Lyles

To say I was impressed with some of the dishes would be understating some of the brilliant creations in this rustic shoreditch hangout. Typical decor from a eatery in this part of the east end of London, open revealed air con units and extraction fans all over the ceiling, canteen like flooring and no thrills wooden seating. But my god some of the dishes wow you, and you start to understand why, just last month this has been voted 54 In the 'worlds 50 best restaurant' awards. (51-100) A set menu of 4 dishes (£55pp) which appeared to be no compromise, so I'm guessing 'fussy eaters' are not welcome. However any dietary requirements would obviously have been catered for. 

To start was pigs ears on toast, rich juicy sliced meat with a grained mustard sauce which sounds simple but was really a great way to start, followed almost instantly by a palate cleansing cold spring onion and asparagus soup which was fresh creamy and light all at the same time and worked like magic.

Onto the menu 'leek egg and coolea' this was pleasant if not mind blowing, but a light way to start a tasting menu. Great little crunch of toasted coolea cheese with confit egg on a bed of leeks and a nice green sauce to bring it all together. My worst dish of the evening was the mackerel and cedrat lemon, the fish was cooked absolutely beautifully and completely melted in my mouth. But for me the lemon is a massive shock to my palate and hard to enjoy, although I am seeing this on more and more menus. The suckling kid with ramson (wild garlic) and yoghurt, my god this is when the party really started in my mouth, succulent liver and juicy loin cooked to absolute perfection, with a zingy tangy ramson and green's sauce given this incredible depth of flavour and the creaminess from the yoghurt and pearl barley just making this a stunner, I could have eaten the very plate that it come on. It did not end there with baked cream and blood orange for desert a seemingly simple desert but this chef just understands flavours and what works because this was a brilliant way to finish. The creaminess and tartness combined perfectly. I simply have to mention the final canapé, 'burnt butter cake' this was utterly gorgeous. Chewy rich buttery creamy little sponge cake. I only wish i had taken home a bag of these. It just reminded me of an old u.s baking competition, the one where the grandmas 50 year old recipe was the unanimous winner. 

This isn't my favourite way to eat having my menu chosen for me but I certainly was not disappointed.

With love

The food scene


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