availability for ‘early bird suppers’ at 6.30pm. However, it was suggested that we’d have more luck if we turn up and wait for a table at the time we wanted to eat. I guess this is quite a democratic system, as it stops the restaurant being jammed up with bookings for weeks ahead and prevents such pretentions as ‘waiting lists’.

pizza east centre bar

We were told we would have to wait an hour for a table but they would try to get us seated earlier, although it did end up this long, so we had a bottle of Peroni at the bar. The bar had a great atmosphere and was a veritable ‘who’s who’ of Shoreditch fashion and media types, with Brix Smith-Start buzzing around, waiting for her table. Despite trying to appear patient and happily lost in conversation, everyone looked so restless that they might have grabbed one of the Italian hams hanging from the ceiling and gnawed away on it there and then.

So, why is everyone falling over each other to dine at Pizza East when there are plenty of pizza joints in the east end? Well, it’s the latest venture of Soho House group founder Nick Jones, also the owner of Shoreditch House, directly above Pizza East in the Tea Building (on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road.

pizza east chairs

The pizzas are apparently inspired by the wood-fired sourdough those at LA’s Pizzeria Mozza, with a mix of classic Italian combinations and house speciality pizzas like veal meatballs with sage, lemon, parsley and cream and another with duck sausage, artichoke, parmesan and boschetto al tartufo.

We started with two orders of garlic bread to share, which came on rustic wooden chopping boards. Each potion consisted of two massive hunks of ciabatta oozing delicious garlic butter with fresh parsley, so luckily we didn’t go for one each.

Our waiter was a chatty Italian guy with very cool Ray-Ban glasses, who recommended his personal favourites and came over almost every time he passed to see if we needed anything.

pizza east garlic bread

Next up was the much-anticipated pizza, although the garlic bread and Peroni had mellowed my growling stomach enough not to wolf it down without wild abandon.

I ordered the speck with rocket, my mum went for the portobello mushroom, shallot, parsley and egg, and Steven chose the hottest pizza on the menu so he didn’t have to share (sorry, maybe it’s just a coincidence), which was salami, red onion and red chilli flakes.

The sourdough base was unlike any I’ve ever tried before and had a crisp, bubbly crust and soft but not too flimsy centre. There was a generous covering of smooth tomato sauce made in-house and the most flavoursome mozzarella clustered near the middle. The speck tasted well-matured and the rocket was super fresh and robust – all in all, everything I could have hoped for in a pizza and more.

pizza east pizza

There was a bit of cross-table swappage and I can report that the salami had a much more meaty texture and flavour than the generic, uniformly thin and greasy versions and the portobello mushrooms had a slightly nutty, garlic taste.

Pizza East also claim to source seasonal and local produce, although I’m sure most of the pizza ingredients are imported from Italy, as they taste so authentic. The guy next to us ordered the most tender and slow-cooked beef cheek, so perhaps the meat and staple ingredients are from home turf.

We were left feeling pretty full after the starter and main meal (rarely would I go for double bread action in one sitting), but it would have been a shame not to try the desserts, so we ordered the salted chocolate caramel tart on the recommendation of our ‘new best friend’ waiter. It only seems logical that when sharing between three, you go for the richest, most decadent dessert to make up for all that spoon clashing and thimble-sized portions.

The waiter told us we would get a surprise and in fact there were two – our tart was covered in snowflakes of rock salt and we were given a taster of delightful Moscato dessert wine, that was made in the village next to where he was from.

pizza east caramel tart

The salt really complimented the velvety, sweet caramel and dark chocolate and the pastry was exceptional, with a sandy texture that is really hard to achieve. With the flaked almonds and mascarpone/soured cream, the dessert took on the taste of a really posh dime bar – absolutely delicious!

I expected that due to Pizza East’s location and lineage that it may be somewhat standoffish and have the tense atmosphere of hipsters experiencing carb-guilt (a neurosis I also suffer from at certain strong-willed times of the year). However, the staff were so welcoming and open and there was a great buzz of everyone getting stuck in Italian-style and chatting freely. There are also small touches from Shoreditch House such as Cowshed handsoap and lotion in the bathrooms that remind you that it’s not just your regular pizzeria.

I also kind of like the communal dining aspect, as you never know who you could be sat next to, and as I usually end up next to the village nut-job, they’re often keep you entertained. It did feel like I was sitting on a wooden toadstool though, so a proper bench or comfy seat wouldn’t go amiss.

pizza east bar

I’m looking forward to Pizza East’s take-out service that’s due to launch in December and I like the idea of having a deli counter where you can buy store cupboard items like oil and sauces, as well as branded products from the restaurant. I’m also tempted by the charcuterie and cheese boards on offer at the centre bar – great for avoiding the pizza-induced mid-afternoon slump and the tedious queuing.

Not only is Pizza East the most exciting new restaurant in the Shoreditch area, but it has the friendly feel of a neighbourhood restaurant that could quite easily become my ‘local’ for years to come, and that’s not a decision I take lightly!

Pizza East, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ