Remember when I used to blog about London + my favourite places to frequent in the city underneath the umbrella of LFF's London? It has been some time (apparently I haven't compiled such a blog post since 2014!) and for no good reason given I barely spend 10 minutes in the house these days thanks to my ever-proliferating sense of FOMO. So the news is; LFF's London is back and I'm kick-starting the resurrection with my new favourite place to do brunch, dinner AND cocktails [just not in one sitting] in London Bridge: Village East.
Village East can be found on Bermondsey Street, which, if you have visited, has a cool villagey-vibe and is home to lots of interesting independent eateries, shops and galleries. It feels well off the beaten tourist track, despite the close proximity to Borough Market where you'll find swarms of selfie-stick-armed daytrippers troughing molten raclette (not that I am knocking the molten raclette served up at Borough - it's bloody brilliant if you can be arsed to navigate the crowds).
My dinner date was my sister Alicia, who is a serious foodie and is particular AF when it comes to comestibles. Alicia's approval is near enough on a par with being awarded a Michelin star in the culinery world.
We dined at Village East on a Friday night & therefore it would have been rude not to start with cocktails. I had the 'Village Fountain' special of the day which was a gin-based number fused with peach, pomegranate and rosemary. As a seasoned gin-drinker, (some say I'm ginvincible) I was super-impressed by the refreshing balance of flavours, & promptly ordered a second.
This was followed by some shared starter plates - tuna tartare with radicchio, blood orange, capers & sour cream and chilli squid with coriander, ginger & black garlic aioli. Plus a side of organic sourdough for good carby measure, which arrived warm (the dream!) with a salty, creamy seaweed-laced butter. These dishes were excellent - wonderfully balanced, light and moreish - all the traits of well-executed starters.
We also shared a chopped salad of palm hearts, radish, avocado, sweetcorn and croutons which was tasty enough, but forgettable. On to the mains (dear readers, we are only just getting started - never let it be said that the Green sisters don't know how to eat); Alicia and I shared the courgette hash with crispy poached egg, watercress and truffled parmesan cream. The caramelised onions in the hash lent a wonderfully comforting feel to this dish & the egg was perfectly runny - no mean feat given it had graced a deep fat-fryer. We also ordered a trio of sides, tender stem broccoli, french fries + crab mac & cheese, with the unctuous latter stealing this most calorific of shows.
On to dessert, and by this point our most charming waiter named Halo was entertained by the two greedy girls photographing each and every dish to arrive at the table. He decided this was a sign of dining dedication and rewarded our gluttony with two of his colleague's home-made macaroons; it's the thoughtful touches like that which turn a meal into an experience.
We rounded the meal off with espresso martini's (strong + sweet, just how I like them) and a slice of flourless chocolate cake with creme fraiche. Now, if there's a flourless chocolate cake on a menu, I must consume it. And not because I'm observing some trendy gluten-free, #eatclean #mindfuleating diet. It's because flourless chocolate cakes are far superior to their sponge counterparts - gooier, richer, naughtier. Village East's was extremely good - but best shared given it's rich nature.
Our verdict on Village East? Alicia and I were super-impresssed - the atmosphere and food were top-notch, and the service was exceptional. And not a selfie stick in sight, bliss.
Our verdict on Village East? Alicia and I were super-impresssed - the atmosphere and food were top-notch, and the service was exceptional. And not a selfie stick in sight, bliss.
This post was in partnership with citizenMag who kindly invited me to review Village East. All opinions my own x
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