Dinner in a vase

There is a restaurant in Hackney that I haven't been to for quite some time but it is somewhere that definitely requires a mention. I had hoped to take my brother and Frenchie there on their last night in London when they stayed with us in February, however, my civilised plan for dinner got over ridden for a drunken night in Shoreditch which I have regretted ever since. Not because we had a bad time  (although I did drink too much and have a hangover on a shoot the following morning which is always a mistake), but I have always thought this was a shame since its such a a unique place that really is not to be missed.

So, after a hard days work I decided to treat The Wig to dinner at LMNT on Queensbridge Road. Lucky old Wig.

http://www.lmnt.co.uk/lmnt.php

From the outside it doesn't really look like anything special. It looks a bit like an old pub with a golden wall around the outside, which is pretty much what it is. But if you look more closely you will notice that the golden wall is covered in Egyptian heads and iconography. And if you venture inside it gets even more strange and not at all what you would expect to find in Hackney. There are Sphinxes surrounding the fireplaces, Egyptian paintings on the walls and in one corner, a huge vase that you can sit and eat your dinner in! It has been my dream to get the table in the vase and tonight (being that it was a quiet Tuesday night), we got it! I can die happy.

The other great thing about this restaurant is that they have a very varied drinks list (where else could you sample Tutankhamen's Erection or a Perpetual Sphinx?) and the food is amazing. One might expect that its a bit 'style over substance' and that they are trying to take away the attention from the food by the jazzy decor, but this is not the case at all. Not only is it reasonably priced (approx £5 for a starter and dessert and £10 for a main) the standard of food is very good. The Wig had Confit Duck with red Cabbage and Garlic Mash, I had Poached Haddock, mash and kale and it was as nice as any restaurant up West as they say. We also shared a Chocolate Tart for pudding which we didn't really need but didn't want to appear rude. And as if all that wasn't enough, the waiter was an absolute delight. If money and waistlines weren't an issue I would go to LMNT every night for my tea. Its a wonderful place and gets a magnificent 10 Sphinxes out of a possible 10. Bravo!