Looking into Goddard & Gibbs and its huge central sculpture
What can you tell us about Goddard & Gibbs?
It's the main all day seafood restaurant at the new One Hundred Shoreditch hotel, which itself has taken over the space that was the Ace Hotel. After a big refurb, they're now open with this new restaurant, a few bars and a big rooftop bar to come. The hotel comes from The Lore Group which also owns Sea Containers on the South Bank.
Where is it?
It's just a short walk up Shoreditch High Street from Shoreditch overground - pass by Smoking Goat, BAO and Dishoom and you'll find it up there on the right. Carry on past the main hotel entrance for the main Goddard & Gibbs entrance.
Where should we go for a drink first?
Obviously, there are a good few places around Shoreditch itself, but what the new hotel does is add a proper destination bar downstairs. Here, they've brought in Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan), who also runs Lyaness in the sister hotel Sea Containers - often rated as one of London's very best bars. His bar here, Seed Library, is a subterranean affair that has its own very low key entrance (hint - look for the bouncer). We didn't try it ourselves, but given the previous successes of Chetiyawardana, it's bound to be huge hit (and was already heaving when we popped down for a look).
There's also a bar in the hotel itself if you're after something a little more low-key as well as a wine bar that's attached to Goddard & Gibbs (this alone will be a very handy space to drop into if you're in the Shoreditch area). And, once it opens, The Rooftop will undoubtedly be the place to be. That's aiming to open late spring, early summer.
Enter from the street and you're first greeted by their small wine bar.
Where should we look to sit?
It's a very big restaurant - easily one of the largest in the area and is split into a few sections. So by the entrance are a row of booths that will easily fit four - handy if you're in a group. But watching closely on the evening we visited, the place to be is either the central section or along the main wall (the area in the back of the pic above) - that's where most of the action is.
What's on the menu?
As mentioned, Goddard & Gibbs is mainly about seafood. Yes, there are vegetarian options available, as well as a burger and steak - but to get the most out of the menu you'll want to stick to the seafood. There's a raw bar (which has a counter you can just see to the left of the bar in the photo below), and lots of seafood starters and mains.
Here's a taste of what we had when we visited.
Oysters are six for £15, 12 for £28 and the raw bar also offers a full seafood platter for two (crab, oysters, smoked prawns, mussels, lobster cocktail and scallops for £85).
Ember baked potatoes with whipped cod’s roe (£8) - a decent take on a dish of potatoes and cod's roe that we've seen a lot on London menus.
Sourdough crumpet, cured cornish mackerel, mussel emulsion (£10) - this was a slightly soggy crumpet filled with beautiful cured mackerel
Crisp hake Kyiv, three-cornered leek butter, new potatoes, kale (£22) - while it didn't have the explosion of butter we were hoping for, this seafood take on the dish is still a winner.
Grilled lobster & chips with garlic butter (half £27, whole £40) - not a bad price for a whole lobster dish.
Fried doughnut, malt ice cream, miso-caramel, peanut dust (£8) - the dish of the night, the fried doughnut being lighter than you might imagine, pairing perfectly with the caramel and malt ice cream.
Treacle sponge, caramel apples, spiced apple ice cream (£8)
What about drink?
For wines, prices start at £29 (Trebbiano from Sassi, Abruzzo or Touriga Nacional from Evaristo, Lisbon) and there's a good selection under the £30 pice point. There's a short cocktail list too, around the £10-11 mark, including a couple of non-alcohol versions like the sage gimlet.
Overall thoughts?
A huge new restaurant for the area, Goddard & Gibbs offers something new with an extensive seafood menu. We went on a launch evening, and there was a great vibe - if they keep that going, this place should become a local hit.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Goddard & Gibbs. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
More about Goddard & Gibbs
Where is it? 100 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch, London E1 6JQ
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @goddardandgibbs.
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