Eatables – Pop up restaurant

This weekend I ventured out into Dalston, East London to a pop up restaurant in someone’s flat. ‘eatables’ has been put together by a group of friends, 3 of whom share a lovely, quirky flat on Kingsland road. They all bring something different to the table; Emily is the welcoming maître d’/waitress, Aaron is the enthusiastic wine waiter/barman, while Holly and Pete prepare and cook the delicious food.

The British themed menu is carefully thought out by Pete, a trained chef and training artisan butcher along with his partner Holly.

After a warming winter cocktail of spiced pear, brandy, gin, lemon and prosecco and some ice-breaking chat with the 20 fellow diners we were seated to commence our 5 course menu.

First up was potted rabbit, served with crunchy carrot crisps, pickled carrots, carrot top mayonnaise and rye toast, which was a real treat with a great combination of textures and flavours.

In my opinion the star of the show followed – smoked duck, pear salad and duck liver mousse. I’m not usually a fan of liver but this whole plate was incredible – the duck is soaked in a brine with a long list of exotic ingredients then smoked over beech and apple wood for 2 hours, which keeps it slightly pink. The complementary the liver mousse was an absolute delight to the palette: rich, smooth and silky.

The main course was braised venison with truffle mash and wild mushrooms, topped with crispy mini onion rings, which gave a real taste of the English countryside using all seasonal Autumn ingredients.

The first of our two desserts was an English take on tiramisu: tea-rum-i-su, which was individually served in pretty port glasses. To end was an amazing taste sensation of toffee apple parfait, with mini toffee apples and nut brittle and although we were all extremely full by then I am proud to say we managed to make a good dent!

All this was accompanied by a fabulous choice of wines; eatables consult with their local wine merchant to choose a selection of wines to match the menu.

The whole experience is great fun, very memorable and slightly surreal when you realise that you are sat with 20 other people in someone’s front room surrounded by fun and unusual artefacts, old and new, from London and around the world.

eatables is a unique experience that would make a great private dining event for a small group who want a taste of real London.

– Rose Whittle