The Michelin Guide caused a minor uproar within the foodie community when The Clove Club wasn’t given its first star in 2013; many have claimed that the relatively new establishment residing in the Shoreditch Town Hall is serving some of the loveliest food in London. Mitch, Vivian and myself decided to check the alleged hipster den out and whether the food was really up to scruff.
The decor was sparse, simple and forgettably pleasant. One aspect that I enjoyed was the open kitchen that was not so much a part of the dining room as its main feature. This allowed us to watch head chef Isaac McHale work his magic at the plating station right before the food left to the diners.
Onto the food! We decided on the extended menu that would cost £85 per head before wine. A number of playful yet robust starters were introduced before us, including some cheese biscuits (which could have come straight from a Ritz cracker box), the famous buttermilk pine fried chicken and some wood pigeon sausage and greengage ketchup. But for me the best out of the lot was a delightful serving of crispy fried chicken feet with spiced mushrooms on top.
Crispy Chicken Feet
Langoustine Heads and Wood Pigeon Sausage
Cheese Biscuits
Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Pine Salt
Onto the main courses! First to arrive was some pheasant served with its own jelly, mushrooms, chestnuts and chestnut puree. The crunch of the chestnuts provided much needed texture against the creaminess and richness of the pheasant and the jelly. A great start!
The next dish was truly outstanding, a blood pudding served with a single blade of chicory and pear juice. The blood pudding was simply the best I have ever sampled and possessed a crunchy, crisp skin and yet was still feathery and light on the inside with healthy chunks of tender, melt-in-your-mouth nuggets of pork belly. The chicory provided a lovely refreshing note which contrasted well against the richness of the blood pudding.
After this came a enjoyable langoustine dish which was served with potato tagliatelle and some oyster juice. Refreshing and light with just a hint of the roe from the langoustine, this was a welcome palate cleanser after the heavy hitters so far.
The next dish was a sea bass with ceps, brown butter, spinach and a fantastic truffle and squid ink puree. While the sea bass itself was unremarkable, the accompaniment of the mushrooms and the truffle puree was enough to elevate this into something delicious.
After this came a simple and rather dull dish, no doubt inspired by the foraging trends brought upon by Noma (Isaac himself used to work there). But all in all, it was just a leek. (Albeit a very sweet and fresh one)
What is this? A leek for ANTS!?
The three of us decided to shell out the £40 supplement for the next dish, a serving of scrambled eggs, chanterelles and white truffles from Alba (“They’re in season!”, Squealed the waiter before showing off the beast of a mushroom itself, glowing in its Le Creuset chest like it was the bloody crown jewel) Ultimately, you pay for truffle, you get truffle. Unexciting and forgettable, it’s an expensive reminder than sometimes the supplements aren’t worth it.
Thankfully, the next dish was fantastic. A featherblade of beef with crispy artichokes, kale and a potato and artichoke puree (Every restaurant seems to do them ala Robuchon these days, which is fine by me! I would inject the buttery mash into my veins if I could). Every component of this dish was excellent and complemented the other perfectly. A stunning plate of traditional British food perfected.
And that concluded our main courses! For desserts, we had roasted quince, ginger and vanilla cream. Which was nice, if not a bit average. But the other was simply sublime, an Amalfi lemonade that was so light and frothy it could have floated away from my table, which fizzed and sung away in your mouth. Buried under this wonderful lemonade foam was a black pepper ice cream, which added some wonderful zest to the palate while never overpowering the citrusy sweetness of the lemonade. Damn good.
The meal was finished off with some almond and coffee chocolate and something inspired by Fergus Henderson of St. Johns (stupendous restaurant) called Dr Henderson’s Bon Bons. The Bon Bons were light and exploded in your mouth, releasing the liquor locked within. Awesome.
Ultimately, The Clove Club provided a level of quality in its food that has time and time eluded many, delicious and creative, but never outrageous or superfluous. One negative that can be improved is the speed of the service, but I nitpick, The Clove Club is a great restaurant and I have a feeling a Michelin star is going to be adorning its walls soon.
Edit: Yes the photos are awful. Working on it for the next post!
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- The Clove Club (dinersdiary.wordpress.com)
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