Climpson's Arch (Hackney)

• I love the summer when the weather is like this (touch wood
• Most of the best BBQ joints in the city
• Enter Licky Chop with their two wood fired oven behemoths
• The broccoli was the most stand out dish I've had
• The thick fillet of confit salmon with incredibly crispy skin was fantastic
• Lemon zest was epitome of summer freshness
• LC is going with the whole 'small plates' theme
• It wasn't long before I was back to try out some more of the ever changing menu
• Goat's cheese with sprinkle of pumpkin seeds (£
• The portion size is a bit tight
• Could have done with more than a couple of chunks
• The lamb belly with aubergine and flatbread (£
• Probably due the fact there is very little meat on this cut
• Some Old Spot chops with burnt apple would work well with the wood grill
• The melon sorbet with prosecco (£
• Secluded coffee roastery and bar also has a La Marzocco Linea Barbecue out the front which is put to good use by rotating chefs &
• The latest team to take over the cooking are Andy Oliver and Tom George who have brought small town Thailand to the arch in the form of Som Saa
• We kicked off with tua prik krob (£
• 3) moreish Thai cashew nuts with kaffir lime
• 5) Betel Leaf with citrus cured wild sea bass
• Lemongrass and mint that was anything but subtle
• We finished with gai yaang (grilled chicken le with jaew dipping sauce £
• You can move on to bigger plates such as geng hung lay (Northern style pork belly curry with pickled garlic and ginger £
• 12.50) and nam dtok pla thort (deep fried seabass with Isaan herbs and roasted rice £
• 14) and finish up with kluey thord "
• Lan palm sugar ice cream with turmeric grilled banana £
• Classic Thai brunch dishes such as Chinese doughnuts and rice porridge with crispy pork will be served at weekends
• Alongside a special Thai coffee developed in conjunction with Climpson and Sons Coffee Roasters
• The setting is stunning (reminding me of the outstanding Big Crow in Toronto)
• Matt The Thai Tips Smoking Goat (more Thai BBQ from the Begging Bowl team) has just opened in Soho and is also generating quite a buzz
• I was surprised and delighted when we sat down to a succinct one page menu with not a green curry in sight when we visited Som Saa for dinner
• This Thai pop up restaurant is currently taking over Climpson&rsquo
• The piping hot sticky rice which was perfect for soaking up all the different sauciness
• My other stand out was the pork neck
• How moreish it was paired with their nam jim sauce
• Liquor so good that leaving a drop should come with a police caution
• The heat from the green papaya salad is penetrative rather than eye watering
• Is covered in Isaan herbs and comes with roasted rice
• The fish also appears cured with citrus under &lsquo
• Lime and garlic was as dreamy as it reads (£
• The sweet flesh of the salt roasted prawns were a great excuse to get the fingers dirty and suck on some crustacean heads (£
• There was also a palm sugar ice cream with turmeric grilled banana which had a great warming depth (£
• Things that continue to flirt with me from the menu I stowed away in my bag and took home
• Northern style pork belly curry with pickled garlic and ginger
• Beyond the seating it is a coffee factory after all
• S no reservations open Thursday to Sunday from 6pm with brunch at the weekends
• My first visit was on their opening night
• We had a bucket of Kho Panghan with thai redbull to share between the three of us I only had a few sips as I had an early start the next day
• The first dish that arrived was the gai yang grilled chicken leg with jaew dipping sauce
• The chicken was grilled perfectly and nicely marinated
• The muslim hot and sour soup was quite tasty
• One of my favourite dishes was probably the deep fried seabass with isaan herbs and roasted rice powder
• I just kept picking at it even though I was already quite full
• Made from salted bo lan palm sugar and served with grilled banana
• I guess sometimes good food is worth traveling
• Last weekend I headed to the Som Saa residency at Climpsons Arch in London Fields with a couple of friends
• Its January and it seems to be cold and dark all the time so we arrived early at about half 6 to a beautifully lit up railway arch with many tables already taken
• I was still living just round the corner at Victoria Park so it was easy for me to pop by
• The food and atmosphere are both brilliant
• We all went for the rum punch which was lovely and fruity and very refreshing
• They now serve Chang beer in cans too which is rare in London town
• We ordered the grilled chicken leg with jaew dipping sauce
• Deep fried seabass with issan herbs and roasted rice
• The herbs and sauce are delightfully tangy and you will want to drink it off the plate
• I was tasked with getting all the meat off the fish for my friends
• The pork belly curry was good &ndash
• Nutty dipping sauce which is fab with the chicken but also very good poured over your sticky rice
• The spicy cucumber salad with peanuts was really good
• Ve had a horrid cough recently and it did not agree with my tickly throat &ndash
• The staff here are friendly and pretty much spot on and the food authentic and flavourful
• Leandro Carreira is the current residency at Climpson's Arch
• I think my palate is not quite refined enough to fully appreciate the efforts made here
• Same lovely ramshackle atmosphere as Som Saa with the smell of the outdoor grill and most dishes cooked or lightly smoked on it
• From the snacks we had the dorset char crudo with nettles and the sandwich bolo do caco with peppers &
• Tiny portion of four slivers of lightly smoked fish garnished with fried nettle
• We had two orders of clams which were dressed with lemon and sweet pickled turnip
• Wild mushroom with crispy egg yolk was a mix of sauteed mushroom including chanterelles
• We had two orders of the bisarro pork with esparregado
• This was a small portion of tender BBQ pork ribs with sauteed spinach made with plenty of garlic and olive oil
• Intriuging texture on the vegetable which had been made by pureeing half of of the greens and then mixing it back back with the whole leaves
• A dish of broad beans was lovingly prepared
• Skirt and peashoot was again served raw
• Our final savory dish was cured bream with crispy chard and beetroot
• Another dish of raw fish sprinkled with hard to identify powders including shredded deep fried chard
• Caramelized almond tart with wild strawberries was pleasant and dense (probably one of the more filling dishes on the menu)
• Another dense cake made with almond flour
• Climpson's arch is the best thai food restaurant in that area i really enjoyed the food

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