By good fortune my friend Hugh got hold of two tickets for a meal at innocent's 5-for-5 pop-up cafe last week in the heart of Shoreditch.Diners pay £5 to get their 5-a-day of fruit and veg in one sitting, courtesy of celebrity chef Gizzi Erskine. I'd been invited to the launch but wasn't able to make it so was excited to see whether the food was any good or whether it was just another PR stunt.
I arrived to find a queue winding round the corner of The Tramshed, an old electricity generating station for the Shoreditch Tram system - always a good sign. I waited for Hugh to arrive and made friends with my neigbour in the queue - we'd both heard portion sizes were small - less good- though not surprising really given it was a fiver for two courses so I kept an open mind.
Inside, the venue was spectacular with an almost never-ending ceiling, fairly lights spiralling round runner bean vines and mini herb gardens lining the sides. It was BOYB for a £1.50 corkage paid upfront which was very reasonable and we set about choosing our courses with a glass of pinot noir in hand and the swing band tinkering in the background.
It's no secret I'm a pudding girl through and through but neither the baked rice pudding with spiced fruit compote or poached pear and quince ice cream were being served that day so we went for starters and mains.
I chose well with the beetroot and horseradish pierogi with soured cream, paprika, and pickled red cabbage. No, I had no idea what pierogi were either - despite scoffing some a week or so back at Bermondsey Street market- but they were delicious. They're a traditionally Polish dish - boiled/baked/fried dumplings of dough, almost like tortellini. Hugh's black bean hummus on sourdough toast with avocado, tomato, and seeds was very flavoursome but a little tough.
Mains were more difficult to choose between so we agreed to pick differently. I had root vegetable bhaji with grilled paneer and sag dahl and Hugh had tikka marinated halloumi with sweet potato gobi curry. Paneer is an odd thing, like cottage-cheese, a bit nothingy but it countered the spicy dahl really nicely. The recipe looks pretty straightforward so I may try my hand at it for a winter warmer over the coming months. Halloumi is one of my favourite cheeses, I love the squeak when you chew it but I wasn't expecting Hugh's to be deep fried and the dish looked a little sad.
With its short shelf-life, quirky venue choice and innocent'sbrand success, it's unsuprising this event was a hit. But while the piggyback on the "pop-up" craze may be an effective piece of marketing, with food this good who cares?!
It's no secret I'm a pudding girl through and through but neither the baked rice pudding with spiced fruit compote or poached pear and quince ice cream were being served that day so we went for starters and mains.
I chose well with the beetroot and horseradish pierogi with soured cream, paprika, and pickled red cabbage. No, I had no idea what pierogi were either - despite scoffing some a week or so back at Bermondsey Street market- but they were delicious. They're a traditionally Polish dish - boiled/baked/fried dumplings of dough, almost like tortellini. Hugh's black bean hummus on sourdough toast with avocado, tomato, and seeds was very flavoursome but a little tough.
Mains were more difficult to choose between so we agreed to pick differently. I had root vegetable bhaji with grilled paneer and sag dahl and Hugh had tikka marinated halloumi with sweet potato gobi curry. Paneer is an odd thing, like cottage-cheese, a bit nothingy but it countered the spicy dahl really nicely. The recipe looks pretty straightforward so I may try my hand at it for a winter warmer over the coming months. Halloumi is one of my favourite cheeses, I love the squeak when you chew it but I wasn't expecting Hugh's to be deep fried and the dish looked a little sad.
With its short shelf-life, quirky venue choice and innocent'sbrand success, it's unsuprising this event was a hit. But while the piggyback on the "pop-up" craze may be an effective piece of marketing, with food this good who cares?!
Hannah, I've found you! Maybe we should tag team and review a few restaurants together - kind of link up our blogs occasionally? Just a thought. Love all your pics. AMx
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