So here's what the dining room at Elis looks like now - a subtle makeover.
What do we need to know about Elis?
Elis is the much-anticipated new opening from Rafael Cagali, who is also behind the two Michelin-starred Da Terra restaurant in Bethnal Green at the Town Hall Hotel. It's billed as a more relaxed kind of restaurant serving up dishes inspired by his Brazilian-Italian heritage. Running the kitchen day to day is head chef Joe Holness.
Where is it?
You'll find it, like Da Terra, inside the Town Hall hotel. It's taken over the space where the Corner Room restaurant used to be. It's worth noting that the best entrance to use isn't the front one on Cambridge Heath Road where Da Terra is. Instead, head down Patriot Square and go in the main hotel entrance and you'll find Elis up on the first floor. The nearest tube is Bethnal Green, while Cambridge Heath is a handy train station too.
Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
There are plenty of options in the area, from Coupette around the corner on Bethnal Green Road, and Sager + Wild on Paradise Row. There's also Satan's Whiskers right opposite the hotel. Or you could pop into the hotel's own Silk Weaver Bar.
What kind of food is it?
Split into snacks, small plates and then larger options of pasta, fish and meat this was one of those menus where you know your problem is going to be not what to eat, but what to leave out.
Here's what we had:
While you're working out what to have, get in some cocktails - this was their Elderflower Lemonade (beefed up with cachaca and single malt) and a Cynaroni - along with some rather lovely pork puffs (£2.50).
Bread selection (£8) - a hearty and carby recommendation because it comes with E5 Bakehouse's Seeded Sourdough plus Elis' own focaccia and amazing Pao de Queijo made in-house. It's served with cultured butter, stracciatella and gonnelli olive oil. If you can't finish it all, do as we did and get some wrapped up for the next day's breakfast.
Bolinhos de Bacalhau with a dende Aioli (£9) - Brazilian salt cod fritters - our only gripe being we'd have loved more of that aioli to dredge the fritters through.
Crudo di Arctic Charr with Tucupi Dressing (£10) - beautiful crudo served with a traditional Brazilian dressing made from the juice of the manioc root.
Battuta di Vitello, Marrow, Batata Palha (£11) Our star dish - tender veal tartare with straw potatoes and a heavenly smokiness to it all from the marrow which is smoked pre-assembly.
Crab Linguini (£18) - there are three pastas to choose from, but our waitress firmly steered us in this direction and we were glad she did.
Monkfish Tail , Black Tucupi Glaze, Haricot Beans (£36) - tenderly cooked monkfish tail paired with some well seasoned beans.
Picanha Skewer, Palm Hearts, Kale (£32) - perfectly cooked steak skewer that's almost upstaged by those preserved and grilled palm hearts.
Room for dessert?
Amazingly we did. There are a few options here like a pistachio affogato (£8) or coconut yoghurt ice cream and roasted pineapple (£10) but we still think that these should be the ones to go for.
Guava creme caramel (£9) - quite the prettiest one we've seen for a while, and the perfect size too.
Doce de leite doughnuts (£7) - we didn't need Google Translate to work out that we wanted these and while the idea of dulce de leche doughnuts at the end of a big meal might make you think twice about these, they were actually as light as a feather.
What about the wine?
The wine list here is supplied by Keeling & Co, who are tied in with Noble Rot. We had a glass of the house white (Chin Chin) and Red (a Tempranillo) both of which came in under the £8 mark.
Overall thoughts:
We're big fans of Da Terra so we couldn't wait to see what Rafael and his team were going to do with the old Corner Room site. Turns out that a Brazilian Italian fusion is a perfect match for the small plates concept. The restaurant's been given a light refurb (the banquette section at the back's particularly nice) and was already nicely buzzing when we went down in week one. It's a cosy spot with a lovely menu - what more could you want?
More about Elis
Where is it? Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, London E2 9NF
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit the website or follow them on Instagram @elis.ldn.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Elis. Prices are correct at time of publication.
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