Brunswick East
There is definitely something to be said for creating expectation.
Look at that decal. Promisingly, something not mainstream.
Motif repeated on rather snazzy copper plaque at the door if you missed it.
The theme continues into the waiting room. Got to keep it real. Some reacted in a bit of surprise.
It also has spiky things to amuse yourself with.
Or provide something to facepalm with if the food quality meant that my companion laughed at me. If you have met her, you will understand. Her deranged laughter can drive some weak minded people (like me) almost to the grave.
Latte. To enjoy while waiting for our seat. It was rather earthy and rather nice. Smooth without sour twang, it was good coffee.
This is the dining room.
This is the kitchen.
A-MAIZE-ING, homemade feta & padron pepper corn bread served w / whipped harissa feta, stewed cherry tomatoes, avocado, homemade corn relish and kataifi crispy poached egg. This is the food. Excellent. The crispy poached egg was a work of art, so much so that I paused a bit to admire it. That is before my hunger got the better of me which took about 5 seconds. The whole ensemble was greater than the individuals sum of its parts.
The hash, potato, blue cheese and polenta hash w/ walnut and celeriac puree, seasonal wild mushrooms, confit garlic aioli and a poached egg. I think they got the names of the dishes mixed up. As this was amazing not that A-MAIZE-ING was bad. The potato hash was crispy on the outside, meltingly smooth on the inside. Combined with the confit garlic (I love garlic but this was something else!), mushrooms and nutty and earthy puree, this is hands down the best hash I have ever had. Oh and it comes with a bit of egg to finish it off. With such deliciousness, we had to go for round two.
Lemmington. Astounding. The cake was so airy, at times I had to check that I actually had something in my mouth. With chocolate and coconut, this Australian cake was something else. As I bit in, I could almost hear the “G’day mate” as if brought back to my youth.
Building on expectation, this really was something else. I anticipated something alternative from the signs and decor outside but it exceeded my expectations. This was something new for me. Although there was not a meat to be found, I left fully sated and satisfied. Thinking back to my way in, this was a good thing too given the various sharp plants on offer. As the food was not so bad that I would be tempted to do a facepalm into one of them. Then again, maybe there is another use for such sharp objects. Maybe I need to prick myself to check I’m not dreaming. If I have to go vegetarian on account of global warming, maybe it won’t be so bad with Brunswick East around the corner.
A quiet eating 8.5/10.
Lunch (a coffee and a main) was GBP15 excluding service.
Unit 3D Stamford Works, Gillett Street, Dalston
London N16 8JH