The founder of Newton and Pott on a great restaurant for birthday treats, a Turkish shop that’s got everything and a very helpful fishmongers
EATING OUT
Lyle’s
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JJ; www.lyleslondon.com
“Mark took me here for my birthday. It was a bit unexpected because I knew [head chef] James Lowe came from the school of St. John, I thought it was going to be a bit more rustic. The dessert was incredible: pumpkin ice cream, burnt caramel, whey, and an icy sage granita on top which smelled a bit like hash. I really like herbal savoury desserts.” – Kylee
Pidgin
52 Wilton Way, London E8 1BS; www.pidginlondon.com
A 28-cover restaurant on Wilton Way in Hackney run by James Ramsden and Sam Herlihy, with Elizabeth Allen at the helm in the kitchen. The fixed-menu changes weekly.
Leandro Carreira @ Climpson’s Arch
Arch 374 Helmsley Place, Hackney, London E8 3SB; www.climpsonsarch.com
“Portuguese food done in a very modern way. We had duck’s heart in almond soup and morcilla (the Spanish black pudding) with plain black radish. The octopus we had was so tender and soft. (Octopus needs to be cooked with precision: you either have to cook it really fast and hot or really slowly on a low heat.)”
BUYING IN
Umut Supermarket & Off Licence
61-63 Westgate St, London E8 3RL
A well-stocked Turkish shop on the corner of Broadway Market. “It has lovely fruit, vegetables and seasonal stuff, the quality is really, really good. It’s the kind of shop you go: ‘I bet they don’t have pomegranate syrup’ and they’ve got it. They’ve got everything.”
Pavilion Bakery
18 Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ; www.pavilion-cafe.com
“Good for sourdough bread. Sometimes we go to E5 Bakehouse: they do a really good sourdough called Hackney Wild, which is incredible, but I find the cultures are a bit heavy on my stomach.”
Richard at the Wild Beef stall on Broadway Market
Wild Beef
Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, every Saturday; www.wildbeef.co.uk
“Richard, who runs the stall, is really the beef man, but he sells the best organic eggs which he brings from a neighbouring farm. He also has great butter, pork pies, and of course the best quality beef. We buy 80% of our weekly shop at Broadway Market. We like to support local businesses, that’s why we shop at the market rather than the supermarket. It takes more planning, but we wouldn’t want to shop any other way.”
Fin and Flounder
71 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH; www.finandflounder.co.uk
“The guys in there are great, really passionate about what they do. They ask: ‘what are you making?’ Yes! Advise me. That’s what I want.”