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Locally sourced and sustainable British seafood is the hot ticket at Goddard & Gibbs at the 100 Shoreditch Hotel, a new seafood restaurant that’s headed by chef Thomas Moore (formerly of Ormer in Mayfair) replacing the old Hoi Polloi restaurant inside Ace Hotel.
On my Friday evening visit, the place was packed with fashion types in shredded Balenciaga hoodies wearing sunglasses indoors, families and first dates all enthusiastically digging into gigantic sharing seafood platters and towering piles of oysters. A good sign.
We’re in Shoreditch, so the interiors are fancy. Think: terrazzo tables, big paper lamps, dark wood panelling and leather banquettes. Plus a massive yellow wooden sculptural showpiece in the centre of the dining room that wouldn’t look out of place in the town of Bedrock.
We started with a cracking plate of fried calamari rings that were light, bronzed and crunchy, tinged with the flavour of lemon and paired with a creamy aioli dip that didn’t hold back on the garlic. I could’ve easily eaten another plate of this holiday-inducing squid all by myself.
Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for the rustic seafood stew with mussels and chorizo. It had a nice kick to it, but it was one-note and forgettable. As for the emblematic dish? Enter the hefty roasted skate wing. It was a proper whopper that barely fitted my plate and was definitely made for sharing (or for one very hungry person). The delicately sweet flesh was perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper and doused in an addictive chilli XO butter, made with umami-packed dried scallops and shrimp. It was served with a portion of shovel-worthy, shatteringly crispy skinny fries that I wished would never end.
As for the emblematic dish? Enter the hefty roasted skate wing
Desserts at Goddard & Gibbs are strictly super-retro. The chocolate fondant felt a bit ‘Come Dine with Me’, with less backstabbing scoring and more oozing chocolate centre that melted into a glorious goo. It was paired with a surprising, bright and zingy passion fruit sorbet to cut through the richness. My pal went for a nostalgic sticky treacle cake with spiced apple ice cream, which tasted like Bonfire Night. Tens all around.
The service was attentive, at times a little too attentive. The waitress was excellent at giving us recommendations and refilling our drinks, but it felt a tad overbearing as staff kept hovering over us and taking cutlery and plates away before they were even finished.
All in all, the food here is pretty good and pretty safe. Some dishes are bangers, some not, and there is better oceanic bounty to be had elsewhere in this city.
What is it? A chic seafood spot in Shoreditch inside 100 Shoreditch Hotel (ex-Ace Hotel)
Why go? For the massive skate wing with XO butter that’s the size of your head.
The vibe An achingly chic and trendy hangout for fashion types, parents and dates coming together
The food Seafood with a side of more seafood – the calamari and skate are highlights.
The drink A hefty list covers all regions and bases from fortified wines to rosés, and sakes to ciders and perries.
Time Out tip For a digestif, head to Mr. Lyan’s new bar Seed Library right next door.