Bistrotheque (Bethnal Green)

• Bistrotheque is a place out of nowhere
• Halfway between cabaret (there are burlesque shows and transvestites on Friday and Saturday nights
• Bistrotheque is a creative and resolutely trendy concept
• The large living minimalist but warm restaurant with wood everywhere (floors
• Waiters and waitresses are particularly friendly and the food is tasty
• The only thing i could fault was the service that
• The main dinning room is a fantastic place
• The service was perfect too
• Some of the best meals I&rsquo
• The food is lovely and never disappoints steak tartare is an absolute must
• Sarah and Russell used to go when they were living in a tiny flat next door
• Bistrotheque is tucked away down a small road in a non descript warehouse that you'll probably walk past the first time you go
• Push through the industrial double doors and bask in the chaotic calm that is the all white and windows restaurant
• It's a sizeable open space but it feels intimate as tables are close together
• Martini made with Hackney gin or vodka in hand
• Smiliest waiters (also in whites) bustle back and forth with a practised calm
• Naturally) is a good start
• As were the large grilled prawns in garlic butter with bone marrow which I managed to devour in double quick time the sweet meat of the shellfish rounded up by the richness of the marrow
• P had the crab a glorious combination of brown and white meat with ample citrusy bite
• My ever predictable order of steak tartare was no surprise
• Well prepared with the fresh zing of the mustard
• Turnworth and Cashel Blue served with quince jelly oatcakes (discarded) and smothered onto more bread from the kitchen
• These were all delicious (predictably) and P was impressed (big thumbs up from the resident Frenchie)
• We finished the night with an espresso martini for me and the cognac for P before heading for nightcaps at Peg + Patriot
• The pancakes and strawberries were a fine ending to a great brunch
• Hidden by an unmarked entrance on an otherwise quiet East London backstreet was Bistrotheque
• I discovered it's a French cafe/restaurant (I suppose the name is suggestive) and coincidentally or not the wait staff were mostly seemingly French too
• This dish needed to be competed with a larger starch component to make this a full breakfat
• Atmosphere is jolly and convivial but rather noisy
• There are a lot of hard industrial surfaces so acoustics are not great when the restaurant is full
• There was also pianist performing on a baby grand which was pretty loud too

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