Matt The Jaunts : London Fields to Hackney Wick

Matt The Jaunts preamble: Whenever I take Matt The List abroad (keep an eye out for #MattTheTrips on Twitter / Instagram) we fit in as much as possible each day, from the pre-brunch coffee and doughnut (two separate stops of course) right through to the final nightcap at a 4am bar or a late night pizza delivery (thank God for Sizzle Pie).

Highlights have included 15 food & booze stops and as many miles of walking on my first day in NYC with Tim back in 2014, and similar hauls more recently in Paris and Portland (Oregon) with a strong team, all of which deserve proper posts on here at some point.

After a silly summer of travelling and ticking off a tonne of places (including 120 joints around West Coast USA in 14 days), visiting American friends inspired us to embark on similar outings around London.  It's an expensive game, and particularly exhausting for those with hefty work schedules, but we always love London a little bit more after an epic day out exploring.

So that's what Matt The Jaunts is...

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Route 1 : London Fields to Hackney Wick

Mentmore Terrace in London Fields

10.30am - Two tubes, two buses, and a train later, and boom I'm in London Fields. Just like that. Our first stop is Patty & Bun 'The Arch' on Mentmore Terrace.  All-time leading points scorer Tim is already seated and has got his legs out. 

Brunch buns are served from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and 10am-7pm Sunday, otherwise it's Smokey Robinson burgers all round. I power through a magnificent Smoked Ox Cheek, Scrambled Egg, Westcombe Cheddar & Pickled Chilli Bun (£6.50) whilst Tim desperately tries to contain Cheesy Scrambled Egg, Smoked Guacamole, Slow Roasted Tomatoes & Spring Onion Creme Fraiche (£5.50). Delicious carnage. Allpress Filter coffee with unlimited refills for £2 doesn't hurt either.

Smoked Ox Cheek Bun with Scrambled Egg, Westcombe Cheddar & Pickled Chilli at Patty & Bun "The Arch"

11am - We can't resist popping in to E5 Bakehouse next door for a treat. Brunch looks good here too, but on this occasion we come away with a gooey chocolate and sea salt cookie. They are pretty serious about their bread here, and there are often baking and cooking classes to get involved with. If you are craving pizza, pop in here on Sundays (or head to Lardo nearby). E5 Bakehouse is open 7am-7pm every day.

Looking for more coffee stops nearby? Try Climpson's Arch, Bolt or Coffee is My Cup of Tea.

Sea salt and chocolate cookie from E5 Bakehouse

11.30am - Two points already in the bag, and it's time for a loosener. Netil Market is hiding a teeny, tiny brewery and beer shop called ºPlato Brewing and Supplies so we stopped by for some 5% How Now Nut Brown Ale and a 5.4% Tenterhook IPA, direct from the source. Locals Olly and James join us, but they stick to classy cans of Red Stripe from another stall.

Netil Market is a glorious place; possibly London's loveliest little market. Be sure to visit if you haven't before, and start with a Bao bun and a Terrone coffee. It's open every Saturday from 11am-6pm.

Never been round the corner to Broadway Market? Head to The Cat & Mutton for Mother Clucker fried chicken, Hill & Szrok for next-level meat, and Kansas Smitty's for jazz and juleps.

Beer taps at Plato Brewing & Supplies in Netil Market

Plato Brewing & Supplies beers in Netil Market

12pm - Since it's sunny, we head up countless (three) flights of stairs to reach the Netil 360 Rooftop, only to find that it's their "closing party" and £3 entry despite it being a) midday and b) totally empty. No deal. 

We celebrate our combined £12 saving by snacking on artisan croissants and a Breton-style Kouign-amann (key-in-your-man) from Yeast Bakery. N.B. It's only open on Saturdays from 9.30am-5pm (at the time of writing). 

A couple more local London Fields tips: 

- A new bar and restaurant from Night Tales called NT's has just opened with top booze, a great view, and banging food from street food heroes Morty & Bob's. Check out my photos from a recent visit on Matt The Tumblr. 

- Leo Carreira is about to start his residency at Climpson's Arch. Som Saa will be a hard act to follow, but the ex-Viajante chef is more than capable of handling that.

Kouign-amanns from Yeast Bakery

12.30pm - We trade O&J in for Sparkles, an experienced team member from our recent USA road trip, and head down Well Street towards the relatively new Mother Kelly's Bottle Shop. I'm a huge fan of the original Mother Kelly's in Bethnal Green. This little sister site in Homerton is currently just open for bottle sales and growler fills - no drinking in. Ask nicely and you can taste some stuff from the taps. Rumour has it they are converting the basement in to a drinking den. I'll be back. Damn fine bottle selection unsurprisingly.

After something stronger? Head over to Brahms & Liszt on Chatsworth Road for all the Mezcal and more in an off-beat off license and tasting room from Quiquiriqui queen Melanie Symonds.

Growler fill station at Mother Kelly's Bottle Shop

Great sharing bottles at Mother Kelly's Bottle Shop

Cans for the road from Mother Kelly's Bottle Shop

1pm - We purchase some high-class roadie cans for later, and head a few doors down to The Gun, a charming little pub with a vintage façade. The nice lady behind the bar kindly agrees to chill our Mother Kelly's stash whilst we sip on brews from Buxton, Partizan and Pressure Drop, and watch Spurs struggle against City.

1.30pm - Ella comes to join in the fun, and we ascend to The Gun's modest rooftop for a game or two of Shut The Box. I proceed to Batten Down The Hatches at the first time of asking. Downstairs, Spurs have found their shooting boots. It's all coming together.

Anything else nearby? Well Street Kitchen looks friendly, and a new neighbourhood bar called Machine No.3 is opening any day now.

The Gun on Well Street

Shut The Box!

2.30pm - Ella is too good at Shut(ting) The Box so we push on for Hackney Wick with our crafty Mother Kelly's cans, stopping for roadside LPs at Vinyl Pimp and incredibly slow coffees at The Hackney Pearl, a colourful café with lots of al fresco seating.

Seminal records at Vinyl Pimp

The Hackney Pearl

3pm - We level up from a strong quartet to a five-a-side team as List Leader 2013-14 Natalie joins us at Hackney Wick station. We march on to Crate Brewery and Pizzeria for... well, beers and pizza. It's a marvellous spot for outdoor boozing on the canal, especially when the sun is out, though the interior design is worth a look too, as is their Brew-Shed events space down the road.

The core beers are solid if not terribly exciting, though a couple of specials and a Crate sour catch the eye before I realise there are some awesome American bottles in the fridge.  A big bottle of The Bruery Reueze all the way from San Diego is reasonably priced - another beer is ticked off the bucket list.

Their pizzas do the job, though there are many better and less expensive examples of the genre in London these days. Across the car park, Burgerhub are slinging out enormous burgers for £6 - just sayin'. Our sixth and final team member Andy heads straight for it.

Crate Brewery and Pizzeria

A bottle of The Bruery Rueuze from San Diego at Crate Brewery and Pizzeria

Courgette, Feta, Red Onion and Gremolata pizza at Crate Brewery & Pizzeria

4.30pm - Our ultimate stop is the Howling Hops Tank Room bar, where 10 beers are served super fresh, directly from the brewery tanks. It's a beautiful, enormous room, evoking America's spacious brewery taprooms more than our Network Rail cupboards. Howling Hops grew up brewing out of The Cock Tavern's basement, but they have really moved up the property ladder here - something to aspire to!

Howling Hops Tank Room Bar

Howling Hops Tank Room Bar

Tim & Sparkles sharing

Natalie's tankards

Big Ella or small beer?

From Howling Hops, our ninth stop in 6 hours, we all go our separate ways, though there's plenty else nearby to enjoy. Counter Café & Roastery is another special spot on the canal, and you could peek behind the scenes Sandows cold brew coffee brewery and Truman's Beer round the corner if you so wish.

Got some suggestions for additions to this route? Want to send us out around another part of London? Leave comments below and I'll get back to you straight away.

Scores on the doors - 9 food & drink stops, 8 of them new to us: Tim (8), Sparkles (4), Ella (4), Olly (2), James (2), Natalie (1), Andy (1). Check the Team List leaderboard here.

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Coming up on Matt The Jaunts : 

King's Cross to Camden // Duck & Waffle to Dandelyan // Balham to Brixton 

KERB Clubhouse - Cocktails at MASH

A photo heavy post today looking at KERB's indoor street food Clubhouse, and an exciting new American-inspired cocktail menu at MASH in Soho.

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Friday 16th January - KERB and Street Feast are two of London's great calling cards. They tend to operate at different hours of the day, with KERB mainly sticking to the lunch time street food crowd; but after successful night shifts at The Paperworks in E&C, they ended 2014 in style by setting up the striking KERB Clubhouse out in the Hackney Wick sticks.

This wonderful space just reopened after a festive break, so we schlepped over on a frosty Friday night to check it out.  The space is due to be developed in a few months, so it is just a temporary home for some of the traders over the Winter.  It is open every Friday & Saturday, 6pm-11pm, and entry is free, though keep an eye out for occasional ticketed events.

For Email Readers : Kerb Video on Vimeo

Much like Street Feast's Dalston Yard, KERB have transformed a disused space into something wonderful, with funky lighting, live music, table tennis, foosball, and top notch food and drink. Some traders have brought their trucks in, whilst others are operating out of custom built stations, most notably Fundi Pizza who have a stylish little food bar in full of view of the oven.  The booze isn't half bad either, with an array of wine, affordable cocktails and local beers (including Five Points & Beavertown) on offer.

The atmosphere is relaxed, and there's plenty of space for everyone - that's all you need to know! Much better than a Friday night in Central spent queuing for dinner and elbowing your way through busy bars and clubs.

P.S Street Feast is relaunching Hawker House this weekend (30th & 31st of January) in Haggerston over three floors (in the same site that Fairground used).  It will run for 10 weekends, every Friday and Saturday, 5pm-midnight (£4 after 7pm), and there will be SIX bars including an exciting top floor Milk & Honey lounge.  Oh, and all the street food of course.  See you there on Friday.

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Tuesday 20th January - Dinner in the red leather booths of Danish-run MASH (Modern American Steak House) has always been out of my price range, but the bar is a different matter.  Cocktails range from £9 to £12.50, and with the launch of a new American travel-inspired menu, there's never been a better time to check it out.  

There's no substitute for great staff and MASH are not short in that department, so swap the busy Soho streets for a 1920s ballroom, sit yourself down at their glamorous art deco island bar, and make some new friends.  And if that isn't working out, you can always write some postcards using their innovative menu, and they'll stamp and send them for you (within reason!).

We started with Little Italy (£12) - Martini Rosso, Apple Brandy, Porcini, Vecchio Amaro, Bitters. Served in a two tiered glass with Cherry & Parsley Granita on top.

It's a little herbal for my tastes, and possibly too savoury for others, but there was still plenty to enjoy in this complex drink, not least the unique Martini vessel which will keep you entertained for some time.

Little Italy

Next up, the showstopping Yellowstone (£12) - Tanqueray 10 Gin, Noilly Prat Ambre, Grand Marnier, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Lemon.

I dare you not to take a picture of MASH's take on the Old Faithful geyser as dry ice is cleverly funnelled up and out of a (rather heavy) clay and jesmonite creation.  The cocktail itself is suitably earthy, and oh so boozy, but not my favourite.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Then there was more fun with Mad Hatter (£11) - Bulleit Bourbon, Tea Blend, Peach, Maraschino, Hibiscus, Vanilla, Ginger, Lemon. Hot booze is poured through the tea blend in a V60 onto a ginger & lemon gel which then melts in to the drink before your eyes.

I'm never entirely convinced by hot drinks, as in most cases the alcohol hit seems to either come after everything else or not at all, but this is a fine example of the genre with smartly blended flavours. Does it fit the theme? Not really. Who cares?  It's tremendous fun.

Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter

Round 4 - Binchotan (£12) - Bulleit Rye, Coconut, Cardamom, Cynar, Sugar. Served in unique Bulleit Binchotan bottle containing a stick of purifying Binchotan charcoal, and poured over MASH branded ice.

The drinks were starting to pile up but I remained fully focused for this delightful pour.  Binchotan refers to the charcoal in the bottle which helps to purify and mellow the taste of the Bulleit Rye & co..  This leads to a smooth whiskey drink with hints of coconut that will appeal to Old Fashioned fans amongst others.  The MASH branded ice is an unnecessary but pretty cool touch, and drew us in to a lengthy conversation with the outstanding bar manager about making crystal clear ice at home without distilling the water first.

Binchotan

Binchotan

Drinks pile up

On to BLT (£12) - Becherovka, Lemon, Tonic + Sparkling Wine. Presented in a signature ceramic cup and served with a beetroot crisp

MASH bar is one of two venues in the UK currently licensed to serve Becherovka in one of its branded vessel designs.  It's a quirky herbal bitters that MASH are clearly fond of as it makes another appearance in the Yosemite (see below), and the cinnamon element dominates here in an enjoyable long drink.

BLT

BLT

Another hit was Yosemite (£11) - Ketel One Vodka, St George Terroir Gin, pine, Becherovka, maple, almond, lemon. Served in a handmade wooden cup.

Ketel One & Becherovka take a backseat, allowing the St George Terroir pine-heavy gin to shine alongside sweet maple, almond & lemon flavours.  I keep a bottle of the terrific Terroir at home for Tom Collins twists, but I might set some aside to recreate this one.  Perhaps £11 is a little steep for a drink that won't last you very long, but you'd be a fool to miss it.  The food safe wooden cup sadly isn't made of pine, but you can't have everything!

Yosemite

3 to go - MGM (£10) - Bacardi Carta Blanca, Gin, Banana, Lemon, Coffee, Cola - served with a tea infuser & a gold plated playing card.

Take some pictures before you pocket the gold plated garnish. This is a drinkable pimped up Long Island Iced Tea, Vegas style.  Enjoy in moderation!

MGM

MGM

MGM

MGM

Our penultimate drink was the Sipper (£10) - Bulleit Bourbon, Corn Whisky, Maraschino, Chocolate, Absinthe, Orange Bitters. Served in glassware exclusively designed for the bar.

"Born of the American tradition for spending an evening slowly sipping bourbon comes the "Sipper". An entirely new category of drink created by MASH, at its optimum when served at room temperature".  It's a concept that I can get on board with - a subtle, boozy drink that reveals its intricacies over time, and can easily be played with by adding different flavour packs to the base bourbon.  The glassware is designed such that it's impossible to take more than a sip without giving yourself a Sipper shower, which is ultimately fairly frustrating for someone that is capable of drinking slowly from a regular glass, but it will certainly get you talking!

Sipper

Sipper

And last but not least, I present Test Tube (£12) - Three different pours of Bulleit Rye with Violette, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and Bee Pollen-infused Apricot Brandy, served with pipettes of Angostura Bitters, Fee Brothers Peach Bitters & Gary Regan Orange Bitters for tinkering. 

This is great fun, as long as you don't mourn the loss of a test tube that you once loved after putting too much of a certain bitters in.  One drop at a time and a little stir should avoid any drastic changes. After starting with suggested A1 / B2 / C3 pairings of tubes & pipettes, you will inevitably start shoving orange in to the violette and angostura in to the bee pollen.  It's a cracking drink to share at the bar - I'd rather that than a £40 Treasure Chest of rum, pineapple juice and dry ice.

Test Tube

Test Tube

There are of course a few more drinks on the new menu (some of which you can read about on Highball Hoodoo's excellent blog), but hopefully you've seen enough.  MASH have succeeded in creating a serious yet accessible cocktail list full of surprises, and have shot up my Soho shortlist of places to sip.