Summer in the city - grazing in East London
A few days in East London is always an opportunity to explore a wealth of good quality local eateries. Rural life may be quieter (only sometimes, as a former city dweller I can confirm that this is often a myth) but the range of good places to dine out beyond the M25 is severely lacking. So with a couple of days of hot 'summer in the city' living whilst dog sitting for friends it was time to slip on some flimsy sandals and hit the streets.
First up, on a Friday evening was the Lauriston, an old favourite boozer down in Victoria Park village. To be fair, after a long sweaty day in the office I was hoping for something a little more exotic in this part of London famed for its Vietnamese diners but the thought of the beading condensation on an ice cold pint of lager was too much, so pub and pizza won the toss. For a Friday night, the pub was strangely empty, perhaps the crowds were hanging out in the evening heat of Victoria Park with a cheap bottle of Prosecco. With the bar pretty much to ourselves, we took our time in deciding what to choose from the menu and the specials chalked up on the blackboard, finally opting for a simple Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil at £10 each. The pizzas arrived swiftly, blisteringly hot with a perfect chewy thin crust holding the oozing mozzarella. Two pints of icy Italian lager were sunk and re-ordered but at £5.50 a glass the costs mounted quickly to over £40 before we called it a night, walking back along pavements still warm from the day's sun.
The following morning it was time to head out to a regular haunt for breakfast, the Pavilion Café in Victoria Park. Its a pleasant stroll through this beautiful park to the lakeside setting of the cafe. Here, the best breakfast by far is the Sri Lankan, a spicy egg curry, lentil dahl, string hoppers and coconut sambal cooked up by the Sri Lankan team heading the kitchen. Delicious and very filling, although we still found room to share a freshly baked cardamom bun. Leaving just as the cafe started to fill up with mums and pushchairs, we took another route through the park following the canal, dodging joggers and bikes on the towpath. From here we ambled on towards Broadway Market, following the crowds of hipsters as they browsed the stalls. At the end of the market we walked back onto Mare Street and found the newly opened Mare Street Market, a trendy new venue linked to Gizzi Erskine featuring pop up shops and vintage vinyl as well as an interesting looking place to eat. Here we stopped for some caffeine, two excellent long blacks from Flying Horse Coffee with some even better iced madeleines whilst we perused the menu choices, already deciding to return for Sunday breakfast.
As the heat of the day built up, we walked slowly through the side streets, people watching and chatting, exploring routes we had not been along before. The pavements were dusty and it almost felt exotic, like London had suddenly melted into a colonial city of distant shores. Pungent smells from Hackney City Farm and the squawk of chickens reminded us that life existed amongst the bricks and mortar and before long we found ourselves on Hackney Road, seeking solace in the cool shade of Sagar & Wilde. Hypnotised by the sun into holiday mode we ordered two glasses of crisp rosé and shared a plate of goats curd and artichoke bruschetta, a generous plate for £6. It was so good, two more glasses were ordered as we licked the plate clean before hitting the heat again for the walk home.
After a long snooze during the late afternoon it was time to research a location for an evening meal. Still hankering after Vietnamese food but discovering our usual had closed we found Green Papaya, a fast and very popular diner back out on Mare Street. Arriving early enough to avoid queueing in the still sweltering heat we shared a starter of spicy cumin scented lamb skewers followed by a fragrant tofu curry and rice. Service was brusque but friendly and it was obvious that turnover was fast, a queue of about 10 people waited outside as we scraped the last of the curry from our bowls.
The next morning, Sunday, we returned to Mare Street to sample the Malaysian style lentil dahl, egg, yoghurt and naan spotted on their breakfast menu the day before. It was good, although lacked a little spice and the naan didn't quite live up to the expectations of the description. The Sri Lankan the day before wins easily but its good to see these choices for breakfast, I hope they catch on. Bags packed (and wallet quite empty) it was time to head back out to the sticks, full of inspiration from this whirlwind culinary tour.
First up, on a Friday evening was the Lauriston, an old favourite boozer down in Victoria Park village. To be fair, after a long sweaty day in the office I was hoping for something a little more exotic in this part of London famed for its Vietnamese diners but the thought of the beading condensation on an ice cold pint of lager was too much, so pub and pizza won the toss. For a Friday night, the pub was strangely empty, perhaps the crowds were hanging out in the evening heat of Victoria Park with a cheap bottle of Prosecco. With the bar pretty much to ourselves, we took our time in deciding what to choose from the menu and the specials chalked up on the blackboard, finally opting for a simple Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil at £10 each. The pizzas arrived swiftly, blisteringly hot with a perfect chewy thin crust holding the oozing mozzarella. Two pints of icy Italian lager were sunk and re-ordered but at £5.50 a glass the costs mounted quickly to over £40 before we called it a night, walking back along pavements still warm from the day's sun.
The following morning it was time to head out to a regular haunt for breakfast, the Pavilion Café in Victoria Park. Its a pleasant stroll through this beautiful park to the lakeside setting of the cafe. Here, the best breakfast by far is the Sri Lankan, a spicy egg curry, lentil dahl, string hoppers and coconut sambal cooked up by the Sri Lankan team heading the kitchen. Delicious and very filling, although we still found room to share a freshly baked cardamom bun. Leaving just as the cafe started to fill up with mums and pushchairs, we took another route through the park following the canal, dodging joggers and bikes on the towpath. From here we ambled on towards Broadway Market, following the crowds of hipsters as they browsed the stalls. At the end of the market we walked back onto Mare Street and found the newly opened Mare Street Market, a trendy new venue linked to Gizzi Erskine featuring pop up shops and vintage vinyl as well as an interesting looking place to eat. Here we stopped for some caffeine, two excellent long blacks from Flying Horse Coffee with some even better iced madeleines whilst we perused the menu choices, already deciding to return for Sunday breakfast.
As the heat of the day built up, we walked slowly through the side streets, people watching and chatting, exploring routes we had not been along before. The pavements were dusty and it almost felt exotic, like London had suddenly melted into a colonial city of distant shores. Pungent smells from Hackney City Farm and the squawk of chickens reminded us that life existed amongst the bricks and mortar and before long we found ourselves on Hackney Road, seeking solace in the cool shade of Sagar & Wilde. Hypnotised by the sun into holiday mode we ordered two glasses of crisp rosé and shared a plate of goats curd and artichoke bruschetta, a generous plate for £6. It was so good, two more glasses were ordered as we licked the plate clean before hitting the heat again for the walk home.
After a long snooze during the late afternoon it was time to research a location for an evening meal. Still hankering after Vietnamese food but discovering our usual had closed we found Green Papaya, a fast and very popular diner back out on Mare Street. Arriving early enough to avoid queueing in the still sweltering heat we shared a starter of spicy cumin scented lamb skewers followed by a fragrant tofu curry and rice. Service was brusque but friendly and it was obvious that turnover was fast, a queue of about 10 people waited outside as we scraped the last of the curry from our bowls.
The next morning, Sunday, we returned to Mare Street to sample the Malaysian style lentil dahl, egg, yoghurt and naan spotted on their breakfast menu the day before. It was good, although lacked a little spice and the naan didn't quite live up to the expectations of the description. The Sri Lankan the day before wins easily but its good to see these choices for breakfast, I hope they catch on. Bags packed (and wallet quite empty) it was time to head back out to the sticks, full of inspiration from this whirlwind culinary tour.
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