Hackney Central | cheriecity.co.uk

Bars, London

A Great Lunch at Hackney Church Brew Co.

June 17, 2018 by cheriecity

This weekend saw the opening of Hackney Church Brew Co, a new taproom and kitchen at the far end of Bohemia Place at Hackney Central. Tucked away under two railway arches just off Mare Street, it’s an impressive space featuring a brewery, bar and dining room, open kitchen and beer garden.

Co-founders Luke Scanlon and brewer Ryan Robbins had the idea of creating a local social space that brings people together through world-class beer, great food and music. Named after the parish church on Lower Clapton Road, the socially-conscious brewpub is reviving the church’s long-forgotten brewing tradition – there was previously a brewery on-site a few hundred years ago.

Beautifully-designed by Red Deer (Lina Stores, Smokestak and Bourne & Hollinsworth), it retains its industrial warehouse feel while paying tribute to the church with restored pews, wooden beams and long candlesticks.

Since it’s conveniently on our doorstep, we dropped by for an early Saturday lunch and happened to be their very first customers. While I usually think it’s fairer to give new places a chance to settle in, it was fun to be part of the opening excitement and the 10% opening day discount was very welcome.

I ordered a Lindeman’s Kriek cherry beer that had a refreshing sweet and sour taste while Steven went for a pint of their own brewed American pale ale with floral notes of chamomile and pineapple. We sat in the glorious beer garden watching the trains go by to a chilled-out soundtrack while waiting for our meal to arrive.

Emilio Stavrou helms the kitchen with Ela, a Greek-Cypriot concept of small plates and grills, inspired by his favourite kebab shop in his family hometown of Nicosia, Cyprus.

Everything arrived piping hot from the barbecue and it was the perfect feast to go with our cold beer in the sun. The Devonshire pork kebab was succulent and juicy with a generous amount of meat tucked inside fluffy pitta with cooling tzatziki, finely-chopped lettuce and spring onion. The Devonshire chicken skewer was also tender and high quality with subtle seasoning (not at all spicy) and a char-grilled finish.

Bulgar with sun-dried tomato was light and springy with pieces of vermicelli noodles and fresh parsley, while the Cypriot potato chips were crispy and seasoned like the ones you’d find in a traditional taverna. We also loved the incredibly moreish Smoked aubergine dip, topped with jewel-like pomegranate seeds and parsley. Everything looked quite dainty presented on the tray, but those black terracotta dishes were deceiving, as the portion sizes were substantial and we ordered the right amount for a filling lunch.

The highest price is just £7.65 for a hearty kebab and most dishes are under a fiver, so you can try a few different bites. There are also decent amount of vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu.

St John at Hackney Brewery is already shaping up to be a local hit and there’s a lot to like about it. The staff are genuinely friendly, prices are competitive for the quality and it’s all done with care and soul. As they say on the beer mats, it’s a place for ‘all sorts’.

For more information and menus, visit: www.hackneychurchbrew.co

All photos by Chérie City

London, Restaurants

The quest for the perfect Sunday Lunch…

November 30, 2009 by cheriecity

After reading Time Out’s recent rehashed guide to the London’s best Sunday Lunches, I was dismayed to read that the average asking price at the places their recommended was around £50-£60 for two dinners, drinks and service. It seems pretty steep to when you can get two-course meals at restaurants like Asia de Cuba, Theo Randall and The Grill at The Dorchester on Toptable for around the same price.

Since moving to London, I still haven’t found a really great Sunday Lunch at a reasonable price and the search continues. I tried out the Roast and Reggae (£10-£12) at East Village in Shoreditch and while the beef was nice and tender, the Yorkshire Pudding was like a giant ball of lard – dumpy and heavy as lead. I also treated my old flatmate to Sunday Lunch at The Winchester in Islington (£12.95) where it was 2 for 1 and you could have a choice of various ‘roasted’, ‘aged’ and ‘rolled’ meats. The dinner was tasty, generous and a pretty good deal, but personally, I’m not so fussed on parsnips and mange tout, so it’s not the holy grail of Sunday Lunches for me.

Yesterday, it was the boyfriend’s birthday and he was stuck typing away on a uni essay, so we stayed local and went to The Old Ship in Hackney to try out their Sunday Lunch, mostly because it sounded scrumptious, and is literally across the road. The Old Ship is one of Mare Street’s only gastropubs and it’s hidden away from the madness of the main street and accessed through a long hallway or a residential back entrance.

old ship dining

The Old Ship is open plan with sectioned off dining and lounging areas and has a homely, welcoming atmosphere, with urban-rustic wallpaper, gilt mirrors and plush leather sofas. The menu is divided into land, sea, birds and wild food, pig, etc. and is full of carnivorous delights like belly pork, wild hare and quail terrine and pan-fried chicken livers – a bit of the countryside in Hackney Central!

We went for the Roast Galloway Beef (£9.50) served with traditional seasonal trimmings. As the plates trickled out of the kitchen, we knew we were in for a long wait….and we were! The waitresses were lovely an apologetic, but there must have been some staffing issues in the kitchen. After waiting for what felt like eternity, on an empty stomach, the meal arrived looking splendid, but tepid at best. I asked for mine to be reheated and then tucked in.

the old ship dinner

The beef (cooked medium) was delicious and like the roast potatoes, had a hint of rosemary. I enjoyed the buttered savoy cabbage, but the steamed carrots and green beans could have done with some more seasoning. The nicely-sized Yorkshire Pudding was nice and crispy on the outside, but was like a well of oil in the middle. Everything was tasty enough and the presentation was excellent, but apart from the beef, there were no particularly interesting flavours.

The Old Ship is a lovely place to come and have a drink on a Sunday and maybe some bar snack – they do a selection of British tapas dishes. The menu is adventurous and the quality of the produce was excellent, so I reckon it was just a bad day in the kitchen. I’ll give them a second chance at some point, but I’ve been hearing rumblings about excellent roasts in Victoria Park village. I will report back soon!

Accessories, Fashion, London, Shopping, Stores

From the catwalk to Hackney…

November 17, 2009 by cheriecity

Inspired by Burberry’s new ‘social networking site’, Art of the Trench, I met up with my Italian friend Cristina for breakfast and a long-overdue trip to the Burberry Factory Outlet at Hackney Central (ah, the luxury of Bond Street shopping just five minutes away).

Having heard rumours on the net about Burberry disciples hunting out jackets for a mere £80, we had high expectations and fully intended to emerge dressed like the slightly smug, Sartorialist-snapped hipsters on the site.

The outlet is like a shining fashion beacon, almost temple-like, in the middle of a particularly non-descript part of Hackney. On arrival, we were asked to put all of our world belongings (apart from our purses, conveniently) in the lockers at the entrance. Usually I’d be horrified at the thought of being separated from my keys, phone and other handbag essentials, but it actually lent to more efficient browsing and I knew my possessions would be safe under the watchful eye of the burly security guards and stern Italian lady on the door.

Our hearts leapt when greeted by a large, checked, although slightly hideous bag at the front of the store, which was just £149. We were ready to scoop up some of the more tasteful pieces, however, the so-called bargain was more of a mirage than a taste of things to come. The bags that you’d actually want to have on your arm, from the runway collections, were priced between £300 and £700, although this was a mighty discount from the original £1000+.

Discounts range from a shy 20% up to a massive 70%. Cristina found a gorgeous silk and net cocktail dress in either brown or red that was reduced from £1230 to £120!

Burberry tend to go for one style of shoe for the catwalk shows, and low and behold, I spotted the black patent leather heels with ruched straps from the Autumn/Winter 08 show and the olive green lace-ups from the Spring/Summer 09 collection, all gracing the tootsies of models like Agy, Daisy, Irina and Sasha.

My tops picks of the trip included a delicate, iridescent silver mac for £150, some studded/warrior leather gloves for £89 and some incredible black lace-up, calf-lenth boots for just £200. Cristina hunted out a gorgeous silk and net cocktail dress in chocolate brown or berry red that was reduced from £1230 to £120!

There are some more affordable items like perfume gift sets from £29, checked wool scarves from £69 and a selection of purses and jewellery, including the square warrior cuff from last summer. The great thing about the Burberry outlet is that there are timeless, investment pieces that you buy for a snip of the price and can keep forever. The prices aren’t exactly cheap, but if you’re in the market for one excellent quality bag or trench, then you can upgrade from high end high street to luxury for just a little bit extra.

The outlet doesn’t offer refunds or exchanges, so make sure you’ve tried on your purchase, that there are no visible production faults and most of all, that you really love it. It can be quite easy to kid yourself into liking the best of the pile in the name of a bargain! Come armed with Christmas money and scour the clearance rails with a fine tooth comb for the real discounts.

Burberry Factory Outlet, 29-53 Chatham Place, Hackney, London, E9 6LP

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-5pm.

How to get there: Overground: Hackney Central Tube: Bethnal Green + 106/254 bus to Hackney Town Hall or 20 minutes walk.

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