A new restaurant has arrived in Hoxton this summer, with fantastic food, a relaxed ambiance and an enviable outdoor terrace. Nothing unusual there, but what if I told you it’s on a college campus and the kitchen brigade is made up of both student and professional chefs?
OKN1 is a vibrant neighbourhood restaurant that opened in June at New City College Hackney on Hoxton Street. Created in collaboration with Des McDonald Associates Concept Design, this beautifully-designed restaurant connects promising student chefs with the hospitality world. As part of their course, they have the opportunity to take on paid work at OKN1, preparing them for life in a professional kitchen.
Following an extensive refurbishment, the restaurant (formerly Open Kitchen) is now fully open to the public and offers an all-day New European menu.
We visited for dinner on a particularly hot evening and it was a joy to be greeted by the friendly staff and seated at a bright, comfortable table by the window with a refreshing Blackberry iced tea swiftly delivered. The restaurant instantly felt calm, unpretentious and stylish and the front of house team were great ambassadors – welcoming, knowledgeable about the menu and keen to please.
Our meal started with the most fantastic Grilled Wykham asparagus and lovage aioli – in fact, it’s the best asparagus dish I’ve ever tasted. The perfectly-cooked asparagus was very well-seasoned (perhaps with a light stock before grilling) and the subtle, herby aioli was so moreish that we scooped every last bit onto our bread.
Popcorn chicken and charred sweetcorn relish was a very different style of starter but also a hit. Large chunks of high quality, succulent chicken breast were coated in fine, crispy breadcrumbs and served with a generous amount of aromatic, piquant sweetcorn relish. The chicken wasn’t at all greasy and it contrasted nicely with the bold, fragrant and uplifting flavours of the sweetcorn relish.
Suffolk bacon chop with a fried egg and devilled sauce was hearty and satisfying – traditional comfort food at its best. The bacon chop was tender and smoky without being overly salty and went really well with the sweet and tangy devilled sauce, finished with a farm fresh fried egg with a bright orange, runny yolk. We found it substantial enough on its own, but you might like to accompany it with a side of Chicken salt chips.
The star dish, however, was the Hake fillet with Cornish dirties, chorizo and roasted peppers. This superior (and rather enormous) fillet of hake was expertly cooked with moist, flaky flesh and a pleasingly crispy, slightly salted skin. The Cornish dirties had a touch of natural creaminess and sweetness, which worked well with the generous chunks of spicy, indulgent chorizo and tart roasted peppers.
Luckily we still had room for dessert and the Raspberry frangipane tart with clotted cream was an absolute delight. The golden, buttery pastry was exemplary and the frangipane was light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness, studded with lovely fresh raspberries. The decadent scoop of clotted cream finished it off nicely.
The Little salted caramel and puffed amaranth pot certainly looked the part with sprinkles, cookie crumble and a touch of gold leaf. It was creamy and velvety with a crunchy texture from the amaranth and some delicious crispy chocolate-coated biscuits for dipping. Slightly bolder flavours would take this dessert to the next level, but it was still very enjoyable.
We were absolutely blown away by the high standard of cooking, quality of ingredients and meticulous presentation of the dishes we tried at OKN1. The main courses were particularly accomplished and rather daring for chefs in training – in fact, they had all the flavour and finesse that you’d expect from seasoned restaurant chefs.
OKN1 is a real gem in the East End and its fabulous terrace is definitely the place to be during these warmer months. It’s such an impressive, well-curated facility that’s sure to give Hackney’s next generation of chefs a great head-start in the hospitality industry. I can’t wait to return and try some of the brunch dishes and those very tempting double chocolate brownies.
For more information and booking, visit: www.okn1.co.uk
Chérie City was a guest of OKN1
Food images by Chérie City, interiors by OKN1
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