For those townies who like the idea of indulging in a feast of foraged food but don't know the difference between foraging and roadkill, and are slightly apprehensive about donning a pair of wellies and setting foot outside the M25, you need to go to Dalston, where wild boar are so rife, it's hard to get a seat on the tube! I jest of course. Well partially. You see, the team behind The Dead Dolls Club (synonomous with hearty stews and cocktails), have collaborated with none other than The Foragers, a top team of foraging chefs. And what a perfect marriage of great food and ambience they make.
The Foragers in
fact do their foraging in The Shires of South East England, then bring
their freshly foraged-wares to East London. Their Sunday roasts are
particularly spectacular, as I found out the other day. No mundane
roast pork or lamb here, oh no. We're talking roast muntjac (a small
deer-like creature) served with homemade wild horseradish which was so
good, I'm going to see if they'll let me have their secret recipe. I've
never eaten muntjac before and it was excellent, beef-like and tender.
My friend had the duo of hare leg and loin which was slow-cooked in red
wine and also tender and delicious. Accompanied by mighty fine roast
potatoes, proper veg and a good helping of Yorkshire pud and gravy, it
was verging on epic as far as Sunday roasts go. Prior to that, we both
started with the hedgerow berry-cured trout served with more of that
special wild horseradish.
Unfortunately my enthusiasm waned when it came to the pudding options which I found sadly disappointing and 'un-puddingy'. I was hoping for something wintery, comforting and definitely involving custard. Perhaps a foraged fruit crumble; a steamed honey sponge or a rich bread and butter pud. And anything chocolatey would of course have got my vote. The puddings on offer included lemon posset with rhubarb; fruit cake with blue cheese, or fennel with goats cheese and honeycomb, none of which grabbed me.But that's just me. During the week and on Saturday, you can expect the menu to include simple grazing type dishes to share, such as pigeon kebab with a sticky rosehip barbeque sauce; filo parcels stuffed with nettles, dandelion leaves, goats cheese & hedge garlic mayo or that delicious berry-cured trout with wild horseradish I mentioned earlier.
The decor at The Dead Dolls Club is simple, yet effective - walls decorated with a clever mural done with nothing more than a black marker pen; long tables and benches; vases of feathers; subtle candlelight, and decadent decanters full of water (with a stick of charcoal to keep it carbonised, at least I think that's what it does). There's a little bar area at the back where you can try out one of their many imaginative cocktails. It's a lovely, unpretentious down-to-earth place to be, whether you want to while away a dreary winter's afternoon enjoying fine food and drinking good plonk, or upping the tempo by spending the evening there, especially Friday or Saturday when it's open til 3am.
There's no end to the different delights you can forage. Horse-meat burgers are already a bit passé, but I'm thinking squirrel pate, badger balti and hedgehog haggis could be all the rage soon. Only joking of course. But listen up urban foxes, if you don't behave, you may well end up on The Foragers menu!
The Foragers at The Dead Dolls Club
428 Kingsland Road
London E8 4AA
Nearest station: Dalston Junction
dalston@thedeaddollsclub.com
@WeForagers @deaddollsclub
Opening hours:
Wed & Thur 6pm til 12.30am
Fri & Sat 5pm - 3am
Sun 1pm - 11pm
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