Night Tales - Wigwambam - Cafe Pistou - Jerusalem Tavern

On the blog today - Mezzanine whisky, hot cocktails & street food at Night Tales, marshmallow roasting in a rooftop wigwam, comforting provençale food at the new Café Pistou, and a classic London boozer in Clerkenwell.

 

Friday 7th November - Street Feast rule the evening street food scene, but last Winter, Night Tales gave them a run for their money with a stunning pop-up in Dalston.  They are back again, but this time slightly more central in the Red Gallery space where Old Street, Rivington Street & Great Eastern Street all come together.

Pop-up dates: 

Fri-Sat - Nov 14th, Nov 15th
Fri-Sat - Nov 21st, Nov 22nd 
Thu-Sat - Nov 27th, Nov 28th, Nov 29th
Thu-Sat - Dec 4th, Dec 5th, Dec 6th
Thu-Sat - Dec 11th, Dec 12th, Dec 13th
Thu-Sat - Dec 18th, Dec 19th, Dec 20th

Night Tales is always open for food, booze and beats from 6pm-midnight (£4 entry), and running every Saturday in December from 12 – 5pm is a carefully curated Christmas Arts and Craft Market. You can expect to find unique gifts, street art installations and performances.

We rocked up at around 6.45pm when the queue was already heaving - go early before they reach capacity.  They have done wonders with the space - beautiful lighting welcomes you in before your eyes are drawn to the street food traders, the buzzing bars and the cosy corners with hanging gardens. Cast your eyes up to spot the raised mezzanine whisky bar which affords great views of the fun at ground level.

On our visit, we could choose from Voodoo Ray's, Patty & Bun, The Rum Kitchen, Yum Bun, Morty & Bob, Popdogs and Randy's Wing Bar on the food front.

It had to be Patty & Bun to start, and we stuffed ourselves with an Ari Gold (a superb cheeseburger enhanced by special smokey P&B mayo) and some Shrimp Poppaz (Fried Shrimp with Black Tomato & Urfa salsa, topped with chilli, tomato and spring onions).  They also have The Pig Dipper (a messy pork belly creation) and Skinny Chips (with roast chicken mayo and chicken skin salt).  We followed this up with the reliably delicious Yum Bun, and I suggest you do the same.  

Voodoo Ray's Pizza - based in Dalston

Shots of Patty & Bun

Morty & Bob's Grilled Cheese

Yum Bun

There are three bars to get involved with, and we headed straight for Tales of Whiskey up the stairs. It's a dedicated whisky bar with a strong cocktail offering too, including Boulevardiers (a Negroni for whisky fans), Bacon Old Fashioneds, and Rose Sours (Bourbon, lemon, sugar and a Rose Champagne syrup reduction).

Boulevardier

Rose Sour and Boulevardier

Back on the ground level, there's also the Hot (and Cold) Cocktail Hut where you can pick up Five Spiced Mulled Negronis, Night Espresso Martinis and Almond White Russians, and a more standard bar with wine and beers to get you through the evening.

Night Espresso Martinis

Ella keeping warm

With no winter version of Street Feast in sight, Night Tales is most definitely the place to be at the moment.  Take a bunch of friends, get in early and grab a garden booth for the evening - you won't want to leave!

Matt The Tip - for a similar experience in Hackney Wick, try out Turntables, a new food, drink & DJ venture opening up in the old Smokey Tails spot on the waterfront.  Bill or Beak, The Cheese Truck, Popdogs and White Men Can't Jerk are already confirmed for street food.  The launch night is tomorrow (Thursday 13th November - 5-11pm) and they will be open every Friday-Sunday until 20th December.

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Whilst in East London, we couldn't resist a quick trip to the Wigwambam, one of my favourite annual pop-ups.  For the winter months, the roof of Queen of Hoxton is transformed in to a wigwam & bonfire retreat with a real festival vibe.  This year, the theme (which isn't strictly necessary) is Woodlandia.

It's open from 4pm Monday-Saturday, with rotating daily food options on the central BBQ, and heart-warming drinks options to match.  Feeling pretty full already, we stuck to marshmallows and committed to smelling of smoke for a few days by huddling around one of their bonfires outside the atmospheric wigwam.

Unorthodox Marshmallow Technique - don't try this at home.

Here are some more details on the food, drink and events on offer at Wigwambam this time around:

Hot Drinks:

- Hot Buttered Rum £6
- Egg Snog £7 (A modern take on a winter classic: egg nog with Monkey Shoulder)
- Warm & Toasty Toddy £6 (A homemade infusion served with Monkey Shoulder / Zubrowka)

Wigwambam's Woodlandia BBQ: - cooked in front of you the  central ‘schwenkgrill’ 

Daily menu: 

 -Five-Bean Flame Finished Jacket Potato­ (option to add Burnt Ends)
- Wild Salmon and Herb ‘En Papillote’ (cooked in paper)

Rotating menu: 

- Monday & Tuesday – Venison Burger / Wild Boar Spiral Sausages
- Wednesday – Slow Gin Pulled Lamb Shoulder
- Thursday – Tender Bourbon Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket
- Friday & Saturday – Apricot & Herb Stuffed Pork Loin / Garlic & Rosemary Spiked Lamb Leg

- Served with Garlic Pot Roasted Root Veg // Wild Slaw with Beetroot, Radish & Carrot

Rooftop Events:

This season, Woodlandia WigWamBam will host ‘Drink & Do’ workshop events that include origami workshops starting on 11th November (National Origami Day) and ‘Republic of Somerset’, a traditional cider tasting with a specially curated BBQ menu hosted by The Cider Box on 15th November. They've also teamed up with Lottie the Cocktail Gardener (from Midnight Apothecary in Rotherhithe) to host a cocktail master class in January, teaching you how to use herbs and flowers to infuse, garnish and flavour cocktails.

 

Wednesday 5th November - Watch as I neatly segue from Wigwambam to Cafe Pistou where their Shepherd's Pie is presented in a bizarre wigwam style - scroll down for that to work...

Café Pistou is a charming, all day provençale brasserie that has just opened on the fringes of Exmouth Market where Strada used to be.  It's a good looking place with the old stripped-back décor and some pretty funky lighting.  It's also bigger than it first appears with a few more covers tucked away in a quirky little extension at the back.  

Café Pistou should come into its own in the summer when the doors and windows can be opened up on to the streets, but it's a perfectly cosy candlelit dining spot for now.

I kept it French with a bottle of 6.8% Meteor Wendelinus (Crate & Redchurch beers are also available), whilst Natalie started strong with an excellent Provençal Martini (£8.50) which involved vermouth infused with provençal herbs.  

Some other cocktails of interest:

- Spicy Fig & Watermelon Martini - Finlandia, fig liqueur, watermelon juice & chilli syrup.

- French Negroni - Grey Goose L’Orange, suze, Noilly Prat rouge & pink grapefruit 

- Pear Thyme Sour - Grey Goose La Poire, thyme liqueur, lemon juice, egg white & Peychaud bitters

Meteor Wendelinus - 6.8%

"Light bites" and "Small Plates" all arrived at once.  

- Fougasse - Traditional Provençal bread with a pistou dip - £4

- Pissaladiere - Puff pastry tart with caramelised onions, Chorizo and goat’s cheese - £4

- Salt Cod Croquettes in crispy breadcrumbs with a sweet pepper & tomato mayonnaise dip - £6

All three were simple, light, delicious and easy to share, and there are plenty of reserve choices on the menu if those don't take your fancy including Courgette Flowers and Barbajuan's (Deep-fried Provençal ‘wontons’ with a goat’s cheese & honey pepper dip).

Pissaladiere with caramalised onions, chorizo & goat's cheese

Salt Cod Croquettes

No more than 5 minutes later, our "large plates" also arrived.  I have never had such rapid service in my life!  It suited me fine, but if they keep this up they won't make a lot of money on drinks, and someone aiming for a long & romantic French dinner might find themselves back at home in front of Take Me Out sooner than they had hoped.

- Chargrilled lamb cutlets, pistou and sunblush tomatoes - £18

- Provencal Shepherd's Pie with ratatouille, feta cheese, Puy lentils, chickpea purée and spiced feuille de brique - £9

The lamb cutlets were unsurprisingly full of flavour - eat with your hands if you want to get your money's worth.  The big surprise though was the twist on a Shepherd's Pie, with a flaky and tasty wigwam outer shell that Natalie enjoyed destroying once photos had been taken.  The reward was a comforting dish that I could eat all day, perfect for this time of year.

Chargrilled Lamb Cutlets

Shepherd's Pie, apparently!

And to finish:

- Vanilla Creme Brulee - £5.50
- The Pistou -  Charcoal roast plums with blackcurrant, plum & olive oil sauce, vanilla mascarpone and blackcurrant sorbet. Served with a caramel & pine nut crisp and basil sugar - £6

Having seen an epic Creme Brulee on a neighbouring table, we knew that was a safe bet.  Meanwhile, The Pistou was a generous bowl of sweet treats though it was a little busy and confused - we would have liked more of the caramel & pine nut crisp and basil sugar, and slightly less of the overpowering blackcurrant sorbet. We enjoyed cutely presented coffees at the same time.

Creme Brulee

The Pistou

Café Pistou is a lovely addition to the delightful Exmouth Market food & drink scene.  Pair it with a trip to the Exmouth Arms and Café Kick to make a night of it.

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Three courses and cocktails in record time meant the night was young, so we wandered over to The Jerusalem Tavern (named after the Priory of St. John of Jerusalem) for one (or two) more drinks.  

Matt The Fact - "The Jerusalem Tavern is both fabulously historic and a complete fabrication. Although the premises date from the early 18th century, the current shopfront wasn’t added until 1810 and the place didn't open as a pub until the 1990s."

But who cares how old it is? It's still a London institution, with St.Peter's Brewery beers from Suffolk the main attraction, and ludicrously cheap whiskies on the back bar.  After some IPA and Red Ale, we switched over to Ardbeg 10 and Auchentoshan 12 (both around £3.50 per dram).  You can also buy mini-kegs and gift packs of St.Peter's beer to take home - I bet they make a killing on Christmas Eve when all their punters realise they forgot to get any presents...

And that's pretty much all you need to know.  They've got hot food, cosy corners, friendly bar staff, affordable booze, and a great atmosphere.  A true London gem.

N.B. The Jerusalem Tavern is open 11am-11pm on weekdays - it is closed at the weekends.

The Clink - GB Pizza Co - Compass Box Whisky

Over 3 months overdue, this post will be a bit of a test for my memory, but you never really forget your time inside...

Tuesday 8th April - I'm normally quite a sociable sort, but as I approached HM Prison Brixton on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I decided against chit chat with the ladies heading in the same direction as me, just in case it went something like this:

Me: "Are you heading to The Clink too?"
Lady 1: "Yes"
Me: "The restaurant?"
Lady 2: "No"
Me: "Oh..."

As it turned out, they were en route to The Clink restaurant in Brixton, the third of its type after HMP Highdown opened in 2009.  The Clink Charity is a fantastic initiative that employs prisoners in various roles, doing  40 hr weeks working towards NVQ qualifications.  Organic produce from Bromley gardens is maintained & harvested by prisoners training in horticulture, others work in industrial cleaning & recycling, and several are trained as chefs and waiters by Chef Alberto Crisci.

Before we had a chance to sample their food, anyone with a similar booking time was gathered outside the gates for a quick run through of the rules.  No cameras (not ideal for a blog), no chewing gum (for imprinting keys or getting rid of bad tastes?), no sharp implements (not even a fork?) etc - being caught with any banned items could lead to anything from 2 to 10 years in prison! Not really worth it for a few photos...

After that slightly terrifying chat, it was all very pleasant.  Chris and I were shown to a table in the reasonably attractive dining room within the prison walls, and we mulled over our lunch options, just as we would anywhere else.  The only giveaways were the plastic cutlery and name tags on waiters' uniforms.

The exact details are hazy but we started with some fresh goats cheese & tomatoes, and a comforting celeriac soup.  My papardelle with duck, chilli and greens wasn't bursting with flavour, but Chris was impressed with his roast duck breast.  The trio celebration of apple dessert was a great way to finish - the mini apple crumble stole the show.  A quick look at their latest menu shows some more adventurous options too:

- Oat crumbed North Sea herring, fine leaf salad , lime & black pepper mayonnaise - £5.95

- Tea smoked duck breast, orange and watercress salad with a honey, wholegrain mustard and burnt orange dressing and croutons (c) - £13.95 

The food itself didn't leave a lasting impression, but the social atmosphere and enjoyable conversations with the hard-working prisoners certainly did, leading us to wonder how to leave a tip in a prison...

Once everyone had settled up, our group gathered once more to be taken back outside.  There was time for one more scare as they accidentally shut the main gate with two customers still inside - I wonder if they do that every time for a laugh?  Passports were recovered, iPhones were switched on, gum was chewed and we all went on our way after a slightly surreal but enjoyable lunch - definitely worth a try!

Matt The Fact: HMP Brixton is also home to Gordon Ramsay's Bad Boys' Bakery which he launched in 2012 - a similar social initiative with the aim of reducing reoffending rates by training bakers on the inside, and helping them find work on their release from prison.  They have a strong connection with Caffé Nero, but you may also have seen some of their products at Brixton Market or Lower Marsh Market or in Ben's Canteen, Brixton Cornercopia, Daily Goods Coffee, ROAST amongst other places.  And just down the road in Brixton Village, The Joint is so-called due to their connection with the Bad Boys' Bakery.

Friday 11th April - Now for something completely different, GB Pizza Co set up shop on Exmouth Market opposite the new Bonnie Gull after making quite a name for themselves in Margate, and I went along to the launch night, 3 months ago...!

Rachel & Lisa have set up a funky little site in London, with their trademark pink neon, vintage furniture, and traditional signwriting and artwork by street artist Teddy Baden. The loos also boast a collection of work by the renowned fashion photographer Mark C O’Flaherty.  The enormous depiction of Garbo the great dane made more sense when two of them rocked up at the party late doors.

Before we get to the pizzas, I must mention the booze.  They have prosecco on tap and organic wine in barrels, but you are left to pour them for yourself! No doubt, this is easy to regulate on a normal evening, but it was carnage (in a good way) at the first night!

Local Ellie getting stuck in

Now, the pizzas.  Order at the counter, wait (a wonderfully short amount of time) for it to arrive, pick it up, fold it, ruin your [insert clothing choice], and eat it. There are no plates for your Margate-rita. Max's jeans lasted about 3 minutes.

We sat in the optimum position close to the prosecco and bang in the middle of a steady stream of staff carrying freshly made pizzas.  Gaba & Lewis deserve special praise for their heroic efforts all evening.  

We devoured countless slices of tasty, thin-crust pizzas (very different style to Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims & Homeslice) with a variety of delicious toppings.  Think Fennel Salami, Pear & English Blue Cheese, Air Dried Ham & Rocket, Peppers & Goat's Curd, Lamb & Mint Pesto.  Don't skip the garlic bread either.  The prices are so low across the board that you might just find yourself ordering a second pizza.  

The awesome Gaba

If you have any room left, get yourself a tub of Gelupo Gelato (Soho's finest - salted caramel / hazelnut is my preference) with a Climpson & Sons coffee on the side. 

Team Gelupo - Simon & Shannon

Dream Team - Lewis & Gaba

And what a nice street to emerge on to after a few pizzas and proseccos...

GB Pizza Co is a lovely addition to Exmouth Market, and refreshingly cheap for the area! Thumbs up.

Thursday 10th April - Last but not least, a behind the scenes look at Compass Box Whisky Co. with Chris Maybin at their site in Chiswick.  Chris welcomed me in to their whisky lab with an Unholy Alliance, a superb twist on a negroni made with their Spice Tree. This is where the blending magic takes place, in a large kitchen / tasting room a few metres from their desks.

Compass Box have set out to challenge the widely held belief that a blended Scotch whisky can't stand up to a single malt.  They have also put together a varied core range to give us all several excuses to drink whisky. Mid-afternoon? Pre-dinner? Nightcap? Compass Box has you covered.  

Before we got to taste testing, we looked around the lab / kitchen space where work akin to perfume making takes place.  Various experiments & samples fill the shelves including Strathclyde in irn bru casks, and attempts to recreate the now discontinued Eleuthura blend.  They are also starting to lay down their own whisky, a big project that is a focus of their 2nd decade of existence, along with their popular Great King Street range. 

After a look around, we sat down to have a taste of the core range and some specials.  Rather than go into great detail, here are my (occasionally unorthodox) notes:

For more detail, head to their fantastic informative website with fact sheets & tasting videos

www.compassboxwhisky.com

Asyla – 40% - The Pinot Grigio / aperitif whisky - star of Milk & Honey's revered Penicillin twist.

Oak Cross – 43% - Mr.Darcy, not pre-possessing – aged with American & French oaks

Spice Tree – 46% - After-dinner sipping - survived a fight with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA)

Peat Monster – 46% - my bedside whisky - was the most peaty whisky in town when it was first released – now it's actually peatier as they have upped the Laphroaig. Look out for the 10th Anniversary edition.

Hedonism – 43% - vanilla cream, toffee, coconut - only produced once or twice a year

On to a few limited editions:

Orangerie – whisky infused with orange peel, cassia bark and cloves, so can't be called Scotch whisky.  At Christmas it was injected into mince pies at Whisky Exchange

Flaming Heart – 48.9% - effectively Spice Tree vs Peat Monster - truly awesome if you can find a bottle... 

The General – 53.4% - now sold out - two very rare mystery whiskies combined - 2/3 at 40%, 1/3 at 33% 

There were many more to try but a 3 hour orchestral rehearsal beckoned. Note to self: I don't improve as a musician after several whiskies. Who'd have thought? I'll have to return to finish them off...

Most companies with this many products lose some quality along the way, but the varied Compass Box range is consistently exciting.  It is clear a lot of love and hard work is going in, and the team members I met were an enthusiastic bunch.  It's no surprise that they are the house whisky in joints like Peg + Patriot, distillers & mixologists all over London are making use of the superb Compass Box blends.  

It's brilliant to have them in London, and they can start to feel like experienced old hands as the likes of London Distillery Co. and East London Liquor Co. start work on their own whiskies in the capital. 

Add some to your whisky collection and don't listen to the single malt snobs!