Given the general cost of restaurant food in London these days as well as the quite inconvenient 12.5% service charge, it's nice to find some discount offers online. This one came as 50% off food from Hot Dinners. It's a good way of eating well, eating cheaper and trying places I otherwise would not have heard of or chosen to go to.
It's a nice venue that looks like a beautiful moodlit bar and entrance to a hotel. There's a free pool table to bide time also.
To balance a little of the cheaper food, the drinks are definitely at the higher end of the spectrum. Smoke & Fire (San Cosme mezcal with mixed vermouth, St. George pear & habanero shrub) £13 was a well presented smooth drink with a light smoky touch of mezcal. I was keen to see how much heat the habanero would add but disappointed to find none at all.
Teasers
- Red curry & herb sticky rice balls £5 - similar to arancini with some mild curry but nicely hot sliced fresh chilli added a boost;
- Buttermilk fried chicken, sriracha dip £9 - expected with pieces and ended up with sliced tenders. Quite nice and enhanced with the sriracha and fresh chilli;
- Scallop seared green salsa, lime & wakame dust £10 - a very large scallop wonderfully cooked and with some added salsa. £10 for one scallop is a bit excessive though... (justifiable for half price).
Mains
- Branzino Al forno, leeks, lemon confit, green tapenade £18 - nicely cooked seabass but a bit too heavy on the salt;
- Merguez, homemade harissa beans, poached egg £12 - a breakfast-type dish of crunchy beans, egg and some sausage pieces. The flvaour was quite meaty. Would have been great with some bread;
- Pumpkin & piquillo pepper casserole £5 - minimally seasoned but better for it. The pumpkin taste was the most prevalent.
Dessert
- Lemon, hazelnut & polenta cake, clotted cream £7 - not too sweet and very tasty. It was a bit firmer in texture than I'm used to but fine. A good way to finish.
The food overall was of pretty good standard and I enjoyed the teasers more than the mains. The prices are quite typical for London but I'd probably opt for somewhere else if paying full price. The higher cost of drinks also influences that too.