Metro, 25 November
Marina O’Loughlin gives the thumbs up to the opening of Pizza East at 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1
The mod-Italian food is far more LA than Lazio, not fancy-schmancy, but dependent on accurate cooking and decent produce. The menu fizzes with so-now ingredients: soppressata, Boschetto al Tartufo, cima di rapa (although it's billed as simply cima, which is an entirely different thing), and divided into terse headings. I'd happily eat all of it. Everything is good: pillow-soft, piquant mackerel escabeche (raw, citrus-'cooked') with lentils; wood-roasted squash with farro (spelt), mint and grilled chilli; a luscious cauliflower carbonara, posh cauliflower cheese, rich with cream, Parmesan and pancetta. Slow-cooked beef cheeks slump at the touch of cutlery, porcini and parsnips adding autumnal depth. But the pizzas... oh, mama. Plump, airy and pleasingly chewy, thicker – in the LA way – than the Neapolitan thin crust, with the tang of sourdough and the crunch of semolina, they are my second favourite pizzas in town, after Franco Manca. (A meal for two with wine, water and service, about £60. Rating: 4/5)
Pizza East – review in full >>
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Evening Standard 26 November
Fay Maschler is impressed with the room, but uninspired by the food, at Chris and Jeff’ Galvin’s new eatierie, Galvin La Chappelle and Café de Luxe at 35 Spital Square, London E1
Much thought has obviously been lavished on everything — except, it would seem, the food. I don’t know quite what I expected but it was not just a rerun of the Baker Street menu plus a few twists. Sticking to what you’re good at is all very well but the dramatic surroundings demand a burst of original, maybe even stupendous, effort.
Salad of wood-fired autumn vegetables with walnut (in the singular) and goat’s cheese featured a puny array of veg. Members of that church may well be happier with the velouté of Potimarron pumpkin, chestnuts and cèpes. Escabeche of yellow-fin tuna with aubergine caviar appeared seared rather than fried then marinated the way escabeche describes. More like tuna tataki, it was well liked. Salad of red-leg partridge with pomegranate and maple dressing hovered on the edge of oversweet but never fell over. However, I wouldn’t call it a wine-friendly dish, a description also not applicable to the main course tagine of squab pigeon with harissa sauce. How Paul Jaboulet Aîné of Hermitage la Chapelle would have flinched at that mention of harissa. (A meal for two with wine, about £125. Rating: 3/5).
Gavin La Chappelle – review in full >>
Time Out, 26 November
Guy Dimond also finds the menus at Galvin La Chappelle and Café de Luxe to be cautious, rather than daring, but enjoys the eating experience more than Maschler
Classic dishes are perfectly rendered, such as the terrine of butter-smooth foie gras, ready to spread on light toasted brioche. Suprême (breast and wing) of flavoursome Landaise chicken was simply served with poached leeks, French beans and tournéed (lozenge-shaped) roast potatoes, in the French way. Both dishes from the à la carte were good, though not sensational. The prix fixe, in contrast, was a far better deal on our visit. For £24.50, you’ll get three courses such as a starter of red mullet, escabeched with a dressing of a carrot and onion stew, but tasting of the vinegar dressing, saffron and a squeeze of lemon. The main course boudin noir was blacker than Satan’s soul, the pudding so thick with blood it was jelly-like, while the puréed potato had enough butter in it to fuel an altar lamp. But the dish was utterly delicious, the fat and richness neatly balanced by the addition of tart roast apple. The puddings had the most ‘wow’ factor, for the precision of their execution: a tiny chocolate fondant with the concentrated flavours of high cocoa bean content, and a pretty crème caramel decorated with sweetened raisins. (£24.50 fixe prix menu. A la carte: starters £10, main courses £15-20, desserts £5-£10. Rating: 4/5).
Gavin La Chappelle – review in full >>
By Janet Harmer
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