Typing Room - Town Hall Hotel (Bethnal Green)

• Over the last few years I've had some fantastic experiences eating in some of the best restaurants in London
• Those nights were things don't quite come together it can be quite deflating
• The remaining half is split by a wall
• More interested in what the kitchen is doing than each other
• Being a group of 6 we were sat in the back
• While the 5 course looked very tempting with raw scallops and roe deer
• First up was profiteroles with courgette and basil mixture with black olive emulsion on top
• A sourdough with a malty marmite butter
• Other snacks included a pumpkin puree and an attractive piece of chicken skin with smoked cod
• I can't remember any mustard flavours coming through and was surprised when re reading the menu
• I tried the beef just on it's own and it was quite bland
• The yeasted cauliflower dish was probably my favourite of the night
• By this time another large group was sat near us
• Including chap with a voice as big as his apparent insecurities
• The sea bass and octopus dish was another that was a little underwhelming for me
• With a tiny octopus leg that was slightly chewy
• The best bit was actually the carpaccio hidden underneath the seabass
• The last of the savoury dishes was iberico presa with chervil root
• It pains me that the slightly sweet chervil root was the most interesting part of the plate
• That said a restaurant is only as good as it's last night
• The head chef here is Lee Westcott
• The wine list was interesting
• 60 decibels is normal conversation
• 90 decibels is the noise a lawnmower makes)
• Smoked eel with wasabi and peas was served in a lettuce leaf and was an excellent snack to begin with
• The eel flavour was nicely lifted by the wasabi
• Rosemary brioche came with chicken skin butter
• Sourdough loaf came with marmite butter with crispy pearl barley
• I particularly enjoyed the delicate brioche with its subtle taste of rosemary (easily 16/20)
• This was followed by a dish of langoustine with sweet corn with a stock of dashi
• The main element of the dish was served with cucumber spaghetti
• The langoustine had good inherent flavour and worked well with the cucumber strands
• Duck breast was served with cured duck
• Cannelloni of duck leg meat with spiced mango and mango line zest
• The elements were harmonious
• A salad of duck egg came with Belper Knolle Swiss hard cheese
• This was another dish where there were plenty of elements but they worked together very well
• A pre dessert of toasted almond foam came with lemon sorbet
• Pistachio cake was served with caramelised white chocolate
• I really liked the dish with the exception of the pistachio sponge cake
• The fruit had very good flavour and the pistachios were an excellent foil for the strawberries (15/20)
• A coffee dessert came with several variations on coffee flavour
• Filling out the rest of the dish were caravel popcorn
• This was served with a delicate raspberry marshmallow
• The technique was hard to fault
• Overall I was very impressed with Typing Room
• Is serving innovative and enjoyable dishes that for me were in firm one star Michelin territory
• Just inside the entrance to The Town Hall sits the restaurant where a hint of the Scandinavian is apparent in the elegant simplicity of the furniture
• The waiting staff are stylishly kitted out in jeans
• Super smart with neat brown aprons and pale blue shirts
• Our adventure was beginning and we were on the edge of our seats
• Sprinkled with black olives and topped with miniature basil leaves
• Savoury profiteroles are officially the way forward
• These little guys are something else entirely
• Crunchy coated pigs trotter topped with a bacon and brown sauce jam
• Rye IPA sourdough with a moussy marmite butter that negates the universally acknowledged fact of marmite dividing the nation
• At least I wouldn't be if Lee felt like providing me with a lifetime supply of the stuff
• A choice that I wish I could make time and time again is selecting the scorched cod
• A light gin broth was drizzled over as the plate arrived at the table and delicately tied the dish together giving the sweetness of the pear
• Infact the whole meal was pretty sexy and to our delight there was yet more to come
• A lovely selection of just the right amount with a pot of sweet homemade chutney
• We were liberal with our spoon exchanging
• Our table was perfectly positioned in sight of the open plan kitchen where Lee Westcott and his team were making the magic
• This is one hell of a smooth operation and the chefs bought dishes to the table with the same relaxed composure we felt from the moment we arrived
• A pebble and a plank were placed in front of us
• Crisp cocoa and passion fruit completed our culinary adventure and we were left in a delightful
• Patriot (more about this later) to reflect on our meal at a safe distance from the kitchen which we were both contemplating calmly chaining ourselves to
• Each dish was sprinkled with a playfulness that was both refreshing and exciting
• Only recently opened in May it is owned by Chef Lee Westcott (part of the Jason Atherton gang) who I had the pleasure of meeting on the night
• The restaurant itself is very chic and you are greeted by a lovely bunch of waiters on arrival to take to your table
• The menu can offer you two options with either a 5 or 7 course taster
• As you may know I am warming to the idea of these tasting type menus and something that was once under appreciated
• Has all of a sudden become such a modern trend in the restaurant world as more and more people choose to eat a lighter selection with a lot more choices
• I had a large appetite to fill but the 5 course option was good enough for me
• The waiter was very accommodating and even allowed us to swap a few menu items around from the other menu
• Even when they are being a right pain in the butt
• A nice bottle of red from one of my favourite regions in Bordeaux was ordered and as we cheered our glasses I started to relax and anticipate the fabulous feast ahead of us
• Snacks were bought to the table first and much to my delight was some fresh made bread made of Marmite
• Call me crazy but I am obsessed with the stuff (New Zealand only) so to have it in bread was like having all my Christmas's come at once
• A second favourite was the profiterole filled with the most amazing basil I have ever tried
• You know my one true loves of seafood is a scallop and when I took the first bite I couldnt even tell you how good it was
• The flavours were unbelievable
• Huge fan of this meat and super fussy since I am from the land of the best lamb in the world
• The bar you could say is raised pretty high in this category
• A miniature bowl of a perfect fluffy meringue bursting with an icy cold tropical flavour entered my mouth
• Last but not least was the chocolate
• I will never say no to Macaron and when they are salted caramel flavour
• One thing I really loved about Typing Room - Town Hall Hotel (Bethnal Green) is the fact that the staff are so hands on with their customers
• The Sommelier had an excellent knowledge of their wine list and the chefs are very interactive with an open style kitchen at the front of the restaurant
• I would not be surprised if the Typing room is next in line for a Michelin star
• To Viajante which was Nuno Mendes' restaurant located in the Town Hall Hotel in
• Opened up earlier this year as Typing Room with backing from Jason Atherton and
• The restaurant itself is located in and derives its name
• After arriving and being relieved of our coats we were shown to our
• The kitchen is open and from where I was sat
• They offer a lunch menu with two choices for
• Particularly impressed with though was that they have vegetarian and
• Request but it was nice that those things had been thought of in advance
• Choice of three (I was slightly tempted to order all three but didn't in the
• Normally if I'm having profiteroles they are not especially
• Next up was a bit of a surprise in the form of sourdough bread served with whipped Marmite
• With wonderfully warm sourdough bread this was delicious and we fought over who
• My boyfriend's main was the roast salt cod
• Apparently he was once in Spain or somewhere and somehow ended
• This octopus though was a beautiful soft cross section and
• My choice of main was the lamb breast with squash and
• Dessert it was earthy and fresh and natural
• The waiter asked whether there was anything in
• I liked blue cheese but that otherwise I was just happy with a selection
• Can't remember now what each of them were but it was a great selection and
• It was my birthday at the beginning of February and I was a very lucky lady as my husband took me to the Typing Room in Bethnal Green Town Hall for a 7 course taster menu
• I had been previously whilst it was Viajante with Nuno Mendes as Head Chef you will know him from Chiltern Firehouse
• I have wanted to come to the Typing Room for a long time as I've heard great things and with Lee Westcote leading this it was something to look forward to
• Friendliest sommeliers I've met talked us through some great bottles but we couldn't decide so ended up with the pairing
• As you can see there are not photographs of all the courses
• The more wine that was poured the more more blurry the photos
• To begin we were served onion bhajis
• A delicate crisp skin with a spiced mango chutney
• The crispy pigs trotter with bacon jam which was delicious
• Followed by a chestnut foam with apple compote which was a little too sweet for me so early on in the meal
• The breads were served next
• A rosemary brioche is served with a crispy chicken skin butter and the marmite alongside an IPA sourdough
• The mustard worked really well with the celeriac and a lovely dish to start us off
• The earthiness of the venison and beetroot was brilliant with the refreshing horseradish
• The next dish was also surprisingly a contender for my favourite of the night
• By this point we were starting to feel a little tipsy as we were on our third glass of wine
• I had been previously whilst it was Viajante with Nuno Mendes as Head Chef &ndash
• Ve heard great things and with Lee Westcote leading this it was something to look forward to
• A couple of weeks back I was staying at the Town Hall Hotel again
• When I originally wrote this post it was only the third day of opening and their first Sunday lunch
• Its location (in the less fashionable part of London) plus my habit of only booking last minute meant that it was very difficult to get a table
• What we did have was wonderfully tasting
• I chose the cod as the main which was good but what was even better was the sheeps yoghurt (it was either this or the cheese)
• In all honesty it was difficult to understand the waiters at times
• Not only because of their thick European accents but also because the music was too loud and did nothing for the ambiance of the place
• The Typing Room is set within the fantastic Art Deco Bethnal Green former Town Hall
• The Town Hall is now a successful five stars hotel with a trendy bar and an easy going restaurant on the other side of the building
• The Typing Room is the successful high end restaurant
• The place is not so big so you are better off booking well in advance
• The atmosphere is nice and not too stuffy
• We sat for 3 hours eating and drinking some of the best food I've had in a while
• Lee even visited our table for a chat and let us try a few new dishes he had up his sleeve including an incredible pasta dish with a sweetcorn cream
• The only bad taste left in my mouth was the discovery that this restaurant does not have a michelin star
• Cocktail bar was both pretentious and wonderful
• 2 hours actually is rushed if you want to enjoy your food and wine
• Inconsistant ( how difficult is it to pour 3 glasses the same size
• Although a couple of wines were really great
• We ordered the 5 course pescatarian menu and each course was a delight to the eyes as well as the palate
• Authentic British restaurant in London is really rare
• There are many British restaurant but there are very few which are really very good and worth eating

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