Looking into the main section of the dining room at One Club Row - there's also a table with a view of the kitchen tucked away around the corner that would be great for a group.
Is this the restaurant I've been seeing all over social recently?
You may well have seen the odd social post about this restaurant already. One Club Row feels like it's hit the ground running with a slew of posts (from ourselves included) focusing on that very Insta-friendly graffitied door in Shoreditch which leads up to the restaurant.
But this is much more than just a cool new opening. The unveiling of One Club Row is actually the second tier of activity from hospitality team James Dye, Benjy Leibowitz and chef Patrick Powell. They've already opened the pub downstairs, The Knave of Clubs (which we also tried) and done a blinding job with that. But the restaurant upstairs is really a completely different entity entirely and it's somewhere you are definitely going to want to know about. Several members of the team have worked at top New York restaurants and they've come back to London determined to bring some of that city's energy with them. We're here to tell you that it's worked.
Where exactly is it?
You'll find the door to One Club Row on a street behind the pub, Whitby Street. It's barely a two-minute walk from Shoreditch overground station. If you haven't booked then there's a particularly handy light which is illuminated if there are walk-in seats available. We're told it's already hard getting a booking, so this walk-in light is going to be your best friend over the coming months as you try and get a table here.
The restaurant itself takes over the space that was once the living room for the pair behind Les Deux Garçons, who once ran a restaurant downstairs. It's a gorgeous, light-filled room in the day and one that darkens to a vibey spot illuminated by candles in the evening.
Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
The obvious answer would be the pub below. But there is also a proper bar here where you can perch for your first drink (they also serve food here).
The bar at One Club Row
As for what that first drink might be, the emphasis here is firmly on martinis, with four options available.
Left to right: a Club Row Martini (£14) with Tanqueray 10, Punt e Mes, Dolin Bianco, maraschino liqueur and bitters and a classic vodka martini (£12), which is a veritable bargain in London these days.
And what exactly is on the menu?
Think of this as the best of both New York's bistros and the brasseries of Paris (with some amazing British produce thrown in). It's a traditionally laid out menu of starters, mains and desserts, but you are going to want a few of the amazing snacks to go with those martinis.
Lobster and country ham croquettes (£5 each) with pickled jalapeno gougeres (£9) in the background. Start with these and you can't go wrong.
Barbequed asparagus, crab, brown butter hazelnut & lemon (£16) - is our camera feed 90% asparagus at the moment? That seems about right, given we're fully in the season for it, and this was a good treatment for some great produce.
Tuna crudo, smoked aubergine, creme fraiche & Amalfi lemon (£15) - a really good combination with that smokiness from the aubergine being a punchy partner for the tuna.
At this point in the meal we made a decision that we'd very much like to share with you in the hope that you'll follow our lead. We decided to order an extra dish - a middle course, if you will - of the One Club Row burger. This arrived neatly divided in two, saving us the faff of trying to dissect it at the table and it turned out to be a very good decision indeed.
One Club Row cheese burger au poivre (£19) - a burger which immediately jumps into any list of London's best burgers and one which comes with a sauce boat of pepper sauce for dipping.
Curried moules frites, spring onion & curry leaf (£24) - a particularly good example of a menu not bigging up a dish sufficiently. Not only were the fragrant mussels gorgeous but those frites turned out to be huge chip-shaped, hash brown-like creations.
A close-up of the "frites". Just fantastic and worthy of being a snack on their own.
Pork schnitzel, sauce moutarde, gorgonzola (£27) - A perfectly cooked schnitzel that's elevated by the chunks of cheese. This was ordered by someone who's not a massive blue cheese fan, but it turned out to be the perfect combo.
What's on the menu for vegetarians?
There's at least one interesting option per menu section, from those gorgeous gougeres to a main of hand-cut pasta with spring veg, girolles and lemon.
Room for dessert?
it trns out we had room for two desserts, although they keep changing this part of the menu so we might have to go back for a go at their New York cheesecake.
Dutch baby, Chantilly, blueberries, smoked bacon & maple (£12) - this was huge (although to be fair the menu did suggest this might be better for two to share).we lova e bid of candies bacon on dessert, frankly. It is incredibly hot though, and that ice cream rapidly lost the ice part of the description!
Rice pudding creme brulee with Yorkshire rhubarb (£10) - both seriously pretty and a really good dessert.
What's the wine list like?
It's mainly an old-world list with bottles kicking off in the mid £30s and a decent selection by the glass. Our vegan French chardonnay from Toques et Clochers at £53 carried us happily through our dinner here.
Overall thoughts:
Shoreditch has been long overdue an exciting new restaurant opening (it's all been a bit chain-y of late). But the arrival of One Club Row has certainly changed all that. We're sure they won't mind it if we say our dinner here felt like the first time we dined at The Devonshire. You know that you're trying somewhere very early that in a few weeks will be nigh-on impossible to book which also has that magic combination of atmosphere, great food and all-round vibes that other places would love to capture. It's 100% a hit. Book now while you can.
More about One Club Row
Where is it? 1 Club Row, London E1 6JX
How to book? Book online here.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @oneclubrow
Hot Dinners dined as guests of One Club Row. Prices correct at time of publication.
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