Grilled bread with greens and lardo (£9.50) - perhaps the signature brunch dish and every bit as delicious as this bit of egg porn on Insta makes it look.
Remind us about Brat again...
This is the Shoreditch restaurant of Tomos Parry, who very successfully expanded to alfresco surroundings over at Climpson's Arch over the summer (and which continues in the winter months). Tomos sets out his stall as drawing influence both from his own Welsh heritage and the Basque region of Northern Spain. Much of it is cooked on an open fire wood grill in the open kitchen.
Where exactly is it?
You'll find it upstairs from Smoking Goat on the corner of Redchurch Street and Shoreditch High Street. The nearest station is Shoreditch High Street.
So they're doing brunch now?
They are - it started just before the second lockdown. It's such a lovely bright dining room here, so it's just perfect for brunching. They're open for brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am.
The dishes focus around the restaurant's trademark grilled bread along with their own charcuterie. Along with the lardo above, here's what else we had:
Cured mangalitsa on toast with plum jam (£7) - the team here break down their own animals to make their charcuterie
Grilled spider crab salad (£16) - a great lighter dish, made even better by the dressing featuring crab head mayo.
Blood pudding with mutton sausage, white beans and figs (£12.50) - this is a dish that's normally on the main menu, but given a brunch upgrade with those figs. Quite apart from looking beautiful, this felt like a dish heralding the joys of autumn.
Short rib with sausage, egg and grilled peppers (£24) - a superior steak brunch dish, the peppers cooked into sweet submission and the short rib was given the perfect treatment on the wood fire.
What's good for vegetarians?
It is a pretty pescatarian/carnivore focused menu but there are a few veggie dishes from the young leeks with fresh cheese to the kohlrabi salad.
What about drink?
We kicked things off with a lovely light glass of txakoli (£7) and after that, kept it pretty simple with a glass of Etna Rosso from the Murgo Winery in Sicily (£10).
Room for dessert?
There better be because this beauty is on the menu...
Caramel cream (£6) - this may have been pretty much the perfect iteration of this classic dish. The perfect amount of wibble - and a lovely woodsmoked tang to the caramel sauce. Sheer heaven and just right for two to share, although looking back we now wished we'd had one each.
Overall thoughts
The last time we were at Brat was for an early dinner on New Year's Eve. The place was heaving and we were so close to our fellow diners, we essentially ended up all having dinner together. Happy days. Now the dining room is much more socially distant, but it's still one of our top places to eat in London and no amount of Covid restrictions will ever change that.
More about Brat
Where is it? 4 Redchurch St, Hackney, London E1 6JL
When? Brunch is every Saturday and Sunday
How to book: On their website.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @bratrestaurant.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Brat. Prices correct at time of publication.
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