Mission - Craft Cocktail Company

Thursday 4th September - Ah, Bethnal Green.  Why aren't you slightly closer to SW11?

Regular readers might have spotted my fondness for this rapidly improving area for food & drink after numerous posts featuring the likes of Redchurch Brewery, Peg + Patriot, Satan's Whiskers, Mother Kelly's, Dead Doll's Club and more.

All the way back in April, Mother Kelly's opened up on a quiet Paradise Row in one of a number of archways that Network Rail decided to capitalise on.  Japanese Kitchen followed soon after, then Craft Cocktail Company, and now Sager & Wilde's Mission has arrived, but more on that in a bit.

No trip to E2 is complete without a couple of beers at MK's, and that's where our evening began. Rather conveniently, they were hosting the UK launch of Left Hand Brewing (from Colorado).  They are known for their Milk Stout which was available on nitro (smoother pour akin to Guinness) as well as regular taps. Stranger Pale Ale and 400 Pound Monkey IPA went down rather nicely too.

Outdoor seating on Paradise Row

Left Hand Brewing UK launch at Mother Kelly's

It was a flying visit though, as dinner beckoned next door at Mission, the new "Californian wine bar and kitchen" from the popular duo of Michael & Charlotte Sager-Wilde.  The name refers to the Mission grape variety, the first to ever be planted in California.  Their small but perfectly formed wine bar (Sager + Wilde) on Hackney Road has been a huge success, and this time they are back with more than just grilled cheese sandwiches.  James de Jong (previously at The Drapers Arms) is their secret weapon, bringing "Californian-style cooking with Italian influences" to Bethnal Green.

All the arches on Paradise Row are more or less the same plot, so it's interesting to see how differently they all approach the design.  At Mission, you arrive right in the heart of the dining area, with the wine bar behind separated by some exotic plant life.  Looking down on it all is a mezzanine reserved for private functions. Some of the best bottles are stashed up here too.  Lighting is just on the right side of the romantic / too dark to see your food line, even as early as 7pm.

Let's chat about the drinks first.  There's the wine of course.  Of all the booze groups, wine is the one I know least about, but Charlotte, Michael and the rest of the staff were on hand to fill in any gaps.  At any rate, it's an excellent list.  Then there's a small but interesting selection of bottled beers including contributions from North Coast & Pine Street, two Californian breweries.  

But what's this? £4.50 cocktails? Grab a "three sip" Sazerac / Manhattan / Rum Old Fashioned / Martini - a great idea which I'm surprised I haven't seen elsewhere.  I always find a full-sized cocktail looks a little out of place on the dinner table, and tends to hang around too long.  I guess I could drink them faster of course...

Anyway, on to the food.  We started with 'Nduja Arancini (£6.50) - difficult to divide between three, but worth the effort.  This was joined by Duck Pappardelle (£8.50)- simple but effective.  I would happily eat a boat load of this.  Our third small plate was Octopus, Farro, Tomato & Aioli (£8.50) - a generous portion of garlicky goodness and a contender for best plate of the evening, though not advisable for first dates!

'Nduja Arancini

Duck Pappardelle

Octopus, Farro, Tomato, Aioli

Then came the Salt Ox Cheek with Lentils & Salsa Verde (£15).  Three hefty pieces of wonderful meat arrived in the most glorious sauce.  Great value, high quality sharing food.  I hope it's still on the menu when I return.  We followed this with Rabbit Leg, Pancetta, Polenta & Girolles (£17) - very popular on the other side of the table, but not in the same league as the Ox Cheek for me.  More-ish Garlic & Rosemary Potatoes (£3.50) kept everything company.

A pair of guys near us went straight for the Lamb Scottadito (£37) that we had been eyeing up - supposedly for two or three, it could easily have fed a small town.  Food jealousy ensued.

Salt  Ox Cheek, Lentils, Salsa Verde

Not for long though, as my Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Honeycomb arrived.  I'm sure the Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco on the other side of the table was nice enough, but there was only ever going to be one winner in  that fight.  It was one of the fluffiest examples of the genre I have ever had the pleasure of demolishing, with a subtle vanilla flavour backed up by the supporting cast on the plate.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Honeycomb

Considering this was Mission's first evening of service (soft opening and all that), everything ran extremely smoothly, staff were calm and friendly (one smashed item was cleared up before I even managed to turn my head), and the food was confidently dispatched.    It opens fully on Monday September 15th, and will no doubt be busy from day one, so get booking!

N.B. They are also opening up for brunch at the weekends, see you there.

We picked up a few more people at Mother Kelly's en route to our final stop, Craft Cocktail Co.. This doodle demonstrates just how far we had to travel all evening.  Archways 252 & 254 are currently empty, but a little birdie told me Pitt Cue Co might be the next arrival - very good news indeed.  

CCC's neon sign drew us in to their attractive bar which was sadly rather empty compared to the buzzing Mother Kelly's & Mission a few arches down.  The upside though was full attention from the friendly staff, starting with a quick tour of the site.

I should explain - Craft Cocktail Co is no ordinary cocktail bar.  Hidden round the back is their own little factory for creating large batches of cocktails.  These are either bottled (to be sent away to festivals, sold for takeaway on site, or opened and served up for punters), or put through draft lines to be served in pint glasses on tap.

And so we went round to look at the process with words like vats and pasteurisation being thrown around - not necessarily what you want to hear when talking about making cocktails but there you go.  Then we moved back to the bar, and were kindly offered samples of all of the pre-made cocktails - much like getting tasters in a pub which I approve, especially if you are going to buy a pint of the stuff.

Here's what we tried:

Sparkling Bottled Cocktails:

The Southern Fairy - Petit Pois infused Gin, Lincolnshire Elderflower, Hand-Pressed Lemon Juice and Russet Apple Juice

Sunset Boulevard - Craft In-House Gin, Aperol Aperitif Liqueur, Blood Orange Juice, Hand-Pressed Lemon Juice and Acacia Honey

Lavender Paloma - 100% Agave Tequila, Hand-Pressed Pink Grapefruit Juice, English Lavender, With a subtle touch of Juniper and Fennel

Geisha - Craft In-House Gin, Rose Water, Hand-Pressed Lemon Juice, Lychee and a hint of Raspberry

Cult Classic - Craft In-House Amaretto Liqueur, Black Cherry and Hand-Pressed Lemon Juice

Draft:

Alcoholic Ginger Beer - Hand-pressed ginger, Raw unrefined cane sugar and a touch of citrus to balance

Hard Iced Tea - Lots of cardamom... can't quite remember the rest!

Hot Blooded Mary - Craft in-house vodka infused with Kashmiri chilli peppers, tomato passata, Henderson Yorkshire Relish and smoked Tabasco

Summer Fruit Cup - In-house Craft Gin, Antica Formula Vermouth, Merlot Triple Sec, Angostura Bitter, Raspberry , Blackberry, Hand-pressed lemon juice and hand pressed ginger

Sampling a Hot Blooded Mary

Pints of Alcoholic Ginger Beer

For me, they are were all lacking one thing.  Alcohol.  Or rather, the taste of it.  They were all perfectly drinkable, but not very adventurous, with rather uninspiring base spirits.  The slightly more exciting drinks with the likes of Petits Pois infused gin, Lavender and Rose Water failed to sparkle.  I hope that they will continue to tweak the recipes and create a few more challenging concoctions, as they've got such a great setup. 18 year old me would probably absolutely love it, £6 for an easy-drinking pint of Alcoholic Ginger Beer (effectively a giant Moscow Mule) or Summer Fruit Cup (Pimm's alternative), but now I'm in my early-mid-late twenties, I go for quality not quantity.

In the meantime, you are best off going from the classic cocktails list that includes Negronis, Martinis, Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs.  These are made to order by the barmen, though I believe they intend to bottle these too, which would be more up my street.  There are also top local beers from Redchurch and Hackney Brewery in the fridge.

It's clearly a work in progress, and I would love to see them succeed as they are trying to do something different.  It could be a fantastic place to hangout, especially with the rest of the Paradise Row dream team nearby, but for the moment it is a little disappointing and the house cocktails need a lot of work.  When the competition is Peg + Patriot and Satan's Whiskers, you really have to raise your game.

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New photos up on Matt The Tumblr - The Alchemist // Wapping Market // Corner Room

Upstairs at Nancy's - Sager + Wilde - Hawker House - Night Tales

Saturday 9th November - 2013 may well be remembered as the year that Street Food really started to take over the London food scene.  Billed by some as "The Summer of Grub", we were spoiled with markets, popups and events all over the city.  But what happens when it gets cold outside? Surely the restaurants, bars and pubs will come into their own again? Not if Street Feast, Night Tales and Kerb have got anything to do with it.  Both Street Feast and Night Tales launched their Winter popups two weeks ago, so I got on the trusty Orange Line to the far East.  To break up the journey to Broadway Market, I made a couple of stops along the way, starting with a new bar on Shoreditch High Street.

Upstairs at Nancy's is a cosy little bar, tucked away above the excellent Crown & Shuttle pub near Shoreditch High Street. There are only a few tables so don't leave it too late.  It has been smartly done up with fake shop fronts to give the impression of sitting outside on a Victorian street.  I met List Leader Natalie and Team List debutant for a quick drink after their disappointing trip to the overhyped Experimental Food Society Spectacular at The Old Truman Brewery.

The drinks menu is short but interesting.  There are bottled beers from London breweries such as Five Points, Partizan, Redchurch and Weird Beard.  Red and white wine are both served directly from barrels.  For £8.00 you can have one of their two barrel aged cocktails, The London Negroni (Kamm & Sons Ginseng Spirit, Vermouth and Gin) or Nancy (Kamm & Sons, Vermouth and Mezcal).  Food comes from the Crown & Shuttle downstairs.

They are now taking bookings for Christmas at Nancy's, a festive banquet for £40 which includes a great deal of food, and spiced mulled wine or mead on arrival.  It would be a unique place to have a Christmas dinner - book now!

Our next stop was Sager + Wilde on Hackney Road, halfway to Broadway Market from Hoxton Overground.  I tried to pop in to this lovely wine bar on my last crawl around the area, but they shut rather early at 11pm to appease their new neighbours.  Hopefully they will be able to extend this in the New Year once they have settled in.

Sager + Wilde are Michael and Charlotte Sager-Wilde who ran a very popular wine bar popup at the end of 2012.  They have now found a permanent home, and they haven't skimped on the design. We were very taken with the pavement light bar top.  There is a Daily Menu with affordable wines and fizz, available by the glass and bottle, and a slightly more pricey Market List with the likes of Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Domaine Henri Boillot 2005 Burgundy at £148. Takeaway is £10 off the list price. There are some interesting bottled beers, as well as a few cognac, sherry and vermouth options.  To eat, there are grilled cheese sandwiches, tartines, charcuterie, cheese, snacks and even ice cream.

We were well looked after at the bar by Michael on our brief visit, who started by pouring us some free sparkling water which he struggles to give away as most people think they have to pay for it.  Cassie went for a glass of the Prosecco Di Valdobbiadene 'Bottle Fermented' Zuchetto 2012 Veneto and I greatly enjoyed my white Macon Uchizy Talmard 2011 Burgundy. I highly recommend paying these guys a visit, and staying longer than we did! I will be back.

Our 3rd stop of the evening was Street Feast's latest popup, Hawker House - an indoor night market with street food, hot cocktails, a whisky bar, beer, wine, DJs and, as they would say, good vibes. It is open every weekend until the 14th of December (when they will hopefully have a Christmas party of some kind).  It is open from 5pm-2am (hooray for the late license!) every Friday & Saturday - £3 entry between 7pm and midnight and free otherwise.  We were joined by Team List regular Lauren and Broadway Market locals Olly & James who bizarrely decided to cycle 30 seconds down the road from their flat.

After a short queue in the cold, we made our way indoors to the toasty Hawker House, inspired by the hawker centres of Singapore and decorated in the familiar Street Feast style with attractive multi-coloured bulbs strung up all over the place.  The traders are mostly familiar faces (Spit & Roast, Smokestak, Breddos Tacos, Yum Bun, Rola Wala, B.O.B's Lobster, Sorbitium and more), and it is good to see Morito tapas & mezze bar from Exmouth Market getting involved.  I won't go into all the details about everything that we ate, though I greatly enjoyed by Baba G's Biryani Burrito from the Bhangra Burger team. Here are some photos to whet your appetite: 

On the bar front, they have the reliable Rotary Bar for giant cocktails, craft beers and wine, but the Summer Gin Store has been replaced by the Winter Whisky Bar complete with over 50 bottles to choose from and a random whisky generator for the indecisive.  For more exciting wine, there is the excellent Street Vin stall with a restaurant quality list including a Magnum of the week.  Finally, there is the Hot Bar which offers several warming drinks such as Hot Buttered Rum, Hawker Hot Chocolate (laced with Cognac and green Chartreuse) and Hot Applegrass (with Zubrowka, lemon, ginger and apple juice).  This seems like a great idea as soon as you walk in, but not so clever 15 minutes later when you are down to your t-shirt and after a cold beer as it is pretty hot inside! I do feel that they possibly haven't made the right call making it indoors.  Whilst they have done wonders with the site, it isn't quite as magical as their Dalston Yard effort, and I personally am a big fan of layering up and braving the winter winds with a mulled wine in one hand and an oversized German sausage in the other. However, the 2am late license is a huge improvement from previous installments and something that most outdoor Christmas markets can only dream of.

Our locals disappeared to some terrifying sounding club night, leaving Lauren and I far from home, so we decided to get the bus over to the new players on the night market scene, Night Tales, before hopping back on the Overground.  They have set themselves up in a car park in Dalston Junction, a stone's throw away from the last Street Feast site (whose signs are still up), and are open every Thursday-Saturday in the run up to Christmas. Opening times are Thursday 6pm-11pm, Friday 6pm-midnight are Saturday 4pm-midnight, and there is again £3 entry though I'm not sure when it applies. Up to date information is available on their Facebook page - click here.

Unlike Street Feast, they have decided to stay outdoors, and the atmosphere is all the better for it. Crammed under a large canopy are several bars, including a Negroni station and a raised Mezcal mezzanine (changing to a Shake, Rattle & Stir Gin Bar next week), and some fantastic street food traders.  They have done well to secure the services of BAO, Rainbo, Le Petit Paris, Patty & Bun and Pizza Pilgrims.  They also have the Smokey Tails boys fresh from their summer popup in Hackney Wick, who come with the added bonus of DJ Seth Troxler.  As well as top DJs, they will also have live music including an African funk band tomorrow (Saturday 23rd November) which sounds right up my street.  We grabbed some BAO, a couple of deadly Mezcal concoctions and some hot cider and soaked up the buzzing atmosphere.

Which one you prefer out of Hawker House and Night Tales will be down to personal taste.  They are both wonderful places to spend an evening, though Night Tales just edges it for me by staying outdoors. There is plenty of room for both of them in London - who knows how many there will be this time next year. Let me know what you think!