An Instagram post by Allegra chef Patrick Powell alerted us to the arrival of a new cafe on Bethnal Green Road. Rastro is the first project from a team who've worked at a range of hospitality businesses across London. Carlos Del Barrio is the connection with Powell - he worked with him at Allegra for the past few years and, before that, at Scarfe's Bar. He's joined in this endeavour by his stepbrother Rodrigo who was also at Allegra and previously worked for Soho House. The final member of the team is Carlos' girlfriend Barbara who is the marketing and creative brains of the operation.
This East London cafe, which has taken over the old Second Shot coffee space, is hopefully the first in a series of projects for the team. With all three hailing from Spain, it draws on the Med for inspiration with sandwiches that they say are twists on classics.
There are four sandwiches on the launch menu all of which you can opt to be grilled for you:
- Cubano with prosciutto cotto, pancetta, Emmenthal, pickles and smoked dijonnaise on brioche
- Siesta (so-called as you'll need a nap after it) - Mallorcan sobrasada, Brie, crispy onion and rocket with honey vinaigrette.
- Serranito - Salmorejo, jamon Serrano, chopped boilled eggs and extra virgin olive oil on focaccia
- Sababa - houmous with piquillo peppers, goats cheeese and za'atar olive oil
In addition to that they offer Torres crisps, pastries, espresso and juices and what looks to be a way nicer meal deal than you'll find at the Tesco Metro.
Rastro looks to be the first in a series of projects for the trio with Carlos admitting to Hot Dinners; "I always wanted to open an aperitif bar or small cocktail bar with nibbles with my background. But we thought we'd start with something small. At Rastro we're doing really good sandwiches for not crazy prices - that's what the Mediterranean food culture is all about."
More about Rastro
Where is it? 475 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 9QH
Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @rastroldn
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