L’Entrepot, Hackney Downs, London

With a 4-month old baby indoors, it’s rare for me to get out on my own of an evening at the moment, but thanks to my lovely hubbie, I was released on Monday and all geared up to sample some meat at the Flat Iron pop-up at The Owl & The Pussycat pub on Redchurch Street.

Fellow blogger and confidant @hungrybecs had raved about Flat Iron on her blog: The Becs Diet and boy was I ready to tuck in to some tasty steak.

As I rounded the corner to the pub, getting ready to stand in line (no bookings), the street seemed mysteriously quiet and I knew something was awry. Damn it. I hadn’t done my homework properly. Looking up at the sign on a beautifully warm and sunny Monday evening, I painfully read the chalked info: ‘Flat Iron open Tuesdays-Saturdays’. Doh!

Frantically scouring the internet on my i-phone whilst silently chanting my mantra ‘must eat in pop-up, must eat in pop-up’, I looked for a replacement venue.

I was keen to get down to Rita’s in Dalston, but this was also closed as it was Monday. Lucky Chip at The Sebright Arms was around the corner but in the end my friend told me of a ‘lovely little restaurant’ she’d seen in Hackney Downs so I settled for a permanent opening and we jumped in a cab to go visit.

Borough Wines' L'Entrepot in Hackney Downs

L’Entrepot, an offshoot from Borough Wines, is a wine shop, restaurant, bar and café, carved out of a former railway engineers shed by Hackney Downs station. The inside’s minimal and light with white walls, filament light bulbs and scattered single tables and sharing tables.

The menu was small but everything sounded delicious and so we took some time to choose. On either side of us diners were tucking into marvelous looking charcuterie and cheese plates but after watching a few dishes go by we settled on the following:

1. Anchovy paste and cherry tomato on sourdough. This was lovely to start. I’m not the biggest fan of anchovy but turning it into a paste gives you a much softer version.

2. Salmon cannelloni with crab bisque. Rich and delicious and the pasta was really well cooked to the point of being a little crispy. Fab!

3. Duck with broad bean salad. I found this a little dry but as we ordered everything together, this was the last dish I got to, so it may have been my fault for taking so long to get fork into it.

My favourite dish of the evening was the; 4. Goat’s cheese, pear and aubergine salad, all layered in a tasty cheese/veg/fruit stack and served with lettuce, cherry tomato salad on the side.

L’Entrepot London, The Verdict:

All the food was rich, fresh and well flavoured. L’Entrepot is a lovely little bistro to visit with friends. If you like your wines, they're also offering £8 corkage for those wanting to sample some vino with dinner at shop prices, and if you’re a regular, you can bring back your empty bottle for refills of the house white, red or rose which comes straight from the owner's vineyards.

L’Entrepot London, Details:
230 Dalston Lane, E8 ILA 020 7249 1176