Eggplant Melenzana, Kibbutz serving style (£9)
What can you tell us about Lilienblum?
It's the latest restaurant from Eyal Shani, the man who brought us pita restaurant Miznon, which he's already opened in both Soho and Notting Hill. Although Miznon is probably his most famous creation, Shani has many different restaurants the world over and Lilienblum is his latest to arrive in London. Named after one of Shani's first restaurants, it's all centred around the selection of Tel Aviv-inspired sharing plates on the menu.
Where is it?
It's right by Old Street station. Assuming you manage to find your way out the correct exit of the warren-like station first time (one day we'll manage that), you'll find it right next door to Richard Corrigan's Daffodil Mulligan. If you were familiar with the Italian restaurant Passo, it's taken over the space where that used to be.
A look inside Lilienblum
Has it changed much inside?
Yes and no. It's a huge restaurant, and the basic layout is the same - small bar space, big restaurant, one of the best terraces in the area (you'll find that out the back) and a big counter dining space. The tables do feel a little more spread out than before and there's been a bit of an overhaul of the overall look.
Where should we go for a drink first?
There's a small bar area inside Lilienblum (the bar actually has a separate counter opposite the main kitchen area) so if you're waiting a while for someone to arrive (which is what happened with our guest who it seems couldn't read the time) this is a perfect place to grab a drink.
But right next door will usually be our top recommendation in the area. Gibney's is right underneath Daffodil Mulligan and serves easily the best pint of Guinness (or Gibney's stout) in the area. If you're eating at Lilienblum and haven't been there before, you owe yourself a quick trip next door to Gibney's too.
Where should we sit in the restaurant?
If you like interacting with and watching the chefs in action, then the counter is the place to be. If it's a sunny day outside, then you'll definitely want to make use of their large terrace, hidden in a courtyard away from the bustle of Old Street. There are also a good few large tables dotted around the room - so it'll be a good place for groups too.
What's the menu like?
If you've been to Miznon, you'll have a good idea of the approach to the menu here. Dishes are listed in a slightly mad fashion like "ribeye steak the way God intended" which, frankly does get a little bit annoying if you happen to read through it before heading to the restaurant.
When you're actually there, it strangely starts to feel a little less irritating. It encourages you to talk to the servers to find out more, and this is actually really helpful when you're at the counter, asking the chef what on earth "a very precise tomato pasta" is. We warmed to the style a little more because of this (although we very much would like to discourage any other restaurants from mimicking it, all the same).
But what's actually on the menu?
You'll find headings like "vegetable creatures" but it's essentially split into bread, vegetables, meat, fish and dessert. All are sharing plates and delivered pretty quickly so we'd say order 2-3 dishes a time, with about 6-8 in total between two people.
We're including the bread in that count, which is the place to start. Just order one of their foccacias immediately, and maybe the creamy avocado bruschetta too, along with one of the hummus dishes. The latter will be familiar if you've been to Miznon and is the only part of the menu where we really missed the pitas - they would have been very handy to hoover up the hummus as the focaccia, great as it is, isn't quite as useful a scooping implement.
Golden fresh focaccia with tomato and sage and with spicy and sour cream (£8)
Hummus "just the way we like it" (£12) which is also available with lamb ragu £18)
We'd also recommend the dish of six spices - each increasing in spiciness like some sort of Tel Aviv version of the Hot Wings challenge.
6 spicy instruments that will swirl your soul (£6.50) -these are tomato salsa, zhoug, harissa, chopped chilli, matbucha, fried jalapeno
As far as the rest of the menu goes, here's a selection of dishes, many recommended to us directly by the chef:
Farrow and clams served in an abundance of dill (£20) - Farro toasted and cooked, clams in olive oil, white wine and tomato perfume, lemon juice and, of course, an abundance of dill.
Asparagus exemplarily arranged in a paper envelope (£15) - presented to you steamed in the bag, cut open at your table to which Parmesan is then grated over.
Dinosaur bone (£34) - This is actually a very slow-cooked short rib, with the bone cut through it like a huge bone cleaver.
Sat at the counter there were a couple of other dishes that caught our eye, particularly the lamb chops with salat aravi (A pricey £50, mind) and another popular dish was the mesabaha of lima beans with tomato seeds, red onion and shavings of hard-boiled egg (£13.50).
And dessert?
We went a little off-piste here as they actually brought us out every single dessert on one platter (which somewhat explains our increasing waistline after). So you'll see those below and each one separately would be £8.
Chocolate mousse with whipped cream and a salted butter cookie, pistachio cake with raspberries, malabi with strawberry perfume, creme caramel and Basque cheesecake. The mousse and the cake were the winners among this lot.
What about drink?
There's a predominantly European one-page wine list on offer, although a couple of wines from Israel do make the cut (they're in the £75/95 price point though). Wines start at £35 a bottle and head upwards briskly from there.
It is, however, well worth paying attention to the cocktail menu. House martinis are £16 and there's a fairly strong spirits list. Generally, the cocktails (all £13) are spins on classics - like their take on an iced tea , bramble or a margarita. We'd recommend the following.
Memories of the Old City Ancho Reyes Verde, Dolin Rouge, Peychaud bitters, sage, Averna Amero (£13)
Overall thoughts
Eyal Shani is clearly on a roll in London right now. After opening two Miznons in quick succession, he's following this opening with another in the City very soon. It was a little quiet in the early days we visited and we do think they need to let more people know that they're open.
That said, we can also see this building up a strong audience in the coming weeks. The food is good, the room inviting and we can imagine that terrace getting a lot more business in the summer months.
More about Lilienblum
Where is it? 80 City Rd, London EC1Y 2BJ
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @lilienblumlondon.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Lilienblum. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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