Nest is a brand new opening in Hackney which is well worth checking out – the £28 set menu is incredible value for the quality of food on offer. The space is on Morning Lane, in the corner site that used to be James Cochran’s Restaurant Fix (which we were actually big fans of) but now the site has sensibly been split in two, meaning Nest have a tiny but very cute restaurant, and next door is going to be a bar and music venue from the team behind Shapes in Hackney Wick.
Nest actually began life as a series of pop-ups in 2017 but this is their first permanent spot. In the kitchen is Johnnie Crowe, previously of Anglo and Michelin-starred The Harwood Arms (where, coincidently, James Cochran also used to work) and at front of house is Toby Neil and Luke Wasserman. You can go a la carte if you want, but really it’s all about that set menu, which changes regularly of course.
We kicked off with a couple of snacks, a small dish of fermented cabbage with caraway, and brown shrimp with finely chopped cucumber. Then came two thick slices of amazing freshly-baked soda bread with soft smoked butter, and an onion broth with Lincolnshire Poacher dumplings – yes soft cheesy dumplings in rich onion soup is every bit as good as it sounds. A quick refreshing course of scallop, celeriac and blood orange set things up nicely for the main event, a steamed pudding of meltingly soft lamb, seaweed and cockles, which was the standout winner of the night. Dessert was a bread and butter pudding ice cream, sprinkled with raisins and crunchy breadcrumbs.
[URIS id=100366]Nest is a great new opening for Hackney – great food, unpretentious, and amazing value. We’re already planning another dinner there soon.
For our favourite London restaurant, see our Top 20 guide here.
[easy-image-collage id=113199]
177 Morning Lane, London, E9 6LH
nestfood.co.uk