Article revised due to change of location 15 September 2015
Good news for those who missed out on hotly anticipated Thai pop-up Pestle’s fleeting two day residency at Winemakers Club in Farringdon (which finishes today): they’re back, this time bringing Thai curries and Khanom Jeen noodles to Holloway’s Sacred Café N7.
Spearheading the movement (or should we say grinding the pestle) is Seb Holmes, former sous chef of The Begging Bowl and once head chef at the Smoking Goat, alongside Thom Lawson, who ran the show at Caravan and is currently consulting at Croft Kitchen.
A similar menu to the first pop-up keeps homemade fermented rice flour noodles as the star of the show, accompanied by the likes of green curry of smoked rabbit, red jungle curry of mussels, or whole sea bass with a three flavoured sauce. Massaman curry with grilled peach makes for an usual combination, while whole chicken and prawn red curry will no doubt prove a popular sharing option. Mop up the juices with some salted turmeric butter roti, with pickles and soy greens on the side.
Imaginative starters include Gola chicken satay, sweet chilli fish balls or moo ping (BBQ pork skewers). Round things off with condensed milk and pandanas ice cream, banana fritters or salted tamarind caramel, proving that Thai desserts are something wholly different from that which arrives as a freebie when you order a takeaway. Chang beer is order of the day, while cocktails are on offer from Jimmy Myhill (ex-Smoking Goat and Caravan Kings Cross) alongside wine from Winemakers club.
Pestle is opening from 17 September until 14 November at Sacred Café N7, Highbury Studios, 8 Hornsey Street, London N7 8EG. Reservations via info@pestlelondon.co.uk
This article was published 27 August 2015
Photos by Zeren Wilson
@bittenwritten