Shoreditch has been regarded as an up-and-coming area of London for so long now that we should probably simply acknowledge the fact that it has well and truly arrived and is not merely some currently trendy hot-spot. From a culinary perspective, the point is well made by One Club Row. It is an East End version of the Fat Badger in Notting Hill and The Hero in Maida Vale; an excellent eaterie located above an atmospheric pub, in this case the Knave of Clubs, which happens to have the same proprietors as the restaurant.
More than one review has suggested the restaurant gives off a Manhattan vibe, and I can see the merits of the analogy. Whether we’re talking London or New York, there is one particularly neat metropolitan touch – a taxi light just beside the entrance door which will be on if they have tables available for walk-ins. But don’t bank on that. Getting in can be tougher than hailing a black cab during a thunderstorm.
The interior exudes an ambience of liveliness, one that is maybe enlivend by an aura of the place also being somewhat louche. As for the food, the primary reason for our presence, this is not fine-dining. But it is bloody good. You can see in the two photos here what I had to eat, but I neglected to show you the ‘snack’ of pickled jalapeno gougeres, giving off a delicious taste of parmesan, that we enjoyed while figuring out what else to eat. My wife went for stracciatella, tomato, picked shallots and salsa verde followed by moules frites, lemongrass, spring onion and curry leaf. She pronounced it all excellent.
Among other options we could have gone for were classic steak tartare (accompanied by beef dripping toast), roast cod, pork schnitzel or the club cheeseburger. The chips did look seriously good. For the seriously famished, there is a 300-gram sirloin of grass-fed beef with sauce au poivre, which does sound tremendous in both meanings of the word. There is also something called a Dutch baby, which comes with chantilly, blueberries and maple syrup, to finish with. This is not some horrendous carnivorous concoction but is basically a Yorkshire pudding. Probably needles to say, neither of us was up for tackling that baby.
Finally, I shall end with where you may choose to begin. One Club Row offers four martinis and I guess it would be rude not to go for the house version: Tanqueray 10, Chamberyzette, Italicus & Rosemary. It’s £14. Spend double that and I would hazard a guess that, given what is likely to come afterwards, you might be well on to your way to a hangover.