Lyle’s
Shoreditch, London
Once the Lipton's tea factory, Lyle's in Shoreditch is a classic restaurant reclamation of the present day, having been conjured into a white, light-filled, refectory-like space with bare tables and a menu of rustic contemporary cooking. The meat cuts may not look at all familiar – neck of suckling kid with yoghurt and ramsons – or may be less recognisable designations for familiar cuts such as mangalitsa pork belly with preserved gooseberries and hispi cabbage. Greenery from shoreline and hedgerow turns up all over the show, sorrel with the Shetland beef, sea kale and seaweed with razor clams, but the accent throughout is on emphatic flavours and seasonings. A raw scallop may be a gentle enough starter proposition, but team it with pink grapefruit and smoked roe and the taste buds are put on notice. Desserts are simple creamy things – brown-butter ice cream with ricotta and blood orange – or perhaps chocolate and hazelnut millefeuille. Tasting menus come in vegan and pescatarian versions. Herbaceous cocktails might precede a dive into an imaginative range of wines by the small glass – a skin-contact Casa Balaguer, Salicornio Moscatel, for example.
Dining Information:
Separate bar, Wheelchair access
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch E1 6JJ
020 3011 5911
