Grillshack - Lab Bar - Dirty Burger - Dip & Flip

Wednesday 4th September - Team List popped along to the public opening of Grillshack, a new "all day grill" with a quirky technological edge.  As well as ordering at the counter, you can place your orders using touchscreens around the room, or by using an app on a smartphone.  I was sent some attractive Grillshack Coins in the post in advance, worth a free drink or dessert, so I downloaded the app and turned up with Taro and List Leader Natalie for some cheap eats.

As there were three of us, we decided to try out all three ordering methods.  Taro went up to the counter to order a pitcher of Grillshack Craft Lager (made by Brewers & Union) which unsurprisingly arrived no problem.  We were very impressed with this refreshing beer, though it is pretty expensive at £11 for a 2 pint jug compared to everything else on the menu.  The wine is particularly cheap at £3.25 for a 175ml glass. You can also have one free refill at the Soda Fountain for £1.95.  Let me know if you try the Green Juice -made with spinach, avocado, watercress, celery, cucumber and apple.

Natalie went for the touchscreen approach, and was rewarded a few minutes later when her food arrived impressively quickly.  That just left me, struggling away with the app on my Android phone.  A manager was very quick to notice my hungry expression, and came over to talk through the app teething problems.  I first needed to download an update for the app (which had appeared after I entered the restaurant!), before also joining the Grillshack Wi-Fi network to guarantee a good connection to the tills.  She demonstrated how simple it was after that by generously ordering us some sides on the house.  I put in my Bacon Cheeseburger order (only £6.45) and had finished it 10 minutes later!  The burgers and Taro's Halloumi Salad went down extremely well.  Next time, I might have to go for the £9.95 Rump Steak and Shoestring Fries - bargain! The Grilled Corn side with Chipotle Butter and Cheese also sounds tasty.

The app allows you to do a couple of fun things.  You can order a drink (or food!) over to another table if you want to get someone's attention! Also, you can order ahead if you are on your way and you know which table your friends are sitting at.  They have an online waiting list which will text you when a table is ready, so that you can stay in the pub as long as possible before heading over!  They also do takeout, although I'm not sure if you can currently order through the app for this, perhaps because they aren't quite sure how they would deal if loads of orders came in at once whilst the diner itself was busy.  

We moved on to dessert, which were all free thanks to our Grillshack coins.  Taro and I went for a delicious Triple Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich, whilst Natalie had the Carrot and Walnut Layer Cake.  The Ice Cream Sandwich was mysteriously presented in a bag, perhaps because of how it is stored in the freezer, or so that you can take it home with you. Who knows?  Anyway, we had a great time at Grillshack and the staff were all extremely helpful.  If I find myself in Soho at 8.00 am on a weekday, I might pop in to sample their enticing breakfast menu which includes Buttermilk Apple Pancakes and Cinnamon French Toast amongst other delights.  It is served from 8-11.30 Mon-Sat, and 10-11.30 on Sundays. 

Taro understood what I meant when I asked him to look more Japanese

The Grillshack team of Mark Askew, Hannah Bass and Richard Caring have already planned their next venture, Jackson & Rye.  It will open in December on Wardour Street, and will have the same all day diner style, with an East Coast slant.

We decided to squeeze in a drink at LAB Bar before heading our separate ways.  Pre 1999, LAB Bar was just LAB - the London Academy of Bartenders.  They continue to develop and showcase talented bartenders, testing their skills with a massive cocktail menu full of LAB Bar originals.

I am normally put off by such a large menu, but every drink had lots care put into it.  The garnishes were eye catching and the cocktails were spot on.  We were incredibly well looked after - there was a tiny mixup whereby I was brought the wrong drink.  The names of the two were pretty similar so it was an easy mistake to make, and I wasn't bothered, but they instantly took my drink off the bill!  We also joked with our waitress about how one of our orange peel garnishes looked slightly like a squid.  A few minutes later she returned with a new sea creature garnish that one of the bartenders had made for us!  All this place is missing is a proper happy hour (unless there is one I don't know about?) to help you get through more of the drinks. Most of them are around £8 which is reasonable, but when there are so many on offer it would really help if you could get two every time!  Points go to Taro and Natalie for Grillshack and LAB Bar adventures.

Wednesday 11th September - Dirty Burger was on my to do list for a long time.  I kept hearing wonderful things, but Kentish Town is pretty far away, so I was delighted when they announced that they were opening their second site in Vauxhall, where I work.  Hopefully, this will mark the start of a Vauxhall food & drink revolution, if anyone can find any good spaces to set up shop.  There are a few fun places around already (Bonnington Café, Estrela Bar, Brunswick House Café) but everything is randomly dotted around.

Dirty Burger is more of a fast food joint than a restaurant, and wouldn't look out of place in a scrap yard.  I mean this in the nicest way possible, as the tiny shack is made of random pieces of metal, some with locks and bolts still attached.  Your main choice has already been made - you are having a cheeseburger (£5.50). Then you can choose onion fries or crinkle cut chips (or both, each is £3), and pick a soft drink, milkshake or even a Brewdog beer.  If you want Sausage & Egg, or Bacon & Egg (with bottomless tea/coffee) then go along for breakfast before 11am - it opens as early as 7am on weekdays.

So it all sounds pretty simple, and it is.  What matters is that everything tastes fantastic.  The cheeseburger is streets ahead of your regular fast food fare (including the over hyped Shake Shack and Five Guys in my opinion) and good value.  The onion fries are the pick of the two sides but you won't be disappointed either way.  Cheap, quick and reliable - it is the perfect pit stop before braving the tube or the train after work, or after a night out. It is open til 2am on Fridays and Saturdays which should draw an interesting crowd in Vauxhall!  Thanks to locals Mary & Joe for having everything on the menu with me.

Saturday 14th September - One more place with burgers (I know, Mum) to mention.  Dip & Flip has recently opened on Battersea Rise near Clapham Junction.  If you don't like gravy, this is not the place for you. Nearly everything on the menu either comes soaked in gravy, or has a pot on the side for dipping. Never has a place been more suited to List Leader Natalie, who hails from the Yorkshire "Moo-ers" and is constantly bemoaning the lack of gravy based food in London.

We went for a Lamb Sub (with gravy soaked meat and mint sauce) and the Dip and Flip Burger, a cheeseburger with extra slices of roast beef that have already been dipped in gravy.  Both of these also come with a pot of extra gravy on the side.  We also ordered some Poutine which hails from Quebec - chips topped with gravy and cheese curds.  In Canada, you would find it on a regular McDonalds / Burger King menu.  It is a fairly messy meal as you might expect.  The Dip & Flip Burger is almost impossible to dip, but it doesn't need it anyway - the beef and the patty are both high quality, and it is pretty soggy already!  The Lamb Sub was a better shape for dipping, and was delicious.  The lovely mint sauce came through despite lashings of gravy.  The poutine was also a great success, and didn't last long at all.  The chips were seasoned with chicken salt, which was noticeable but not overpowering. 

On the drinks front, we both went for the Sambrooke's Pale Ale (who are just up the road, and opening their Brewery tap this Friday - 4th October).  It is a rare, carbonated version of the Pumphouse Pale Ale which you can only get in a few places around London at the moment - well worth looking out for.  It was a perfect match for our food.  There were a couple of bottled beer options, including Samuel Adams, but they are intending to get some more interesting ones in soon.

Dessert is supplied by local pudding expert, Laura Amos, who runs The Dessert Deli.  Her Mini Dessert Shots were on offer, as well as a Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart.  We went for the Banoffee Cheesecake and Honeycomb Chocolate Mousse shots, which came with teeny little spoons which we were very taken with. They are obviously quite small, and not especially cheap, but they are excellent.  After a load of fast food covered in gravy, I wouldn't normally go for a sweet course, so they have made a smart choice bringing in these quirky little desserts with the added bonus of supporting a small Battersea business at the same time. Look out for Laura's Dessert Deli stall on Northcote Road on Saturdays.

 

We were in constant contact with the manager who was very friendly and chatty.  His hope is to get a local, hungry crowd in regularly, but never just for drinks.  It will serve food right up to midnight Thursday-Saturday to pick up punters from the many bars on Battersea Rise and Northcote Road.  I will no doubt find myself there again soon, and I am sure that it will be a lot busier when I return!

Dabbous

List Dad Guest Post - Here is hopefully the first of many guest posts from List Dad, my father who has slightly more expensive tastes and a bigger budget to play with.  He will be bringing us some short write ups on London's best restaurants. First up - Dabbous:

Matt has been on at me for some time to occasionally 'guest' here with thoughts on my favourite restaurants. London has a huge diversity of places to eat (as witnessed by Matt's postings) and there is no need to be daunted by some of the top (even Michelin starred) places if you stick to the lunch menus and don't order expensive drinks.

My top restaurant is London is Dabbous in Whitfield Street (nearest station - Goodge Street) where word of mouth has made it THE place to eat since it opened in February last year.  Ollie Dabbous was unknown until he burst on the scene with a rare 5 star review from Fay Maschler in 'The Evening Standard'.  He now has one Michelin star, and should have two.  What is his secret?  Simple really - well-sourced ingredients, perfectly cooked by Ollie, and original flavour combinations.

Ollie Dabbous

His signature dish is perhaps his coddled egg with woodland mushrooms, served eye-catchingly in a brown egg shell on straw, but I haven’t had anything less than amazing on my four visits. Dishes this week included a salad of fennel, lemon balm and pickled rose petals, barbecued lamb shoulder with violet mustard and pickled vine leaves, and Scottish raspberries with barley and strained yoghurt.

Coddled Egg

As someone who always turns first to the desserts list on a menu, however, I should mention that the latter pudding was eclipsed on a previous occasion by a dish of milk curds, birch sap, winter fruit and vegetables which ended with a layer at the bottom of chestnuts and Japanese artichoke.

Milk Curds

The restaurant is generally fully booked for lunch and dinner for several weeks ahead but it is possible to walk in for lunch at around 1.30 p.m. on the off chance that a table has been vacated. Alternatively, Oskar’s Bar below the restaurant serves excellent food cooked by Ollie, often including the coddled egg, and it doesn’t take bookings. 

Rumour has it that a second larger venue will be opened next year under Ollie’s supervision, with Ollie remaining in his kitchen in Whitfield Street. Great news for lovers of good food.

Taproom - Hoxley & Porter - Earl of Essex

Wednesday 18th September - Upper Street and the surrounding roads have so far not made it on to The List as I had been waiting to go with certain members of Team List (you know who you are).  I caved last Wednesday as the lineup of bars, pubs and restaurants was becoming too long to ignore, and I felt North London needed some better representation on the blog.  Taro stepped up to the plate and met me at Highbury & Islington for a slow walk down to Angel.  

I suggested going for food at the fairly new Fish & Chip Shop, but Taro was having none of it.  Instead we headed straight for The Taproom, a popup beer bar on Upper Street that now plans to stay there for the foreseeable future.

I was excited to see Five Points Pale on as I haven't had any of their beers yet, so I went for a pint of that straight away.  It lived up to my expectations - hopefully I will make it to one of their brewery open days in Hackney soon.  That said, I should probably have gone for the reasonably priced flight of 3 third pints of ale for £3.90 which I spotted too late.

Taro did go for the flight, and left the barmaid to make two of the choices.  He ended up with Tiny Rebel Full Nelson, London Fields Shoreditch Triangle IPA and Williams Bros Red Ale - a lovely selection, with Triangle IPA just about coming out on top.  It's a really cosy place to drink, and we could have happily stayed there all evening.  Tables are fairly low lit, meat and cheese boards are available, and they run a pub quiz most Tuesdays.

We tore ourselves away and wandered a few doors down to find Hoxley & Porter, a brand new bar and restaurant with a stunningly realised train carriage and travel theme.  Upon entering, you walk down a long train carriage corridor, with views through to a classic dining carriage on your right before you reach the bar area which is slightly more exotic.  As soon as we arrived, the barman (in train conductor regalia) came out from behind the bar to give Taro a big hug.  I wasn't sure what was going on, so I demanded the same greeting before it became clear that Taro actually knew said barman.  Unbeknownst to Taro, his friend Yih was manning the bar that evening after a few months away from the mixology game.  We pulled up to two seats at the bar - always the best place to be - and got chatting.

We were lucky to also have head bartender Mikey Pendergast, previously of Powder Keg Diplomacy in Battersea, sitting to our left, along with a current Powder Keg bartender.  I have come across both of them before in passing at PKD and Ginstock 2013, but it was great to have a chat with them whilst they were off the clock.  Despite it being a cocktail bar, I quickly surveyed the beer options as I always do.  They are currently having to sell some standard beers on tap (two lagers and a cider, I think) because they are somehow affiliated with them, but they have cleverly removed the branding, and covered them with Dark, Light, and Apple Beer signs to fit in with the decor.  Hopefully they will find a workaround and get some craft beers in to match the exciting cocktail menu.  There were Redchurch beers in the fridge, including a Broadway Black Pale that I haven't seen before.

Anyway, on to the cocktails.  Taro started off with a boozy "My Daddy Owns a Yacht Club" which was all alcohol and incredibly drinkable.  I had heard rumours of a colour changing cocktail with an edible absinthe-coated scorpion, so I enquired after it.  Yih described it as their "halo" drink (i.e. the one to get the press talking) and Mikey got up from his seat to mix one up.  It is a ridiculous concoction that involves some 95% Polish Rectified Spirit amongst other things.  It changes colour instantly as you pour the final ingredient in, for reasons that were explained to me at the time but are now hazy.  Most importantly though, it was extremely tasty, and dangerously easy to drink.  Mikey described it as a cocktail that starts off like a Vodka Martini and ends up like a Rum Daiquiri, adding that he is well aware quite how pretentious that sounds.  He continued to entertain, moaning about the need to include a champagne cocktail (which they gave a no frills name to, similar to Southsider Cocktail Club's "Token Champagne Cocktail").

As we were finishing our first drink, we were joined by North Londoner Tom, who had texted about watching the Arsenal match but was quickly drawn into the cocktail fun.  He took Mikey's seat who left us in Yih's capable hands.  Early press reported that there was a "Crypt" downstairs where you could homemade spirits and scorpions being prepared.  This is apparently nonsense according to Yih - they don't have a license to take customers downstairs, and it is not at all glamorous down there anyway.  

Yih was constantly dishing out fascinating nuggets of information about his favourite drinks and the art of mixing.  He made up a sour ("Chipotle off the Old Block" with powerful chilli bitters) for another table, and let us in on the dry-wet-dry shaking technique (without ice or with) which produces a super smooth drink with well defined bubbles.  He is a rum expert, but happily took on Tom's request of making up something brilliant with gin.  He gave us a taster of the delicious Hayman's Gin Liqueur before rustling up a sublime drink with it, which was presented in a small bottle on ice - similar to the presentation of a Henry Martini Rifle at Powder Keg Diplomacy.  Taro went for a "Honey, Where's Mai Tai?", Yih's signature (off the menu) drink - easily the best Mai Tai I have ever tasted.  Meanwhile, I asked for his favourite strong rum drink, so he whipped me up a very special Rum Daquiri, with some extra Wray & Nephews's Overproof rum (one of H&P's most used spirits) for good measure.

Every drink was an absolute winner, and we were all simultaneously jealous of everyone else's beverage.  It was amusing to watch the bar staff dealing with one table who were constantly sending back drinks to make them sweeter, to the point where Yih suggested just giving them a bottle of syrup on the side.  I find it hard to believe that their drinks weren't up to scratch, but I guess you can't argue with the customer.  We eventually decided to make a move, and settled up a very reasonable bill.  Huge thanks have to go to Yih for being such a fantastic host (especially with a taster of the awesome Plantation XO Rum).  I will definitely return, though I would be sad if he wasn't there! The food is also meant to be exceptional, but we were just here for the drinks this time around.  They currently have a super cheap lunch deal going, but I would imagine that it won't last that long, so head there soon!

Taro sneaking behind the bar for a picture with Yih

We pressed on towards Angel, and decided to make one more stop at the Earl of Essex, a craft beer pub tucked away in a residential part of Islington.  Tom took us via Camden Passage - a lively little pedestrian street which I can't believe I have never found before.  Taro was on the hunt for food, but we managed to stay on track and got some seats at the bar.  I love a good beer board, and the Earl of Essex didn't disappoint.  The selection is fantastic - I knew most of the breweries but they had some really interesting beers from each one.  We tried all sorts, making up for my lack of a beer flight at the Taproom earlier on:

Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale, Brugse Zot Brune, Moor Revival, Offbeat Grateful Deaf, Liverpool Beer Co American Red & IPA, Magic Rock Clown Juice and Arbor Twigs in Space were all sampled.  I was particularly impressed by the Liverpool Beer Co offerings.  Moor Beer Co (Somerset) continue to be one of my favourite breweries.  There are lots of great beers in the fridge too, including some craft cans all the way from Maui in Hawaii - Maui Brewing Co Big Wave will convert you to canned beer.

It's a very friendly pub, and the staff looked after us very well (especially hungry Taro - see his previous List form here).  Everything on the food menu is paired with a beer that they should have in stock.  There is a nice garden out back too, though we don't have many beer garden days left this year. Whilst Tom and I chatted about football, Taro befriended a barman who works round the corner at Smokehouse - a new gastropub (near the top of The List's most wanted) with smoked meats and a huge amount of beer on tap.  It is one of many places around Upper Street that I need to start ticking off - House of Wolf, John Salt, North Pole, 69 Colebrooke Row, Ottolenghi and Slim Jim's to name a few!  Thanks to Tom and Taro for kicking off the Islington List exploration.

Since this is a pretty beery post, I'll quickly mention some beer news.  Honky Tonk (Chelsea & Clapham Common) have just launched London's first "Beer Trolley".  A beer sommelier will wheel the trolley around to diners, and take them through various options that will hopefully match your food!  Thanks to Hollie from KK Communications for the heads up.  Honky Tonk have also started presenting your bill inside a book, which you can take home if you so wish.  They are considering turning it into a full on book exchange!

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the refreshing new Hiver honey beer which I had a taste of at Bermondsey Street Festival on Saturday.  It is currently on sale at The Hide Bar in Bermondsey, but should also be available elsewhere soon (if it isn't already).  Follow them on Facebook/Twitter for more info, or sign up for updates on their website here.

Feast 1st Birthday at Guy's Quad

Friday 13th September - This was my third trip to a Feast food festival since starting The List, this time in honour of their 1st birthday. They decided to return to the Quadrangle at Guy's Hospital near London Bridge where they started their journey last year. It was a particularly rainy day when we went (understatement) but Lauren and I got there early and bagged some covered seating before the soggy crowds descended.  I will let the photos do most of the talking as the evening mainly involved eating, sitting, and occasionally  running outside.  Six Team List members braved the nasty conditions, and we ended up sitting next to some old school friends by chance as well.

Roasted pulled lamb with fresh naan from Cinnamon Kitchen

Spicy tamarind chicken wings from Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen

Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Pesto from Anna Mae's

Polenta Chips from Paesan

Pig Mac Sliders from Wiggies

Check On Egg Soldiers and Paesan Cannoli

We also had some delicious food from Halloumi and Smokin Hot Tamales that isn't pictured here.  The atmosphere was excellent despite the rain, and a DJ was on hand to keep spirits high.  If the weather had improved, I think we would have stayed a lot longer, but we eventually ran away to a pub as there were far too many people trying to keep dry in the same space.  Feast put on another good show, and I look forward to their (under cover) Winter installment.

In other news, I have recently given the blog a bit of an overhaul to make it more of a useful resource.  The main new thing is The List Map - there may be some teething problems with this so please let me know how you get on with it.  You can also now find lists of where I have been, and where I intend to go, as well as a Top 5s section for people that don't have time to read all of my posts!  Check the Team List Leaderboard if you think you are in the Top 20 contributors so far.  List Leader Natalie has opened up a whopping 50 point lead on 2nd placed Lauren, but it is all very close below them.

Ronnie Saunders' Diners Union

Friday 6th September - Two weeks ago I made it over to Ronnie Saunders' Diners Union in Shoreditch (with Team Flattersea - Maggie, Ali and Rich) which has popped up outside Red Gallery on Rivington Street.  It is open from 6-11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and is aiming to stay there for the foreseeable future.  The premise is simple - 5 courses for £15 and BYOB.  Everyone pays the same, and everyone gets the same.  The eponymous Ronnie Saunders was the granddad of head chef Rolan Dack who describes Ronnie as a "champion of equality and a proper London character".  This project is Rolan's tribute to Ronnie, with the central aim being to bring people together with outstanding food.

A couple of our group were late, but this wasn't an issue at all as it is a free for all seating wise, and the booking times are there to roughly ensure that everyone doesn't arrive at the same time.  It is all under cover in a huge marquee, with long tables stretching the length of the tent.  We were given our trays and wine glasses on the way in, where we also paid our £3.50 corkage fee.  We then settled down and opened up the first of our four bottles of wine, and enjoyed the live jazz coming from the other end of the room.

To get your food, you queue up in the right line for course 1,2,3,4 or 5 where it is served to you directly by the chefs.  Make sure you take your wine with you!  It takes a bit of time as the chefs try and talk through the food with everyone which obviously slows things down, but is a very nice personal touch.  We never had to queue for that long, and I'm sure they will make it more efficient as the weeks go by.  Giving everyone a detailed paper menu (on the tray?) would possibly help.  Our first two courses were a Langue de boeuf, brioche and horseradish "club sandwich", and Brixham landings catch of the day, Bouillabaisse style.  1 & 2 were scribbled on our trays to signify that we had received them both.

Maggie encountered a couple of "First World Problems" at this stage:

1. "Oh no, I've got Bouillabaisse on my trousers" - tough times

2. "Whoops, I accidentally poured Villa Maria into your Oyster Bay" - ruined  

Having got through 2 bottles of wine, we started to make friends with our entertaining neighbours, Roger and Simon.  Roger is the author of "A Natural History of Ghosts : 500 Years of Hunting for Proof" (available to buy here), so it didn't take long for us to start swapping ghosts stories.  "What is more believable - ghosts or heaven?" kept us going for a while, before we went off in search of courses 3 & 4 - Leeks a la Grecque, and Coq au Vin.  Just in case you were wondering, they have an entirely vegetarian menu too.  We chatted to some of the corkage staff (including an old friend of mine) in the queue who were clearly having a great time, with BYOB applying to them too.  The atmosphere was really buzzing by this point, and everyone was in a sociable mood.  

When we returned to our tables, we were sought out by the Diners Union co-founder Cameron, who had been monitoring our happy tweets and decided to come and say hello!  He currently handles all of the bookings himself, and replies individually to every request - I'm not sure how long he will be able to keep this up, but the hands on approach is really refreshing.  He was also happy to chat to others down the table who weren't too happy about the queuing, and he was very open to their suggestions for improvement.  Courses 3 & 4 meanwhile were going down very nicely, especially the excellent Leeks a la Grecque.  We then ran out of wine, which was completely unacceptable, so our new neighbour friend Simon was sent out to buy some more from Sainsbury's over the road.

Head Chef Rolan and Maggie top left - Ali and Roger "Ghosts" Clarke bottom left

We eventually dragged ourselves away from the vino to get our dessert course - beautifully presented, delicious "Croquembouche" profiteroles.  I could happily have eaten 100 of them - I wonder how many the chefs tested just to be sure?  Cameron came back for another chat, this time with head chef Rolan (trained in the kitchens of Corrigan and Pierre White) who was doing the rounds.  He sat himself down and chatted for a while about fine tuning the experience.  He was mainly concerned with providing ample portion sizes whilst keeping costs down after a few comments that the starters were perhaps on the small side.  This potentially wouldn't be so noticeable if they called it 3 courses for £15, since we did receive courses 1&2 simultaneously, and similarly 3&4 together. However you word it though, it is great value and the food was high quality throughout.

Head Chef Rolan getting involved - Centre

We ended up staying all night with our friendly neighbours until a very friendly "bouncer" moved us on. I hardly ever stay that long in a restaurant as the cost of drinks gets too high, so BYOB makes a huge difference here.  The sociable atmosphere that they have created is wonderful, and made it one of the best nights out that Team List has had so far.  I have so much on my list that needs to be done on Fridays and Saturdays, but I am definitely going to leave some free and book Diners Union again before too long, and I strongly suggest that you do the same.  The menu changes every week so keep an eye on the website.  That said, I wouldn't really need to look as I trust that whatever they serve will be excellent!  Congratulations to Rolan, Cameron and everyone else involved - Ronnie would be proud!

I am currently trying out a fairly new website called Triptease for short posts - have a look and let me know what you think.  Click HERE to see my little page on Diners Union.