The Corner Room is the elegant younger sister to revered Viajante, sitting on its shoulders but, at the same time, equally independent. Still parented by Nuno Mendes, the restaurant is another prominent feature of Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel. The hotel’s juxtaposition of ultra-modern decadence and classic, period features pays homage to the history of the East End, nodding towards the stoic cobbles of Brick Lane and the bright, forward-thinking evident in art galleries and rows of Boris bikes.
If ranking in terms of merit, then shortly behind the food, which has impressed at every visit, is the restaurant’s versatility: a conservatory in the summer, a library in the winter, and the Esher-esque stair scene from The Labyrinth after glass or two of wine.
While the restaurant’s interior exists in understated creativity, the dishes themselves are presented with unrelenting, but never unnecessary, complexity – a beef tartare is given new life with a smoked egg yolk, and soft Iberico pork is served with a sauce containing, what tastes like, Marmite. Seafood renews assumption and dishes like sole on the bone, and sea bass ceviche prove just as appealing as hanger steak.
On the menu, which changes frequently and remains short, the ingredients for each dish are listed with a coy simplicity. Each plate is a surprise; elements you would otherwise overlook play pivotal roles, vegetables are reformed and reinvented, and presentation is beautifully enigmatic, every time.
Patriot Square, Bethnal Green, London E2 9NF
http://townhallhotel.com/corner_room/
