Sets appeal: Tasting menu at Paradise Garage

Reviewing the set meals, tasting menus and special deals available at London's top restaurants 
Paradise Garage: Excellent eating in an overhauled archway
Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose
Ben Norum17 June 2016

For the latest in our Sets Appeal series we try the good value nine-course tasting menu at Paradise Garage

Husband and wife team Robin and Sarah Gill launched Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green in summer 2015, following the success of earlier ventures The Dairy and The Manor down in Clapham.

It may be on the other side of town, but the approach is similar: good ingredients in clever combinations with an ‘everything made on-site’ doctrine.

What’s the deal? The tasting menu is easily among the best value of its kind in London. £45 gets you a selection of small-plate starters, some rather special bread and a procession of three more small dishes before a decent sized main course, palate cleanser and pudding — plus cheese for £3.50 extra should you wish.

Vibrant: lamb heart with fennel kimchi

When is it available? Whenever the restaurant is open, Tuesday evenings, all-day Wednesday to Saturday and Sunday daytimes.

What’s it like? Highlights are plentiful. Small plates include a selection of homemade salami and slithers of lamb heart served with vibrant fennel kimchi. Salt cod brandade comes with a scratching-style puffed ‘shellfish crisp’, squid ink and tangy green olive. And a dish of sliced Portobello mushrooms served with an anchovy-rich bagna cauda, raw turnip and a slice of homemade rye bread — deconstructed mushrooms on toast, if you will — is splendid in its simplicity.

Hearty: Hereford beef rump with charred celeriac, broad beans and bone marrow broth

The bread should not be overlooked, either — a majestically tangy sourdough which comes with a light, slightly sweet whipped butter infused with whisky. Homemade on-site, naturally.

For the main course, there’s a choice of succulent, crisp-skinned Welsh lamb served with deep and salty monk’s beard, or Hereford beef rump with charred celeriac, broad beans and a delicious bone marrow broth. Both are genuinely hearty as well as cleverly composed.

Fresh: strawberries with smoked buttermilk ice cream and popcorn

An iced assembly of yoghurt, peas and tarragon is a refreshing palate cleanser ahead of pudding, the highlight of which sees fresh and puréed English strawberries served with a smoked buttermilk ice cream and popcorn.

Verdict A stonking menu that’s inventive and creative but still genuinely hearty and delicious. Given the quality and number of courses, this is one of the best value tasting menus in town for a special occasion.

Find it 254 Paradise Row, E2 9LE. Visit paradise254.com.

The best food in London

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