Café Naïveté: Restaurant review: Bistrotheque E2 9DR

It was Friday night and I was at home, as usual, continueing with the architecture routine. While hunting for some ideas for the current design project I'm working at I came across this really cool pop-up restaurant built back in 2010 (about which, I'll post you soon). One click lead to another and after I discovered myself dribbling like a dog on the menu of this curious looking restaurant, I decided to book a table for the next evening. 3 factors made the decision: the price, the interiors and the location.

It is not comfortable to get there, we got off at Hackney Central Overground station and had to walk all the way down until the Regent's Canal. It was freezing!! Right after the canal we turned left and walked into a secluded and dark street with no sign of life at all. The place hides itself from strangers. After walking around an old factory building, all painted in black, we found the entrance on a small dead-end alleyway. No signs. You can only assume the place is THERE by the contrasting white-painted corridor which inavoidably pop-ups from the rest of the surroundings. Sherlock! Truth is, if it wasn't for the three young boldly dressed women smoking outside of it, we would have continued our walk around the building. Now once IN the corridor, we didn't get any smarter. It was bright, it still felt cold and it seemed silent. Although we finally felt the presence of the fuss we were looking for, somewhere behind the walls. After exploring straight and checking right we got up and et voilà! A huge room divided in two: on the left side the dining space, on the right side the bar. Obnoxiously full. And extremely loud. Just like a proper canteen.

This is what we had (marked in blue) all of it was DElICIOUS, especially the Roast duck breast, foie gras, chanterelles, A MUST TRY!:

I would say Bistrotheque is a right mix of old and new, and I'm not talking about the interiors. Everything from the cutlery on the table to the waiter's manner is in good old school style - impeccable. And yet it wasn't just that, it was also extremely vibrant and at the same time informal. And a big merit for that goes to the open-kitchen, the key-element of the place. I loved it and I'm definitely looking forward to go back there !

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Atmosphere: vibrant
Service: excellent, 'Client is the King'- kind of a way
Crowd: 30's & 40's
Dresscode: casual smart
Price range: about 45 per person
Best occasion: nigh out with friends, informal business treat
Avoid: if you are looking for intimacy (I date) or you are with elder people (your grandfather might miss half of the conversation).

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