A legendary late-night Hackney industry hangout combining a serious natural wine cave with raucous vibes and inventive, Asian-accented European small plates.
Ordering Strategy
Order a bottle from the extensive wine list immediately. Treat it as a tapas style meal; start with the bread and crab butter and olives, then share 2-3 plates per person. The menu shifts to a 'Late Night' offering (often with Chinese influences like Fried Rice) after 11pm.
What to order
Deep-fried Stuffed Olives
Stuffed with Thai-fragranced pork, these 'salty little explosives' were a signature snack that defined the menu across various chef tenures.
Pumpkin Cappelletti
An 'enlightening' pasta dish of egg-rich parcels filled with 'slumpy roast squash' and bathed in a caramelised whey sauce described as a 'creamier brown butter with notes of savoury Caramac.'
Sichuan Crème Brûlée
A 'thrilling' signature dessert that perfectly captures the kitchen's fusion style, offering the 'numbing zip of Sichuan peppercorn' against a classic custard base.
Chicken-liver Paté
This 'silky' paté is elevated with a 'veil of agar-jellied walnut liqueur' and 'wafers of crisp chicken skin'; one critic noted it was so good they wanted a tonne of it 'applied to my body like a mud pack.'
More in Hackney
- Café CeciliaModern British / Irish · £££90
- Marksman Public HouseBritish Gastropub · £££89
- Big NightBritish-Japanese Skewers / Izakaya · ££85
Signal Score
Signal score reflects how strong and consistent the review coverage is, not a star rating.
Top critic: Marina O'Loughlin (90%)
Editorial Weight 58 pts
Authority + depth + recency
Agreement 7 pts
How aligned the critics are
Coverage 10 pts
How many real review signals exist
Public Signal 9 pts
Google rating + volume
Boosts 0 pts
Manual boosts + hidden gem
Review signals
2 Elite · 2 Editorial · 7 total signals
Public signal
4.4★ (298 reviews)
Good to know
PERMANENTLY CLOSED (August 2022). Historically, this was a late-night spot with a 2am license, famous for its 'Cave' private dining room and cutlery drawers built into the tables.
Locations
Trust signals
- ○Not yet visited
- mediumConfidence level
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