We’ve been pretty excited for the opening of Black Pig With White Pearls since we spotted it last month. The Spanish pop-up has decided to go permanent, taking over a small restaurant on Stoke Newington High Street and converting it into a cosy, informal style eatery with a bar upstairs and a 60’s style dining room downstairs.
The restaurant serves a selection of Spanish tapas & pintxo which change daily and the specialty (in-case you hadn’t guessed from the name) is Black Pig. For those who don’t know the black Iberian pig is the daddy-o of pork, fattened on barley and maize after weaning, then raised on a diet of acorns, herbs and olives – no swill here!
The restaurant uses Black Pig in a number of dishes, when we visited we sampled the Grilled iberico Pork Fillet on a bed of Patatas Panaderas (Roasties) and the Presa, a unique cut of pork with mojo picon sauce. Both cuts of quality meat are served medium rare and full of flavour but quite different in texture. These portions are designed to share and come big enough for two.
From the Tapas dishes, all of which sounded ACE & are only £4.50 a pop, we tried the Piquillo pepper stuffed with Artisan black pudding, a rich dish and possibly our favourite tapas from the menu. Other highlights were the Albondigas, soft tender meatballs cooked in white wine with vegetables, an Oyster Mushroom risotto and the iberico jamon.
We finished with a cheeseboard which was a generous selection of Spanish cheeses, one sheep, one goat and one cow, served with homemade crackers which had a slight sweet flavour. Overall we couldn’t fault any of the food, authentic Spanish tapas perfectly executed.
BPWWP get most of their ingredients from their motherland, including a good choice of Spanish wines, the chef and background music. This small independent joint is finding it’s feet in the heart of the Dalstonites, and without a doubt will become frequented by every fashion-east-er in town. Get it while it’s hot. We’ll be back…
There’s no doubting it, Hackney is raising it’s foodie game!
61 Stoke Newington High Street, N16
http://blackpigwithwhitepearls.co.uk
