Small Plate Sessions at the Last Days of Shoreditch

You know summer is really here when London's rooftop bars, terraces and outdoor spaces start opening up - including the Last Days of Shoreditch, East London's iconic food and music venue. For those who missed my last blog post (What?? No excuses - go back and read it now!) and in the interests of full disclosure and transparency,  I have been to a couple of Chef Ben Spalding dinners recently as a guest - although this particular visit was as a normal ticket-buying foodie. I mention this only because he has a restaurant residency in the heart of the site and, as a self-confessed fan, I was queueing up to check it out.

The restaurant is the raised, mezzanine part of Last Days of Shoreditch; I visited on the first weekend of opening and the signage wasn't immediately obvious but then you can't really miss it -  in a wonderfully fun and quirky touch, you take stairs up . . . and a slide on the way down!

The restaurant itself is only about 45 covers so there is a fabulous view of the kitchen, where you can watch Ben and his head chef Josh work their magic.

If there is ever a chance of a seat where you get to see the chefs work I am absolutely there. I am endlessly fascinated by the process and the sheer skill involved and I find it humbling to see the energy, passion and focus that goes into every plate.

I had to have the now-famous chicken skin sandwich; literally a sandwich made with thin crispy chicken skin instead of bread - step right up, low-carb Lean in Fifteeners!

Reading the description, I wasn't completely sure about the chicken skin element but actually it is delicious - very light and not at all oily (in other words, not remotely dense and pork scratchings-esque, which was my fear) but still full of that lovely roast flavour. I'm such a convert that I am definitely trying this at home; I'm thinking of mini versions as drinks/pre-BBQ nibbles? 

This was one of the stand-out dishes of the day for me; mackerel cured in Hythe seawater and served with mint, aromatic mango and a Marmite and sourdough mayonnaise. Fear not, haters; you can't actually taste Marmite as such, there's just a light umami tang that beautifully balances out the natural delicacy of the mackerel, paired with the freshness of mango. This is a gorgeous and beautifully plated, summery dish that lets the ingredients shine.

Those of you who have read my Meat Lust BBQ bus tour blog from February (Aw thanks guys! Love you too!) will know how excited I was to finally get to try this Ben Spalding signature dish for the first time.

Ben has changed it up for the restaurant with a duck version and I was not about to miss it in its new incarnation. It didn't disappoint; the creamy richness of the duck set off by the dark caramel notes . . . and that's without the inevitably wonderful people-watching opportunities, as the way you get both together is to lick the parfait off the brick - no cutlery allowed! (Is this the perfect ice-breaker dish for a first date?)

Next up was the beef shortrib. I am not sure how Ben manages to coax such intensity of flavour out of beef but this is fabulous - yielding, rich, intensely meaty. This was a dish from the terrace and so had been cooked on a Mibrasa charcoal oven to give it that delicious barbecue hit. 

The terrace is hands down the best vantage point at Last Days of Shoreditch. This picture was taken as it had just opened - an hour later it was at capacity and people were being turned away at the door (which is good, as they never let it get uncomfortably, heavingly busy - just full and buzzy). The restaurant is bookable on Chef Ben Spalding's website but the terrace is no-reservation; I found that, if you arrive early enough, you can nab a pretty good spot, grab a drink, order your food and  sit back to watch London at play. 

I had a cocktail from the restaurant bar and my companion went for a craft beer from the Gipsy Hill Brewery. My only small gripe would be that, on my visit, wine was only available by the bottle and, with a beer-drinking companion, I would have liked the option of a glass (or two). 

So, on to desserts. Lemongrass Vs Ginger is a light, airy lemongrass cream with a lemongrass puree, zingy, crispy ginger and iced lemon thyme. I'm not normally a sweet person, (yep, not in that way either) but this was good - cool, creamy and refreshing at the same time.

Silky charcoal fudge is given a kick with the inclusion of the Ribman's famous (or perhaps infamous) Holy Fuck sauce, made from scotch bonnet peppers and naga jolokia chillies. It sounds odd, but it really, really works; there is the sweetness of the fudge and then a gentle tingle of warmth from the sauce, which seems to wake up your tastebuds and intensify the depth of chocolate taste. Again, I don't have a sweet tooth but I would say this could be a sharing dish, it's a generous portion. Oh - did I mention it's splashed with rum and SET ON FIRE? Yep.  Welcome to Small Plate Sessions.

The live DJ sets happen immediately beneath the restaurant and terrace, so there is a seriously cool soundtrack to your evening. We stopped by here after dinner and chilled out with a drink to sets (Ben also curates the music on certain nights, under his PuzzleProjects banner) by Ray Mang and Chuggin Edits; it's not often that you get both food and music by such respected names in one place. For those, like me, who love the quality and imagination of seriously good food but don't like the stuffiness, formality, self-importance and price tag that normally goes with, then this is your spot.

We also had a wander around the rest of the site; we had stuffed ourselves so much that we didn't have room for anything from the food stalls but somehow managed a cheeky jug of Pimms and a longing look at the deckchairs. All in all, a pretty fabulous Friday night. Well hello summer . . .  I've missed you. 

Yours, loving the summer evening one-stop shop, 

London Girl About Town xx

Gormley at the White Cube, plus a little Cock and Bull

As a fan of contemporary art, Antony Gormley rates as one of my top three living artists; his incredible Blind Light at the Hayward in 2007 is still my favourite exhibition of all time. I also love the White Cube gallery in Hoxton Square; as it says on the tin, it's a very manageable 2000 square feet of pure, clean white space which has hosted the very best of modern British art since opening in April 2000.
http://whitecube.com/

Imagine then, dear reader, my joy at discovering Still Standing, an Antony Gormley exhibition in that very gallery until mid-September. Still Standing features Gormley's familiar body forms, but this time constructed from small rectangular cast-iron blocks. In the White Cube they can be viewed from different perspectives as you walk amongst them, with nothing to interrupt or impose upon your experience. Entry is free- check the website for opening hours.

Friends who may not be that into art and would moan and groan at the prospect of a trip to the Tate or the National can usually be cajoled into ten or fifteen minutes at the White Cube - particularly as there are some fabulous eateries dotted around the area. On this occasion I had a particular venue in mind; the latest venture from top British chef and Midas-touch restaurateur, Mark Hix.
http://www.chickenandsteak.co.uk/

The Tramshed (so-called because it is housed in an utterly gorgeous high-ceilinged building that was once a tramway generating station) is a three-minute stroll away and has been hitting the headlines because of its main course menu. Not because it is too confusing, or esoteric, or self- congratulatory, but because you basically have two options: steak and chips, or chicken and chips. End of. My companion looked quizzically at the menu and said, 'What do you do if you're a vegetarian?' The answer? Eat somewhere else.

Hix's pal Damien Hirst has supplied two specially-commissioned pieces; a vitrine of a cow and a cockerel (entitled, appropriately, Cock and Bull) dominating the main floor, and a huge Cow and Chicken cartoon on the upper section - are you getting the common theme yet?
Hix haters have been rubbing their hands together in schadenfreude-fuelled glee, predicting that Hix has overstepped himself and will come a cropper over Tramshed. I'm not so sure.

On my visit we opted for the chicken, deciding to skip the three-dish starter sharing plate as we had been warned that the chicken could easily feed three people; they were right, it could.  It arrived upright, claws intact and legs theatrically to the sky, topped with a ball of stuffing and surrounded by a mound of chips finished in chicken fat and rosemary. The staff were delightful and happily carved for us (returning at regular intervals rather than carving it all at once so that it didn't get cold) and the chicken itself was delicious; juicy, flavoursome meat under a seasoned crispy skin. We shared a bottle of the Tramshed red, a light lunchtimey red designed to complement both main course options, and didn't have room for dessert. 

Tramshed also has a gallery called Cock 'n' Bull in the basement which I didn't get a chance to visit, but really want to: as well as traditional viewing space they are building a unique library based on the recommendations of experts in given fields - say, Alice Temperley and Jacquetta Wheeler on fashion. This is a really exciting idea and I'm looking forward to following it as it grows.

So, am I coming back to the Tramshed? You betcha. Anywhere that serves food this good, showcases British art, and puts the soap and hand cream in the ladies' loo in squeezy udders instead of boring plastic bottles has my vote. And anyway, I haven't tried the steak.

You can have anything you want, as long as it's cow or chicken. Hix, we salute you.

Yours carnivorously,

Girl About Town xx