Bistrotheque, the hidden restaurant | London

Bistrotheque was absolutely buzzing on a Sunday afternoon. For a pretty hidden restaurant in a converted warehouse with no sign or whatsoever on the entrance, it has definitely done something right to be so busy. The first time I was here long time ago, I remember walking up and down the street not knowing where the entrance was. Even after asking the very few people who walked pass, no one knew until I somehow followed my gut to find my way up. 

 

The lively restaurant has an open kitchen, a bar with seating surrounding it and a spacious dining area with hanging lights. 

It was nice that there was a grand piano in the dining area and the beautiful tunes the pianist played throughout the day, filled the room with grace. It certainly enhanced the dining experience. 

 

The menu

Even though we did not make any reservation and the restaurant was fully booked, we were swiftly showed to be seated by the bar which we did not mind at all. I actually liked it, as we get to see what goes on behind the scene and had direct view of the open kitchen. I have to report back that no apparent kitchen chaos has been spotted.

The Bloody Mary here was good and had a real kick with enough spice, unlike the killer Nasty Mary I had in Mumbai

Mini Cheeseburger

Believe it or not, both my male dining companions ordered the mini burger with chips on the side for brunch while I ordered a main of steak tartar with chips and salad! Men these days must be feeling the dieting pressure as well it seems. 

 Steak tartar with chips and salad

I was well pleased with my steak tartar which I was told is one of the most popular dish of the restaurant. Although I really enjoyed it, I thought it was quite a large portion for me as it got cloying after getting through about half of the plate. 

The Open Kitchen

After a few pleasant experience here, I am looking forward to their new restaurant, Hoi Polloi at Ace Hotel in Shoreditch.

Smile..

I recommend their fixed price menu for early dinner as it is of good value. The live piano tunes really enhanced the Sunday lunch experience.

Frown..

My salad which was supposed to be served with the main course came 10 minutes later.

Will I return?

Well, I have.

Bistrotheque

23-27 Wadeson Street
E2 9DR London, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8983 7900

Closest station: Bethnal Green / Cambridge Heath

  

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Brunch at Cafe 338 | London

Good morning! Weekdays are over and a good hearty breakfast will be a great way to start the weekend! If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Bethnal Green road, there is a corner café with white walls covered in lillustration where you will see a queue of people trying to get possibly their first cup of coffee or freshly squeezed orange juice. Well, join the queue. The queue moves pretty quickly, considering the size of this café. There are about a dozen tables or so packed really close to each other, there’s only space for one skinny person to walk between them. Even though it gets very busy, service is still prompt, friendly and attentive. 

Mega breakfast with 2 slices of toasts and a cup of free tea or coffee. 

Girls, even if you think this gigantic portion of breakfast sounds great and will fill you up the whole day, think twice cause it is indeed very very filling, even for a hungry man. A girl sat next to us ordered it and left pretty much half of the plate untouched.

The pancake menu is for those of us who likes a little bit of both savoury and sweet. Remember to place the pancakes closer to your side cause who knows, the friend or boyfriend you are with might be a pancake stealer!! Yup, I only managed to have one of that fluffy pancake with overflowing golden syrup.

Smile..

There is freshly squeezed juice, cheap, good and big portion.

Frown..

There's a queue and it's cold outside but who cares if you want proper breakfast.

Will I return?

Yes

Cafe 338

338 Bethnal Green Rd
E2 0AG United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7729 0246

Closest station: Bethnal Green (central)

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Hurwundeki Cafe and Hair Salon | London

Hurwundeki used to be a shop based on the trendy Commercial Street selling vintage clothes . The clothes they had there was really interesting, perfect for the location. The Korean owner also opened up his hair salon at the same premise. But as the recession hits, business went downhill and it was impossible to sustain the shop at the pricey location so the shop at Commercial Street was closed down and this cafe at Cambridge Heath was born. He has been quite versatile and changed to fit his business to the ever changing times. Since this cafe first opened, it has become quite a popular spot for morning coffee especially when the weather is good as there are lots of seating outside with very interesting decor. Even the inside of the cafe seems to look like everything was either hand made or recycled yet keeping its original form. A very unique space, I must say.

View from inside the cafe

Their new menu

When I was here about a year ago, they had limited food on the menu and the main was twice the price than it is now. They have even added a new deal of £10 for 1 main + 1 side dish + gim (roasted seaweed). Be aware that all korean restaurants and cafes always serve Banchan ahead of your meals. And these are free so in actual fact, even ordering a main on its own per person, is enough for a simple meal.

Water with mint in the bottle

Banchan (means side dish in English) is served prior to the food you ordered. The banchan served here was korean miso soup, kimchi and beansprouts.

Kimchi Jeon, a spicy korean kimchi and spring onion pancake

I quite like the Bibimbap in hot stone pot. It's spicy, with lots of vegetables, egg and beef; one of my favourite simple korean food. It is one of those everything in a bowl sort of food that you could easily make at home. The best thing about this dish is that you get to add as much chilli sauce as you like and mix it all up into a messy pot of deliciousness while it's still cooking itself in the hot stone pot.

The spicy pork bulgogi  marinated in spicy chilli pepper sauce, served on a hot plate was quite good although I would like it to be spicier. It's just me, being brought up with mountains of chilli.

They also have a hair salon next to the cafe with very affordable quick haircuts. The women's hair stylist is the owner of Hurwundeki, a very experienced and creative man who used to train at Vidal Sassoon and used to style the hair of Korean celebrities. As my hair was in dire need of haircut and did not have time to go all the way to my usual stylist in Soho, I braved myself for this haircut for convenience sake. I must say, I was pretty happy with the result and this is probably the cheapest haircut I have had in London! What a find. Will probably come back for a cut again.

Hurwundeki Cafe & Hair Salon

298 - 299 Cambridge Heath Road
E2 9HA London, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 7969 537871

Closest station: Cambridge Heath (rail), Bethnal Green (central line)

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Buen Ayre : Argentinian Steakhouse

Latin music playing in the background gave a nice ambience to the cosy and no fuss steakhouse. It is a small restaurant with tables placed very closely to each other, there is not much room to manoeuvre. One of our friend was late and we told them that he was on his way but the staff was still hurrying for us to order every other minute. I understand we were told there was a two hour turnaround which we will respect but it was not cool to be bugging us so very often. We ordered a starter first just so she could leave us alone until our friend arrives.

Finally, we ordered and were left in peace.

Grilled flat mushrooms with pesto and garnish of beans and salad. Decent.

Chips with garlic and parsley was fat and crispy.

8 oz grilled Argentine Sirloin steak

My medium Sirloin steak was generous in size, pink, nicely charred and slightly lacked in seasoning. It was served with chimichurri on the side but was not needed. We, who ordered the 8 oz Sirloin steak believed it weighed more, almost similar to our friend's 14 oz Sirloin. We were not complaining, of course. One comment though, was that the steak was all served with the same garnish of butter beans, roast pepper and salad. It was the same garnish we had for starter. Although simple and decent, they could do better with a different garnish for both starter and main. It would definitely make the diners more excited than, “Oh, the same garnish again!?..”

I will recommend the prime fillet (image bellow) over the sirloin. It was more flavourful and has less fat. But of course, it is just my preference.

10 oz grilled prime Argentine fillet steak with garnish of bean and salad

We were too stuffed by the end of the meal that there was no more space left for dessert. Normally, I will fret over not ending my meal with sweet little something but not this time as the dessert menu did not spark my temptation. Guess that was good. Otherwise, I would not be able to lift my heavy belly out of the seat. I would sum up this neighbourhood Argentinian steakhouse as reasonably priced, adequate but not brilliant.

Smile..

Generous portion. Honest well cooked steak.

Frown..

Service could be better. Dessert menu requires more excitement.

Will I return?

Will return with less expectation for a simple and affordable steak meal.

Buen Ayre

50 Broadway Market
London E8 4QJ

Tel: +44 (0)20 7275 9900

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The Corner Room

The Corner Room is Nuno Mendes's vision of neighbourhood restaurant that serves affordable and exciting food. I became a fan of Nuno Mendes after my visit to his Michelin starred Viajante restaurant.

The restaurant decor of multiple hanging lamps in its wooden interior.

Squid, Jersey Royals and Fennel, beautifully served with black squid ink. 

Mackarel with Rhubarb Granita

This was my favourite dish of the night, other than the dessert. It is very pretty and playful. The granita gave a hit of coldness and then melts in your mouth combining perfectly with the mackarel. Those little pink balls are what they call the rhubarb caviar. This is done by releasing rhubarb flavoured liquid droplets with a syringe into a calcium bath. This is called spherification, a molecular gastronomy technique. What is interesting about these little spherical caviar is that every ball is only protected by a thin membrane and when bit into, the liquid oozes out. I bit those balls one by one to experience the oozing liquid although little, just cause I could. It is like pinching bubble wrap, but different.

Lamb rump, Fennel and Salsa Verde, juicy and pink.

Seabass with courgette and potatoes

I cannot remember the name of this dessert but it has a soil-like texture and moss-like taste to the dessert. Very intriguing taste and texture combination but not something I will order again. 

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ice Cream

This dessert on the other hand, will be everyone's favourite. Chocolate and peanut butter on its own is enough to give you the picture of how indulgent this could be. It was sweet heaven on a plate, with multiple texture; peanut brittle, crumbly dark chocolate brownie, smooth milky chocolate mousse, peanut butter cubes and silky peanut butter vanilla ice cream.

This is by far one of my favourite restaurant based on affordability and quality of food. The service was equally fantastic, especially the Estonian girl waiting on our table. The corner room is in my opinion the experimental lab of Viajante with paying customers. Very artistic and fun. They never used to take reservation but now they do, only for lunch between 12pm - 3.30pm. Dinner is walk-in only, and is open for breakfast too.

Smile..

Inspiring, fun and affordable with great service.

Frown..

All smiles, no frown.

Will I return?

Big fat YES.

The Corner Room

Town Hall Hotel
Patriot Square, Bethnal Green
London, E2 9NF

Tel + 44 (0) 20 7871 0461
No Reservation

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Le Pont de la Tour

Barrica

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Four hour sunday lunch at Viajante

What better way to spend a slow and relaxing Sunday afternoon lunching with the girls! Even better, we were at Viajante! The food and service were impeccable from start till finish. Nuno Mendes even came personally to present the food to us, with a humble smile. We all agreed that his messy yet artistic hair suits him very well. Aaa-aa-aa.. the creative vibe that completes with his brilliant art of food. His success is down to his passion, creativity in pairing ingredients and the eye for details, a perfectionist.

We had the three course lunch which is more than enough food for us, with the complimentary amuse bouche and yummy in-betweens. I  highly recommend it. You will see for yourself from the pictures below. I know you will be salivating after the first picture.  Enjoy!!

Nibbles ~ Thai explosion, Lobster croquette, Puffed amaranth with sorrel

Amuse bouche ~ Cured Arctic char with barley tea and radishes

Very light japanese inspired dish.

Bread & butter ~ Brown sugar bacon butter, Potato bread, Paprika brioche, Pork fat emulsion and pine nut 

We were happily spreading slabs of fat on the soft and fluffy bread :)

Starter ~ Yuzu crab with herbal broth and shimeji mushroom

A very beautiful and elegant starter. Flavours were well balanced.

Main ~ Roast beef skirt with girolles, turnips and yeast

Pre-dessert ~ Frozen marzipan with celery and lime

This is definitely a good palette cleanser. The component I liked most about this pre-dessert was the green granita that worked very well with the almond frozen marzipan. It was light and refreshing. Even the colour had a serene feel to it. It had a good ratio of the earthy, leafy yet distinctive smell and taste of celery, plus the slight sharp acidity of the lime. Might even try recreating a simplified version of this granita soon.

Dessert ~ Beetroot with dark chocolate and creme fraiche

This dessert is fantastic; the earthy beetroot and bitter sweet dark chocolate are made for each other, and the creme fraiche that comes in at the end gives it an extra finishing touch. Even the little green leaves and flower had their purpose of enhancing the dessert.

Petit fours ~ Mushroom chocolate truffle with coconut marshmallows

Who would think of adding mushroom in a chocolate truffle? Yet again, we still get confused with truffle the fungus and truffle the chocolate. Maybe that is the irony of it all.

We left the restaurant, full and satisfied. Who cares about the waistline. Eat and worry later.

VIAJANTE

Town Hall Hotel
Patriot Square, Bethnal Green
London, E2 9NF

Tel + 44 (0) 20 7871 0461

You may also like:

The Corner Room

Pollen Street Social

Alimentum

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