RED ART CAFE

113 Kingsland High Street  Dalston, London E8 2PB
020 7254 3256

Situated a few blocks beyond Dalston Kingsland Road there is a huddle of Turkish cafe’s that caters well to the weekends hung-over masses. I haven’t sampled them all yet, but have found Red Art to be consistently good and so have revisited it a few times. I want to flag up straight away that it is a rather basic diner/cafe that isn’t going to win any awards for its food, but it had a good selection on offer that will be agreeable to even the fussiest of eaters, quick and efficient service, is very reasonably priced and simply hits the spots, so worth having on your radar.

In my experience, the service is good here; they always have enough staff on and are quite quick with service, without then trying to usher you out the door the second you are done. Prices are very reasonable, with a big breakfast setting you back around £6. The mint tea is made with fresh mint, and most importantly, they serve decent cheap booze for those badly in need of some hair of the dog! Though a bloody Mary would be a welcome addition to the beverage menu... Oh and the fresh orange juice is fantastic.

They offer a large selection of foods, with some interesting Greek/Turkish options available, for example a breakfast platter with feta, honey, breads, olives, eggs and salad. You can get your eggs anyway you please, including some methods of preparation I have never heard of... so good if you are adventurous with how you like your eggs in the morningJ. The fry up’s are decent, but the quality of the meat isn’t anything exceptional. I would like a better quality sausage and bacon ideally, but you do pay for what you get. The menu also has suitable options for vegans and vegetarians.

It generally has a cosy and pleasant ambiance, but you can tell they haven’t done much in the last few years to update the decor in the place.  Otherwise the lighting is nice with several traditional Turkish lamps. 

I confess I have only ever come here for breakfast and so reviewing their dinner options isn’t something I can do, but they have a good variety of Mediterranean/middle eastern foods on offer.  They also occasionally have live music on the weekend evenings.

All in all, this place is a crowd pleaser and worth popping into, but keep in mind that it isn’t anything fancy. Perfect for the last weekend before payday!

Reilly Rocket Cafe, 507 Kingsland road (A must for Coffee lovers)

Despite living a stones throw from this cafe, today is the first time I have actually checked it out. The outdoor seating is normally busy with a mixture of coffee guzzling hipster and bikers decked out in full leathers, an odd combination of clientele one might think, until you consider that this cafe is located right behind a Suzuki showroom and is on Kingsland road.

It was opened about a year ago by the showroom owner and has a partly motorcycle theme, with stacks of Easy Rider magazines from the 70's with half naked chicks on front and other biking nic nacs dotted about the place, but it also has the air of a Seattle coffee house. The interior is American retro in style and definitely gives off a masculine vibe, without lacking attention to detail. To elaborate on that rather vague statement, for example, there are a number of cacti plants about the place and the walls are decorated with action movie posters, taxidermied animals, graffiti and sporting plaques. But there are also a number of softer touches, such as water jugs with fresh mint laid out on a side serving table along with a range of jams and preserves for your toast, with exciting flavours such as green fig, morello cherry and vintage Oxford marmalade on offer. I bagsed a seat on a comfy beanbag and took advantage of the great people watching to be had from the large window looking onto Kingsland road.

The food is fairly simple, but high quality, they use good breads, more unusual cheeses (gruyere, haloumi etc) and have Neal’s muesli for customers in the mood for something less starchy than bagels and toasties for brekkie. I treated myself to a whole grain bagel with haloumi, chutney, lettuce, coriander, tomato and grilled peppers for lunch, which was very tasty and a new combination to me.

The real reason to go here however is the unbelievable coffee. If you love coffee, do yourself a favour and pop into Reilly Rocket. The Manager is a highly trained Barista and self proclaimed coffee geek. He has a rather fancy weighing contraption to ensure your bevergae is the perfect mixture of coffee to cream, and he artfully serves each cup topped with a concentric heart shape. It is truly wonderful coffee, easily the best I have had in this part of town.

For the good quality basic eats, fantastic coffee, interesting style, chilled out vibe and good music, I  would definitely recommend checking this place out.

Other Café, Balls Pond Road

This delightful wee café is a welcome addition to the Dalston scene. It was opened less than a year ago and in the last three months they have extended to the downstairs. The Proprietor is a friendly Sardinian who takes great pride in the quality of the food he serves and the space he has created. The main part of the cafe is quaint and cosy but be sure to take a peek downstairs, which is every bit the east London take on a traditional drawing room, I particularly love the coloured glass fire.

This place is probably more exciting for a tea lover than a coffee connoisseur; choose from countless varieties of herbal and black teas. The Assam is particularly lovely, but I haven’t sampled many of the others yet. If you are in the mood to try something a bit different, the gunpowder green tea is worth a shot (no pun intended) ;)

The real joy of this café however is without a doubt the excellent food. The eggs florentine and eggs benedict are absolutely delicious, perfect hollandaise sauce if I may say so, easily the best I have tasted. I think people prattle on too much about the perfect Hollandaise, but if that’s what tickles your fancy, give breakfast at Other a try.

They also do incredible cheesecake, please take my word for it and give it a go. However if you feel like pushing the boat out and going for something a bit quirky to match your gunpowder tea, I recently let myself be coerced into trying beer and walnut cake, it sounded frankly unappetising, but was actually spot on, perfectly moist with well matched, experimental flavours. This place is a treat, the perfect venue to while away a rainy day J

The aim of the game, an introduction to this blog.

Dalston, previous the domain of Turkish eateries and edgy basement clubs, is experiencing something of a food revolution. As home to the grittily vibrant Ridley Road Market and countless ethnic groups who are well catered for in the various food shops and stalls dotted along Kingsland road, Dalston has always been a foodies heaven (albeit one for those in the know). No fancy farmer’s markets selling olives or fine cheeses to be found here! But it is a matter of time before it creeps in? For better or worse, I think so.

The area’s burgeoning middle class of well heeled bohemians, successful middle aged creatives and twenty-something professionals are pushing the area’s traditional population of struggling artists and immigrants further East towards the estates of Homerton and Clapton. Dalston is experiencing a period of gentrification, resulting in wee cafes and gastropubs springing up to cater for her changing demography. Every time I go for a wander I spot a new eatery of some sort, it seems high time we got onto weeding the sublime from the subprime of the area’s new culinary additions and that is what this blog aims to do!

Join me on a gastronomic journey of arguably the most exciting neighbourhood in Britain, let’s sample the best of the old and the new in this remarkable melting pot.