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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Critic rating
Reader rating
Description: Water House is an ethical restaurant with solar and hydro-energy providing the power; water is bottled and purified on site; there's a wormery to digest food waste; and the restaurant's profits are ploughed back into the local area. The dishes are made from fresh, seasonal and organic ingredients which are sourced locally wherever possible.
Phone: 020 7033 0123
Open: Mon - Fri 8am - 10:30am, 12pm - 4pm & 6pm - 10:30pm
Sat 8am - 10:30am, 11am - 5pm & 6pm - 10:30pm
Sun 11am - 5pm & 6pm - 10:30pm
Dress code: Smart / Casual
Payment options: All major cards accepted
Great service: Irati Bergara has worked at Water House for three months
It’s always a bit pancake-like coming back to England after a summer spent away. This year, I had deliberately timed my telly-free holiday to coincide with the Olympics – only to miss all the glory and glittering prizes. And there’s no fun in watching reruns of races when you already know the result. Still, it serves my cynicism right. Perhaps I should go away during Wimbledon next year. In fact, for every major sporting event in the calendar.
At least my journey home was brightened on learning that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is recording an album of love songs for Christmas. He’s written them himself. Sometimes you’re just so grateful for the gravitas of our PM.
In the post-vacation gloom, what I miss most (apart from the sunshine, obviously) is the simple and delicious food that you tend to take for granted in Italy. The Italians don’t need government directives on how to eat properly; they value and cherish their land, and food is always sourced as locally as possible. Much the same has been said about a new eco-restaurant that has opened in Hackney, so, desperate to prolong the joys of Umbria, I thought I would put it to the test.
Water House is the second such restaurant and brainchild of Arthur Potts Dawson, a Roux-trained chef with plenty of starry associates. Potts Dawson has a social conscience, he aims to provide good green eating with a minimal carbon footprint and to plough profits from his restaurant back into the local community.
Tucked away behind blocks of flats in an anonymous-looking street, finding Water House certainly isn’t easy. But once inside, the room is bright and airy, lit by the Regent’s Canal, which flows past the vast windows. Décor is simple but pleasing, with lots of wood and wicker and attractive bowls of fruit and veg on the bar.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was empty, since the only other two sets of diners left as we arrived (was it something I said?), and the deserted air and lapping water gave the place a distinctly Mary Celeste feel.
I’d taken the actress, who was on her habitual weight battle and peeved to be told that there was no Diet Coke, so we drank sparkling water that is bottled in the kitchen in reusable containers, which she thought looked like giant specimen jars.
We nibbled on excellent bread, but the accompanying olive oil was tainted by a balsamic vinegar, which had a surprising and unwelcome kick to it. The actress started with caramelle of (sustainable) prawns with tomato and chilli. These are prawns rolled in pasta to resemble little sweets, and were very moreish. My ravioli of (sustainable) cod was even better – properly fishy and so deliciously truffley I wished I’d ordered the main-course size.
A main course of saltimbocca of pork and chorizo with Red Duke potatoes was pure peasant food, which I like, but the portion size was off-puttingly huge – it was as if everything left in the pot had been heaped on to my plate. The sea bream à la plancha with taggiasca olives and shortbread was given mixed reviews by my guest. She said the hunk of fish was perfect in every way except that it had been slapped down on the plate skin side up, hiding its parsley-peppered coating. The accompanying olive shortbread biscuits were a disaster – they were badly made and should have been substituted with a green vegetable.
We had ice cream and coffee to follow, served by a delightful waitress. But in the kitchen the rest of the staff looked lost. I’m not surprised. It’s always awkward when there’s only one set of customers.
Outside, the contrast between the world we’d just left and the one we were entering was breathtaking. This is not the prettiest part of town and there remains much deprivation, despite the rapid gentrification that is taking place. Neglected by the Underground system and full of high-rise tower blocks, it is admirable that Water House is putting something back into the community. But the prices are too steep to make eating here affordable for most locals, I’d have thought; £9.50 for a starter is outrageous. Unless the prices are lowered, this is definitely a destination restaurant, but at the moment it doesn’t offer anything special enough to warrant a return visit. With a beautiful room, eager staff and the rudiments of a good kitchen, all the potential for greatness is there; it just needs a rethink to get punters in. Otherwise it’s in danger of drifting, just like the Mary Celeste.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
How interesting to read this review, as myself and 3 friends (+ baby Zac) had almost an identical experience yesterday.
We indeed live up the road from the high rise blocks and deprivation that Mark describes here, and if there is one thing that this little pocket of canal, which is too far from Islington to have been spat and polished needs, is a few restaurants to get punters into the area.
I had an aubergine and basil soup to start which was tasty but probably the least spectacular of our party - the cod ravioli with truffle oil was amazing.
Main courses were also superb, I had rabbit with cous cous which was great, but it was my wife's meal that summed the place up for me. It was a simple ravioli - no meat, just vegetables and cheese, but it was £15.50 ! - for a risotto. It was actually rather sloppy and soup-ey, but paying that much you have to convince yourself it's the finest you have ever eaten!
Water House is a great place but 4 of us having 2 1/2 courses each plus a bit of wine and coffee came to nearly £200 which is simply too much to pay.
The economics behind it must warrant the high prices as our £200 had to pay for 7 members of stuff, ingredients that give you a warm glow and a ecologically sound toilet as we were the only people who came for lunch.
Others came in wanting a brunch (as advertised), but were told that it had been struck from the menu - luckily for them and their wallets there are are still a couple of decent local Hackney caffs
- Joff Wilson, De Beauvoir, Hackney, London
