Model Market - 5CC at Singer Tavern - LCC Islington

Friday 17th April - Street Feast should need no introduction, but just in case:  it's your one stop shop for street food, booze, music, people, and a party atmosphere.  London's calling card after 5pm.

The doors to their three-storey Hawker House popup closed recently, but fear not - Model Market has just launched in Lewisham, and two more sites in Dalston and Shoreditch are on the way.  

Model Market was one of the highlights of 2014. I have fond memories of an evening spent eating Smokestak ribs and Breddos tacos in their converted 1950s market with the World Cup on in the background.  It's started a little earlier this year, so the sun might not always have his hat on, but there's plenty of covered space in their eight unique "micro-diners" plus the customary Street Feast fire pits to keep you warm.

What's new? Most of the traders are familiar faces these days, though this is a first Street Feast outing for Kerb regulars Bill or Beak.  There are five bars this time around, including the new "Lewisham High Line" rooftop space.  More exciting though is a well-stocked craft beer can bar featuring the likes of Oskar Blues, Ska Modus and Sly Fox from the States.

What to eat? Ideally, everything.  Go with a big group of friends, and get a taste of as much as you can.  Here are some highlights from our recent visit:

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

#1 - Rola Wala - Twisted Indian street food from Mark Wright & co.

You can't have just one of Rola Wala's naan sliders - get all 3 for £9.  Kashmiri Chicken with coriander, red onion pickle, fresh lemon, and sweet mango chutney;  12 Hour Goan Pork Roast with fresh curry leaves, telecherry pepper, and pear and tamarind chutney; Keralan Daal - beetroot, paneer and coconut channa dal, coriander, lemon raita, and mint and lime chutney.  Wash them all down with one of their Mango, Turmeric and Lime sodas that they have created with Square Root London.

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

#2 - Bill or Beak - Mighty duck, pork & chicken burgers from Josh & Lucy

Bill or Beak? Bill AND Beak.  You're going to want both of their overflowing burgers, and a side of Hoisin fries to boot.  The Bill involves a mountain of shredded duck and pork, spring onions, coriander, mint, vietnamese dressing and tempura shallots.  The Beak is even harder to eat - a tonne of grilled, corn-fed chicken, Caesar anchovy dressing, tempura capers, rosemary croutons, and fresh parmesan. Awesome.

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

#3 - Yum Bun - Super soft steamed gua bao buns from Lisa and friends

You can't go wrong with Yum Bun. Edible pillows filled with all the delicious things. Choose from:

- Roast duck, cucumbers, spring onions, spiced plum and duck scratchings

- Slowly roasted pork belly, cucumbers, spring onions and hoi sin sauce

- Japanese fried chicken, chilli dressing, lettuce, tarutaru sauce

- Panko fried pollack, spicy gochujang mayo, lettuce & pickles

- Crispy prawns, green chilli sambal, kewpi mayo, lettuce

- Portobello mushroom, miso glaze, toasted walnuts

Finish off with one of their deep fried dessert buns if they have them - Coconut Ice Cream with Miso Butterscotch and Praline Ice Cream, or Coffee Ice Cream drizzled with Condensed Milk. Glorious.

Once you've worked your way through those, start ticking off the rest. Mama's Jerk, Smokestak, Cheeky Italian, Spit & Roast, The Beefsteaks and Mother Flipper are all deserving of your savoury attention, whilst SE Cakery and the Meringue Girls are covering the sweet side of things.  Head to the latter for your fix of sparkly unicorn poo.  Sorted.

Model Market is running all the way through to 24/25 September, every Friday and Saturday from 5pm, with £3 entry after 7pm.  Lewisham is a short train journey from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge.  Don't miss it.

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

In other news, two consonant cocktail club chains have opened new branches around the Capital.

First up, Barworks have opened 5cc at Singer Tavern, the fifth in a series of cocktail bars hidden inside their excellent pubs.  You can find the rest at Well & Bucket, Exmouth Arms, Electricity Showrooms, and Harrild & Sons.

The Singer Tavern itself has only just opened, making use of a Grade II listed building dating back to 1929 that was originally conceived to house the HQ of the iconic Singer Sewing Machine Company.

Both the pub and the clandestine bar have an enormous selection of bottles at their disposal including 16 types of Amaro and Fernet, and a boat load of gins to help with their nine strong Martini list.  The House Martini makes use of a gin from Barworks' own East London Liquor Company distillery & bar that also produces vodka, rum and (eventually) whisky.

There are 20 more signature cocktails on a fairly epic list including Loosie D'Ouro (Glen Moray Port Cask, P.F.Curacao, Tio Pepe, vanilla, chocolate & chilli betters) served with a Paul A. Young truffle, and Dolce Far Niente (Mount Gay Black Barrel, Nardini Rabarbaro, Cocchi di Torino, Pecan Bitters & Blackcurrant Jam).

The bar staff impressively stay on top of things banging out great drinks at high speed in what could have ended up as another average high-volume bar.  Get down to 5cc at Singer Tavern with a big group rather than a date and make the most of that spirits selection.

More photos on Matt The Tumblr here

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

From 5cc to LCC - J.J.Goodman has opened up his fifth London Cocktail Club, not counting Covent Garden Cocktail Club and Craft Cocktail Co. in Bethnal Green which he's also responsible for.

The latest site is a “cocktail pharmacy” in Islington on Essex Road. An “Apothecary Off-License” shop and masterclass space at the front is just a cover - head through the “Staff Only” door to find the main bar, plus some extra hidden spaces including “A&E” (Alcohol & Entertainment) out the back. 

Make no mistake - this is a party bar. On Mondays you can get 2 cocktails for £10 all night, or Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-8pm.  Hanging lights will be swung, bartenders will be set on fire, drinks will be smoked.  Order your way through their section dedicated to great bartenders, or warm up with a few boilermakers, and enjoy the carnage.

"1, 2, 3.... L C C!"

More photos on Matt The Tumblr - Set 1 / Set 2

Nightjar - White Lyan - Liquor Cabinet - Mr.Buckley's

Friday 28th September - After seeing the state of the Team List Leaderboard, my siblings (and significant plus ones) decided it was time to get some more points.  Nightjar has been on The List for a long time, and Em has just moved up to Hoxton so I booked us in for some pre-dinner drinks at 18.30.  Early evening slots are quite easy to come by, but if you want to have a table later on (when the live jazz gets going) you need to book way in advance - I'm talking a month or two here.

Nightjar is tucked away inbetween various unsavoury looking kebab shops and cafés just off the Old Street roundabout.  You may have unknowingly walked past it during the day, but it is pretty obvious at night due to the queue and sore thumb doorman (Opium and Ballroom du Beef are also guilty of this hidden bar crime).  You instantly forget what neighbourhood you are in once you make it downstairs.  We were shown to a cosy table opposite the piano, which would have been ideal if it had been a little later on.  The background jazz was already much better than most bars manage.  We were brought the now customary jug of bizarre flavoured water (cucumber, apple, Miles Davis' sweat etc etc) with some free popcorn to keep us happy whilst we tried to make the tough first cocktail decision.

Waldorf Gloom Lifters and Cold Buttered Rum

The menu is split into Pre-Prohibition (1600-1918 - what happened in 1600?), Prohibition (1918-1932), Post War (1940-2000) and Nightjar Signatures.  There is also a Unique to Nightjar section which includes vintage liqueurs and spirits, an absinthe collection and all sorts of special gifts including the superb Nightjar pack of cards (see below) which I caved and bought.  Head bartender Marian Beke has travelled all over the world to source unheard of ingredients and garnishes, hence the need for a glossary at the back.  You can read an interesting interview with him here.

We were strongly advised to go for a crazy sharing cocktail with dry ice, but we steered clear since all the drinks are beautifully presented anyway.  We started with two Waldorf Gloom Lifters (served in Hip Flasks on ice), a Cold Buttered Rum (with a hot coconut butter float slowly infusing into the drink, and a dehydrated lime) and a Coffee & Cacao Soda (for a drugged up member of our party).  Al and I struggled to balance our hip flasks, which did actually fall and spill a couple of times before we just put them on the table.  It was a very boozy drink, which never seemed to run out.

Shrubbler, Nougat Cocktail and Rodriguez Sour

Our next round (pictured above) included a Shrubbler, a Nougat Cocktail and a Rodrgiuez Sour.  Al's Shrubbler came with an edible fruit basket (think creme brulee topping) containing his five a day.  Jo's Nougat Cocktail came with lightly singed white chocolate, and a liquid chocolate pot on top.  We had a taster of the very drinkable Ysabel Regina brandy that was used to make it.  My Rodriguez Sour had a paprika coated rim and a mysterious chocolate coated fruit dangling over the top of it.  As you can see from some of the cards below (which are slightly out of date), they really don't hold back on the presentation.  The drinks aren't just for show though, and they tasted as good as they looked.  Nightjar is quite comfortable one of London's best cocktail bars, and I think I would have to dedicate a whole evening (and a fair amount of cash) to it next time.  Book now!

Em only arrived as we were finishing our last drink, allowing Jo to gain a point on her in the sibling rivalry race.  We decided to pop in to the always wonderful Yum Bun (read more here) for some much needed sustenance before moving on to our second cocktail bar of the evening.  

It was the public opening night of White Lyan, a quirky new cocktail bar from master mixologist, Ryan Chetiyawardana, who has been involved with the much loved Whistling Shop in Shoreditch and Bramble in Edinburgh amongst other places.  The plan here is to speed up drinks preparation by pre-bottling many cocktails, giving the bartenders more free time to chat to customers.  No perishable ingredients are used behind the bar.  The most notable absence is fresh citrus - other souring agents are used instead.  There is also no ice involved to avoid unwanted dilution, with spirits and drinks instead being chilled to exact temperatures.  The bar therefore looks very different, with hardly anything on show except for a big fridge. Drinks are made with Mr.Lyan (Ryan's brand) spirits, and only house drinks are available.

They were lacking some electricity when we arrived, but candles were out on tables and the fridges seemed to still be working so we sat down in a quiet corner.  The menu is full of weird libations including Bone Dry Martini (flavoured with chicken bone tincture), Lyan Club Cocktail (gin, turmeric and red apple shrub, soda), and Lada Lada (tequila, smoke, elderflower and lager syrup).  Sadly though, the flavours didn't match the ideas at all.  We were really disappointed with 4 out of 5 of our drinks.  I don't think it helped that we had just been to Nightjar. The Beeswax Old Fashioned was the only cocktail that got the thumbs up.  Lada Lada and Yiddish Bubbles were far too sweet (bring a lemon) whilst the Lyan Club Cocktail tasted mostly of vinegar, with no obvious signs of turmeric and red apple shrub.  Al was unimpressed by his red wine, and it did not improve when they added a spice distillate the second time around to give it extra depth.  The only beer option is the canned (and highly overrated) Hobo Craft Lager, which you can alter with hop atomisation to turn it into a pale ale.  I know they are going for simplicity, but would it hurt to have a local beer or two in the fridge?

There is a club downstairs which wasn't up and running when we went.  The décor is minimal - I would imagine that the idea is to let the drinks do the talking, which worries me.  I find it hard to believe that they have tasted our drinks and feel that they are worth up to £9.  With any luck, all of the other drinks are great, and the others will be improved.  At any rate, I'm not rushing to go back to find out.

We lost Jo and Ant (still feeling under the weather, despite sensibly moving on to whisky drinks) allowing Em and Al to extend their Team List lead.  We crossed over to Hackney Road, aiming to go to Sager & Wilde to get Al a nice glass of wine after the last two.  Before we made it there, I diverted them in to The Liquor Cabinet, a tiny bar underneath the Golden Grill kebab shop run by the experienced duo of Mikey Seddon and Thom Docker, both formerly of The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town.

Before The Liquor Cabinet turned up, the space was used by Quiquiriqui Mezcaleria, which I annoyingly didn't make it to.  List regular Sam reported back that it was a lot of fun, and that it stayed open so late that they had to be let out through the kebab shop.  Quiquiriqui have now moved in to Catrina the Cocktail Ambulance, which also sounds pretty wonderful - read more here.

The Liquor Cabinet has only recently managed to sort out a license issue, so it had only been open for a couple of days when we went in.  The idea here is to have one excellent variety of their favourite spirits and a few mixers alongside a couple of solid wines and beers, whilst keeping prices low.  The atmosphere was buzzing, and the simplicity really works here (unlike in White Lyan!).  Al and Em were very happy with their red wine, and I had a very nice £4.50 G&T made with Three Corners Gin (which uses only two botanicals - Juniper and Lemon).  If I was a local, I think I would be here all the time.  It is open Tue-Sat and the bar is cash only.

As it was approaching 11pm, we decided to hop on over to Sager & Wilde for a final drink, only to find that they had just called last orders.  Sager & Wilde is an attractive new wine bar on Hackney Road, set up by Michael and Charlotte Sager-Wilde, following on from their successful pop-up in Shoreditch last year.  They are however on their best behaviour with their new neighbours so they currently aren't staying open very late. They hope to extend their opening hours next year.

Sager and Wilde

They kindly pointed us in the direction of Mr.Buckley's which is a bit further down the road, and helpfully stays open til 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.  I have passed it a few times on the way to Broadway Market and it always looked fun.  Upstairs, you can have food and drink - they open up at 10am Mon-Fri and 9am Sat-Sun for brunch.  We headed down to the late night bar underneath, which was surprisingly empty for such a nice place.  It's the perfect chilled out place to grab a late night drink, and the barmen know their stuff. One of them was keeping himself entertained by practicing his flair skills.

I was impressed by their bottled beers, and got myself a local Pressure Drop Pale Fire, whilst Al and Em went for wine (best of the night) and an alcohol-enhanced hot chocolate respectively.  London needs more relaxed late night bars like this which don't try and turn themselves in to clubs.  I'm very jealous of the Hackney Road locals who have so many friendly watering holes on their doorsteps.

Just as we were leaving, I asked the bartenders about a Pressure Drop beer that I hadn't seen before, bizarrely named "Wu Gang Chops the Tree" after a character from Chinese folklore who is known for endlessly cutting down a Bay Laurel on the Moon.  Neither of them had tried it before either, and so they just opened it up on the house, and poured it into three glasses.  Don't ask, don't get!  It calls itself a Forged Herb Hefeweisse - a pale and hazy wheat beer, with pronounced herbal notes, and hints of clove, citrus and banana.  It was a bit late for me to notice all of that, but it went down very easily.  Read more about Pressure Drop brews here.

I ended up crashing in Hoxton with Al and Em since I couldn't face a two night bus journey home, and I was conveniently heading out to Dalston the next day for Street Food Europe and more.  I will leave that all for another post however.  Em has now shot on to the Top 20 Leaderboard - she is currently tied for 16th on 11 points.  Al is not far away in 21st place on 9 points, whilst Jo and Ant have moved to 30th on 6 points. All to play for.

Rotary - Yum Bun - Monikers - Happiness Forgets - Looking Glass Cocktail Club

Thursday 4th April - This was my third outing into the East London hipster territories since the blog started.  My sister's boyfriend has just moved to Hoxton which gave me an excuse to explore some new places with them.  I put my hipster green jeans on and met my sister, Emily/Embob/Bobster etc, at Exit 2 of Old Street Station.

Our first stop was Rotary Bar and Diner (not near Exit 2 - Old Street Roundabout 1-0 Team List) which is part of the Rushmore Group (Milk and Honey, The Player, Giant Robot, Redhook and Danger of Death).  Downstairs is the Rotary Bar which is a members only drinking den, but upstairs is the more relaxed diner.  Embob and I ordered a  £10 'Giant Mojito' (one of six pint-sized cocktails on offer) which was presented in a Boston Shaker.  It took us a while to drink despite being excellent and is great value at a tenner.  Rotary is a temporary installation as building works are due to take place, though I assume they will move on to somewhere else, or return when work has finished.  The food looked good but we were saving room for other things, starting with Yum Bun.

Yum Bun serve up tasty, tiny steamed buns (known as 'Gua Bao' in Thailand) with fillings inspired by Chinese and Japanese flavours, for the cheap price of £3.50 for one or £6 for two.  They also have bento box deals and a dessert bun option with ice cream provided by Sorbitium Ices.  They are currently stationed right next to Rotary, having moved up in the world after starting life as a Street Food Van.  Our buns were satisfyingly squishy and moreish, and were served with a smile and a chat!

After swiftly despatching the buns that were yum, we tried and failed to get in to Nightjar without a booking (not sensible unless you arrive outside 10 minutes before it opens), but we weren't really expecting success anyway.  I will plan a trip more carefully at some point.  We wandered off towards Hoxton Square to try out a couple of bars.  On our way there, we spotted a cluster of hipsters on the street drinking weird fizzy drink based cocktails out of plastic cups.  This turned out to be the book launch for The Gathering of the Juggalos - a collection of photos covering a five day festival attended by 'Juggalos' (the followers of horrorcore rap group Insane Clown Posse apparently - Wikipedia tells me that I am not to confuse horrorcore with terrorcore, obvs).  We had some vodka mixed with Faygo (the soft drink often referenced by Insane Clown Posse, keep up!), some milk duds and a jello shot before running away.

We didn't have to run far to reach Happiness Forgets, a hidden underground bar on Hoxton Square with a fantastic reputation.  It was very busy when we arrived but one of the bar staff took my number so that he could text me when a table became free.  We decided to stay nearby so we popped into Monikers, a new school-themed restaurant and bar that has recently opened.  It was pretty quiet, but I would imagine it won't be long before this place is packed, as they have put a huge amount of effort into the décor, as well as the food and drink.  The menus are presented as old text books with doodles all over them, tables have drawers filled with crayons and football stickers, and there is even a school bus area upstairs where you can draw on the walls - the whole bus can be hired out if you so wish.  Alternatively, ask for the bus driver table when booking for a fun experience!  We were well looked after by Gianluca and his staff at the bar and I hope to return soon for the full restaurant experience.  We just stayed for one however, as I received a text with good news.

The elusive David Villa sticker

Em and I hopped back over to Happiness Forgets to claim our table.  We were still waiting for Al, who was stuck in his flat waiting for someone to arrive, so they put us in a cosy spot for two (with just enough room for a third).  The bar was buzzing, helped by the candlelit speakeasy vibe (though slightly hindered by the loud music that just didn't fit in my opinion) and we set about choosing some cocktails.  Our first two (Mr. McRae and Perfect Storm) were outstanding, rivalling the best drinks I have had so far from Candaleria in Paris.  Albert Sq. finally arrived in Hoxton Sq. and started playing catchup with a Dapperman Sour and some Dutch Courage whilst we waited for some Roast Potatoes with Chipotle Mayo (food provided by Master and Servant upstairs).  After a while, one of the staff came to tell us that they had sent the food back as it wasn't good enough for us, and that it would be free of charge!  When it did turn up, it was delicious.  With money to spare, we ordered some Honey and Pistachio doughnuts as well.

The service was top notch (though they didn't put any on the bill as it was obviously not up to their high standards!) and it's easily one of the best places that I have been to so far. They take bookings but only up until 8 - after that it is a friendly free for all. Growing a massive beard and wearing a checked shirt is advisable if you want to fit in with the Kings of Leon-esque hipster/lumberjack look - follow the link or see below for ideas.

We decided to pack in one more place before my last train from Shoreditch High Street so we sped over to the recently opened Looking Glass Cocktail Club on Hackney Road - the second Alice in Wonderland themed bar in the area along with Callooh Callay!  Apparently it is normally very busy with queues outside but it was totally empty. The friendly owner (who was either fully in character or on crack) took us "through the looking glass" into an even emptier room filled with mismatching retro furniture that probably looks a lot better when the place is full.

However deserted it was, I can't fault their cocktails!  Their list is really interesting so it's a shame I had to rush my decision - I went for a drinkable Pop Goes the Walrus (made with pop corn bourbon) whilst Alistair was very happy with his Shades of Green (vodka, dill syrup and absinthe mist).   They also very kindly made Em a fun mocktail for not much extra charge when she ordered a fruit juice.  The invention on show is matched by the taste, which reminds me of Southsider Cocktail Club in Battersea.

It is nowhere near as intimate as Happiness Forgets, but it's not trying to be.  Probably best to head here at the weekend - supposedly they sometimes have entertainment (not sure what exactly) in the larger room.  Alternatively (or additionally) head to the popular Callooh Callay cocktail bar around the corner for more Lewis Carroll-based antics - go through the wardrobe at the back to reach the hidden Jubjub Bar where you can find the Cantina de Cuervo Mexican pop up that is on until May 18th.  The main bar is launching their hotly anticipated new cocktail menu on April 23rd.

Sister Em gets 5 points on her List debut (are you reading Sister Jo?) whilst Al picks up 2 - not a bad start for my new Hoxton team.  Those East London hipsters are a nice bunch! Now I just need to get myself a lumberjack shirt...