After closing their London Fields restaurant, Matthew Scott and Charlie Carr have taken over a Stokey pub
We were very sad to see one of our fave East London spots Papi shut up shop but Matthew, Charlie and crew didn’t leave us mourning for too long by opening the Golden Tooth, on the site of former pub The Leconfield.
The corner site has the perfect layout for a split venue – there’s the pub part for drinkers and snackers up front and a restaurant, complete with lots of natural light from the skylights, tablecloths, a lick of dark green paint and some fun artwork and tablecloths, at the back.
Eat This
It’s a more grown-up, crowdpleasing version of the food that Matthew was cooking at Papi, which suits the new set-up perfectly. The dishes may be less experimental but the flavour is all there, and there’s a real focus on British ingredients too.
We loved the sweet, acidic brined tomatoes finished with Dorstone cheese, the ex-dairy beef tartare given texture from thin slices of raw mushroom and crunchy walnuts, and the cheese custard tart rich with Lincolnshire Poacher.
The bigger kitchen at the Golden Tooth means larger sharing dishes are now possible. The red prawn and chicken stargazy pie has been stealing the social media spotlight but the Iberico chop deserves plenty of plaudits too – perfectly cooked pork sat in a super glossy and insanely umami pan sauce, offset with a fantastic burnt apple ketchup. The wild garlic aioli that comes with the chips is great but you won’t want a drop of that pork sauce to go to waste, so get extra to mop that all up.
With blood orange and olive oil preventing it from tipping over into too sweet territory, the creme caramel finishes things off on a high.
Drink This
Charlie, who owns Wingnut Wines, has really come into his own with a cracking wine list, which is about 80% English. We loved the Matt Gregory Orange 2024 from Leicestershire so good that we daren’t divert from it, but there’s a ton of interesting and unusual low-intervention bottles on the rest of the list.
Why Go
If you were a fan of Papi then it’s a no-brainer. If you’re not familiar with their previous work, with the Golden Tooth Matthew and Charlie have created the ideal neighbourhood spot that hits both as a pub and as a dining room. We foresee many repeat visits in our future.
Key Information
Address | 79 Green Lanes, London N16 9BU
For more information | @goldentooth.pub
