The Trishaw: Nuno Mendes

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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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!!

Thai explosion, Lobster croquette, Pufed amaranth with sorrel

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