Food: Hoi Polloi (Rooftop) Brunch Club, Ace Hotel, Shoreditch

The clever folk at Hoi Polloi have been holding rooftop brunch clubs at the Ace Hotel over the summer, collaborating each time with a different fitness concept.  It is held on the 7th floor rooftop of the hotel, with sweeping views over the city. 

On the menu:

Stone fruits, goats curd, elderflower, nuts and seeds

Crispy duck egg, girolles, asparagus

Hot smoked salmon hash, peas, spiced creme fraiche

Strawberries, creme fraiche ice cream, almond crumb

All of the food was excellent, combining fresh ingredients and impeccable presentation. The goats curd and plum dish in particular was delicious. 

Perfectly ripe plums with a light, light goat's curd

I've been twice to this gig already. The first class, led by 1 Rebel, a high-intensity RESHAPE class, made us work hard for our brunch, which, being lazy as hell, left me hugely resentful and furious every time the lovely, lithe and (obviously) super-fit instructor cheerily yelled out the command for more burpees.  This is not an indictment against 1 Rebel, as the rest of the group seemed to thoroughly enjoy the hour of pain.  

Crispy duck egg, girolles, asparagus

More to my style, yesterday's brunch was hosted by the Stretch Dynamic Yoga studio, and it was brilliant. Oliver took us through a gentle Sunday morning paced yoga session, with wit and clarity. 

Hot smoked salmon hash, peas, spiced creme fraiche

The brunch is held in the Britannia room, on long communal tables, inviting conversation amongst new friends. Our group tumbled into the room noisily, crying out for immediate refills of Bloody Mary's after our work-out. Convivial laughter, fresh flowers, endless slices of buttery toast and bottomless filter coffee. The perfect Sunday afternoon.

Strawberries, creme fraiche ice cream, almond crumb

Details:

Hoi Polloi Rooftop brunch, contact them directly for details but they do the brunches about once a fortnight. Sign up to their mailing list for updates here.

Ace Hotel: 100 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JQ

Food: Bistrotheque, Bethnal Green E2

Last week, I decided to revisit Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green to try their 'one night only' menu based on produce that the chefs had personally hiked all the way to North Yorkshire for.  They brought back lamb from Swaledale Foods, a brilliant concept developed to connect chefs and farmers.

Bistrotheque has been around long enough and reviewed often enough that I need not repeat what others have said. In the constantly evolving dining landscape that is London, it is comforting to know that if I want a good roast chicken, I can get it at Bistrotheque and not worry about what sort of new Korean friend chicken coating (don't get me wrong, I do love the stuff) awaits me. It's been the scene for meeting new friends, catching up with old ones, Christmas carols, and memorable performances in the downstairs cabaret area.  I digress but years ago there was an amazing drag performer who did a Britney Spears/Judy Garland mash up that was intensely beautiful.

Anyway. Even though it is great at the classics, Bistrotheque recognises that it needs to adapt to changing times and of late have introduced a few new tricks. The Swaledale menu is one foray into perhaps redeveloping their menu.  The kitchen presented five new dishes, which could be ordered separately, or as a tasting menu for £35. We of course opted to try the latter, and here is the low-down on what we had:

St James, broad bean, broccoli puff

Two bite-sized puff pastry parcels to whet one's appetite, with new season broad beans, broccoli and shavings of St James cheese.  It was light and fresh, but to be fair, this was probably the least successful of the dishes and could do with some tinkering as the pastry to vegetable filling proportion was unfavourably leaning towards the pastry side.

Smoked Swaledale lamb belly, peas, Wensleydale and pickled red onions.

Aside from looking a treat, the smokey, crisp lamb belly was perfectly cooked. Clever use of pickled red onions to cut through the rich belly fat, and accompanied by fresh as can be peas. This one can go straight to the main menu.

Slow and pink Swaledale lamb, fried marsh samphire, heritage carrots in Settle Brewery No. 4 ale, land cress

The main course relied heavily on the freshness of the Swaledale lamb, which was cooked beautifully. The chefs have turned away from traditional lamb flavourings and opting to add some Asian spice to the dish by introducing a chilli sambal type paste, which worked well for my palate, although my friends reported it to be a bit to spicy for their liking, but, they're wrong. Ha. I thought the spice and heat kicked it up a notch on the interest ratings.

Brown butter scone, berry jerry, elderflower cream

This was the pre-dessert, a tiny and delicate scone filled with fresh cream and jam. Great for afternoon tea but I'm not sure how this fits in on a dinner menu. Although, it was very pretty to look at and if Bistrotheque decide to open up for afternoon tea service I'll be there, first in line.

Gooseberry summer pudding, apricot brandy and milk ice-cream.

Initially I wasn't going to order the set menu because I have an irrational aversion to soggy bread, which means I have a tendency to steer clear of bread-based puddings. A difficult phobia given I now live in England.  The ridiculousness of this came into full view as my darling friend attempted to explain my so-called 'food allergy' to the waitress, and the shame of this public airing forced me to give the summer pudding a try.  I came away from the experience unscathed, still not loving soggy bread, but with a new love and respect for fresh gooseberries.

Bistrotheque: 23–27 Wadeson Street, London E2 9DR. 020 8983 7900

Food: Efendi Restaurant, Bethnal Green, E2

Efendi is a seriously delicious Turkish restaurant in a neighbourhood that holds stiff competition with the likes of Tas Firin, a local institution and my usual go-to place for Turkish food.  Whilst I am no expert on Turkish cuisine, I feel pretty comfortable in adopting the views of several Turkish friends who have given Efendi the seal of authenticity.  Memorable meals are those where food comes in fresh abundance, and served with simplicity and an easy grace.  Efendi manages to do all of this well. The chef has apparently been headhunted from a top Turkish restaurant in Upper Street, and on the evening in question we nodded with approval as we saw him sternly direct his staff in the finer aspects of his trade.

Cacik, Patlican Soslu, Hellim

A creamy yoghurt and cucumber cacik, with just enough garlic to hit you (but not too hard), golden pieces of grilled halloumi cheese, and a rich aubergine and pepper dish.  Generous servings, all of which insanely good value at about £3.50 each. Served with turkish bread, Efendi puts in the extra bit of effort by brushing the top of the bread with a light coating of olive oil and powdered paprika to give it more of a kick.

Efendi Feast Platter (for two £24.50)

We were introduced to Efendi by a friend who happily lives around the corner and claims the title of being Efendi's best customer. He is also Turkish so I believe him when he says that the doner meat is the business.  The mixed grill includes doner, lamb chops, lamb ribs, adana shish, chicken skewers and chicken wings.  The healthy portions of fresh salads and fluffy rice, on their own were terrific but the call of charcoal-grilled meats was too much for us.  After wiping the meat juice from my chin, and flicking the lamp chop bone back onto the table, we heaved a hearty sigh of satisfaction, reclining on our chairs and watching the drunks sidle by and the ambulances careening past on a hot summer's night.

Efendi Restaurant: 270 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9DA.

Music: Sofar Sounds

I first came across the founder of Sofar Sounds, Rafe Offer, when he spoke at a recent Lost Lectures event. Rafe's inspiring talk about setting up his own live music community led me to a recent gig held at the Foxcroft and Ginger cafe in Whitechapel.

Rafe was sick of going to gigs where the music served only as a feeble backdrop to the crowds of people jostling their way to get to the bar, talking loudly to their friends, and using mobile phones. His idea was simple: bring together artists, musicians and music lovers. Find a host who will provide a space (venues so far have included private homes, warehouses, restaurants, galleries), and let the music speak for itself.

Rafe's initial brainwave has now spread to over 100 cities and towns across the world. 

Solar Sounds in Whitechapel, Foxcroft & Ginger

It was strangely liberating to put away the iPhone that is normally welded to my hand and just sit back and enjoy the music.  

The exact location of the gig is kept under wraps until shortly before the date. Drinks are BYO.  The line-up is a surprise, but when we went, it turned out to be a very happy one.  We were treated to an eclectic set list comprising of the Bloom Twins, Charlotte Carpenter, Osca, and spoken word poet, Suli Breaks (who also happened to be the resident artist at Foxcroft & Ginger). It might sound cheesy but there was genuinely, a really happy vibe in the room that night. 

Eat: Taberna do Mercado - Spitalfields, London

We really wanted to love the new restaurant, "Taberna do Mercado" by Nuno Mendes (former head chef of the beloved Viajante at Bethnal Green Town Hall where he first made his name).  Nuno, riding high on his new-found celebrity chef status, left to set up camp at the Chiltern Firehouse in Marylebone, thus making it out of reach for us simple Eastenders, given that it quickly established itself as the celebrity haunt for the likes of I dunno, Harry Styles, Lindsay Lohan et al.

So when Taverna Do Mercado opened a few weeks ago in Spitalfields, we whooped for joy at welcoming Nuno back to what I feel he must call his spiritual home in East London. Things were promising when my friend announced via text that "OMG Keira Knightley is here and sitting on the next table!". Sadly, we were wrong. Look, I've read Fay Faschler's review in the Evening Standard. I suppose this blog doesn't quite get the same circulation figures, so I guess it will be safe to say without pissing off anyone that we thought it was all a bit crap.  Between us, our group of four ordered nine dishes to share and were still famished by the end. If it were the case that the food was delicious we would have happily ordered more but instead we decided to cut our losses and head over to Ottolenghi (also new in the Spitalfields area) for a reliable portion of salads and cakes.

Interiors at Taberna Do Mercado. OK so the photo is a little fuzzy but it is definitely Keira Knightley.

Espadarta and picadio Algavio £14

Whilst the food was served on a series of delicately mismatching blue china plates, it didn't quite compensate for the inadequate portion sizes, even taking into account the small-plates eating style that we are well accustomed to. The above is a dish of swordfish with a light tomato and cucumber salsa which frankly wasn't quite spicy or piquant enough to generate any lasting memories or merit commendation.

Wild Garlic, asparagus and fennel migos £8

For £8 I dare you to try a mouthful of what transpired to be soggy breadcrumbs infused with a meaty garlic aroma, skilfully hidden under a mass of shaved fennel. Sorry, when the menu says 'asparagus' I take that to mean more than just the one sliver of asparagus hiding under the dill sprig.  Again, Fay Maschler exhorts the values of soggy bread  ("wet bread achieves iconic status"?!) but it really did not add up for us.  The soggy bread did not hold as a base for any interesting flavours and the shaved fennel on top seemed to exist solely to look pretty and/or apologise for what horrors were lurking underneath.

Peas, broad beans and egg yolk £8

It wasn't until I re-read the menu did I realise that this dish is supposed to contain egg yolk. In fact it was a dish of broad beans, peas, and some crunchy bread crumbs on top.

Tinned fish: Monkfish £7

Portugal is famous for the quality of their tinned fish and as a result the restaurant does its own take on it, with options including tinned mackerel, cod, and scallops.  We went with the monkfish, and as shown above it was served in what is clearly a green sauce but aside from that, lacked any distinct flavour.

We also had the runner beans, which were oily, and one of the cheese plates which although was perfectly serviceable one couldn't really classify it as requiring any culinary skill given it was just melted cheese and bread.  At some stage, the waiter came over to our table, holding yet another side plate with what I thought would be our next dish. It turned out that he had cleared the table next to us and was holding a plate bearing half a lemon.  The situation had clearly become so bad that I had come to expect our dining experience to include a dish comprising of a lemon garnish.  Nuno, we are simply bereft. We loved you for such a long time. Tell me I'm wrong, tell my three friends that we have misunderstood your genius.