Eric Wan has gone from pop-up to permanent with his new restaurant, Tempo
Eric Wan is a chef we’ve been following for a while — his Chinese-Vietnamese pop-up LA LOT was one of our favourite pop-ups of last year. And now Eric has finally opened his first permanent restaurant, Tempo, in one of the railway arches on Paradise Row, Bethnal Green. He’s done a great job on the space, which manages to be quite cosy despite the archway setting. There’s sleek wood panelling and shelving stacked with wine bottles, a handful of big tables, and a large open kitchen with counter seating.
Eat This
The menu of modern Chinese-Vietnamese dishes is relatively small for now, so you can near enough order the whole thing between two – with three or more people you could definitely do the whole lot.
Particular highlights for us included the must-order crisp prawn toast coated in green chilli sauce and pickled daikon; the Nem Nướng pork skewers served with fresh herbs and dipping sauce; the braised aubergine with whipped tofu and wonton crackers; the BBQ XL prawns with chilli citrus glaze; the Bánh Hỏi rice noodle rolls; and the honey butter madeleines with Chantilly cream for dessert.
Drink This
Eric has opened Tempo in partnership with Dalston wine bar dan’s, who have also taken care of the wine list. You can pick a bottle from the shelves to crack open at dinner, or go by the glass from the regularly-changing selection that’s chalked up on the red wall in the kitchen. We had a lovely grower champagne, chilled Beaujolais, and finished with a sweet riesling.
Why Go
We had high hopes for this one based on our previous visits to Eric’s pop-ups and, as expected, Tempo is absolutely banging. One of the last openings of the year might end up just being one of our favourites.
Key Information
Address | 252 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
For more information | tempo.restaurant
