Restaurants

By Simone Baird

Often obscured by parked cars at night, and located on the squeeze-past-me side of the street across from the Vibe Bar, it's easy to miss Brick Lane's latest restaurant. Inside, 30-foot-tall white walls, bare bricks and some hit-and-miss modern art decorate the two mezzanine levels, while the ground floor of this supper club comes alive with burlesque, cabaret and magic performers appearing most nights.

Three courses, or a grazing six-course? The Modern European menu made the decision a hard one; in the end we opted for the sensible, it's-a-school-night three courses. A starter of mackerel mousse was sublime - meaty, rich and served with pumpernickel soldiers and a salad of leaves, herbs and earthy beetroot - while the delicious rare tuna came with a shot of wasabi foam and crisp fried ginger on a Jenga-stack of cucumber batons.

The main course of pork belly came in a flavoursome sauce with capers and brown shrimp, balancing the sweetness of the meat, which was disappointingly dry. The side dishes of green beans and carrots were both hit and miss; the green beans were beautifully done but the carrots boiled, soft and tasteless.

Herb gnocchi swam in pumpkin soup, and the accompanying cinnamon sabayon (in this case, more of a custard) was warm, rich and magnificent. The chef had got a little over-excited with the blowtorch, though: there's a fine line between brûlée and barbecue. A fig tarte tatin came beautifully caramelised, along with a dinky shot glass of maple syrup milkshake and clove ice-cream.

If you're more interested in the performance on stage than the performance of eating, the mezzanine levels tower over the small performing area. However be sure to sit on the ground floor for some eye-level tassel-twirling, as performers will strut around the tables.

Time Out London Issue 1944: November 21-27 2007