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.

---------------------------------------------------

 

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

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 Ledbury - The Cider Box - Whisky Live

Guest Post from Jane - 

I don't often venture far west, so when I do it's usually for something worthwhile.  Lunch at The Ledbury was such an occasion, so on a rainy Friday afternoon we set off on the walk from Notting Hill Gate. After fighting through the tourists of Portobello Road, the pillar-doored, four-story houses, endless designer baby clothes shops and estate agents selling flats for £4m my mind was full of images of a restaurant stuffy and for the privileged, not unlike Gordon Ramsay’s in Chelsea.

However, the atmosphere at lunchtime was nothing of the sort.  Formal yes, the service was as impeccable as you would expect for the two Michelin stars that adorn The Ledbury, but there was a warmth and laid back attitude to the place that was genuinely pleasing.

Brett Graham at The Ledbury

We opted for the three course set lunch menu at £37.50 (recently changed to a four course menu for £45) and the food did not disappoint.

To start I had Ceviche of Hand Dived Scallops with Kabu Turnips, Seaweed Oil and Frozen Horseradish.   The dish came very cold with nicely balanced but subtle flavours. Certainly interesting and not something you eat every day, but lacking the intensity of the milk curd with morels that made up the alternative menu option.   For main I selected the Baked Chinese Water Deer with Juniper and Bone Marrow.  This provoked a deal of conversation around the table.  What is Chinese Water Deer? Do we want to eat it?  Resembling Bambi & Dracula's lovechild, it's a small fanged creature from east Asia. And in the hands of Brett Graham and team you definitely do want to eat it, especially with juniper and bone marrow.  Matched with a fantastic but modestly priced (for this end of town) Montepulciano, we were very happy.

Ceviche of Hand Dived Scallops with Kabu Turnips, Seaweed Oil and Frozen Horseradish

Baked Chinese Water Deer with Juniper and Bone Marrow

Yorkshire Rhubarb Soufflé and Sorbets filled our table for dessert.  The soufflé was immaculately prepared and we've never tasted anything as good yet. Delicious.

 

All in all the lunch improved as the courses went on.  We felt that by opting for the set lunch menu we may have been missing out, but there’s no doubt that what we had was superbly arranged and we definitely got value for money (a not dissimilar experience to our time at the wonderful Martin Wishart’s in Edinburgh).

In stark contrast to the formality and food-centred Ledbury, I should mention a couple of stand-out events I attended this month.

The Cider Box put on a great afternoon in the sun on 15th March at Wigwambam at the Queen of Hoxton. Showcasing the best ciders from the country, they also matched it with some great pork burgers and chops in the teepee.  I particularly enjoyed the champagne-style Keeved cider, sweet and sparkling it was perfect for the first signs of spring.  The dry Wilkins also went down very well.

Dan Heath demonstrated his love for cider and extensive knowledge; coming from the West Country myself it hit a bit of a soft spot.  Keep an eye on their website www.ciderbox.com for future events.

Dan Heath of The Cider Box

Dan Heath of The Cider Box

The Cider Box & Strummerville presents: Republic of Somerset from Stuart York on Vimeo.

The annual Whisky Live event, held this year in the Honorable Artillery Company, Armoury House was its usual success.  For the price of a ticket (£36 half day/£48 full day) you get a dram glass and as many whisky tastings as you can handle.

It was good to see Few Rye and Bourbon (with Todd over from Chicago), Spirit of Hven and Smooth Ambler there, all presented by Michael, Geoff & co. at Maverick Drinks who are responsible for bringing some of the best craft and small batch spirits to the UK.  Stay tuned for a Maverick Drinks related post from Matt's night at Gin Sin soon.  I know Matt is also planning to track down Maverick's NY Distilling and Few in their natural habitat when he hops across the pond later this year.

Outstanding and interesting exhibitors for me included Old Pulteney, whose 17 year old was a fantastic discovery, and That Boutique-y Whisky Company (another Maverick product), with their 'Lost  Distilleries' special - a blend of six whiskies from distilleries that no longer exist including the scarce Islay Port Ellen (Diageo recently released 2,950 bottles of Port Ellen at £1,500 each!).

Compass Box also impressed as usual, passing around a rather special 10th Anniversary Edition of Peat Monster.  We chatted to Chris about their Spice Tree which went through a bit of a battle to be called Scotch - read the full story here.

Artwork for That Boutique-y Whisky Company

It was also great to meet Daniel Szor of the new Cotswolds Distillery which will release its first Single Malt in 2017.   The first limited edition of 5,000 bottles of ‘single estate’ Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky will be available for reservation and pre-sale at the end of March 2014.  In the meantime, Daniel and his wife Katia are creating Cotswold Dry Gin.  They will also produce a range of brandies and liqueurs made from local fruits and berries, as well as Cotswolds cream liqueur and a fortified sherry.

Balblair put a year on their whisky, rather than an age

Berry Bros & Rudd range includes Glenrothes, No.3 Gin & King's Ginger

Surprisingly drinkable 61.5% Poitin from Teeling Whisky Co.

El Dorado sneaking some rum in to a whisky festival

If this sounds like your kind of thing, try The London Whisky Weekender 16th-18th May in Bethnal Green (www.whiskylounge.com) or for smaller events the Whisky Squad are celebrating their fourth birthday this year - they offer small, specialised whisky events across London (www.whiskysquad.com). 

Finally some tips for the month:

Bermondsey Thai restaurant, Suchard, is an independent, affordable and reliable Thai near London Bridge.  I returned there recently and was not disappointed; service is rapid and food delicious.

If you happen to be enjoying the recent good weather in the Greenwich area don't be tempted by the myriad of ice-cream vans lining every tourist street, instead try some of the fantastic gelato from Black Vanilla.  The salted caramel comes highly recommended, and is the perfect fuel for a walk through the park to Blackheath for a freshly brewed craft beer or two at Zerodegrees microbrewery.

Seasonal specials include Chilli & Ginger, Turkey & Cranberry, Mulled Wine & Bourbon Salted Caramel