Lardo
is situated just past the top end of London Fields in a converted factory cum
apartment block. The block is symptomatic of the rapid gentrification of the
area and next door is a place which doesn’t do packaging – the hoardes of
Islington move in by the day. Mere mortals without trust funds, city jobs or
dubious connections in the gangster world need not apply. However, for those
who wish to sit in the building for a few hours without applying for a £400k
mortgage then Lardo is a safe bet.
It
is one of those places which is quite difficult to lurk and spy without feeling pressured to go inside, and given the
location I have walked past many times assuming that it is going to be rammed.
But we took a gamble at 2pm on a Sunday (mainly due to rain, cold and the mile
walk to Pembury Tavern) and were pleasantly surprised to find the place
incredibly quiet. Given the queues to get into the Cat and Mutton and most
other places around here, this is no small shock. The seat we got was not just
any seat, it was a ‘lovely one’, according to our waitress, and she did not lie,
with it being in the corner all expensive cushions normally reserved for ordaining
bars with Hookah pipes. The restaurant has a good, relaxed atmosphere and the
staff are incredibly friendly, even if you order your meal in about 8 different
stages as we did.
The
menu is good value for money with a range of pizzas around £10, pastas, steaks,
fish dishes a bit more, a roast for £14, and a bunch of side salads for around
£6/7. We both opted for pizzas, cooked in the huge wood burning oven which dominates
the room, and they were high quality pizzas. The pepperoni had a star anise
punch which hinted to its authenticity and was about as far from Pepperami as
you could get. The pizzas could actually be picked up by the slice and eaten
without it limply drooping in an emasculating manner with the topping slipping
off and leaving you with a wet sad pizza slice – take note of a basic principle
of pizza please Pizza East. The Bloody Mary was also very good. I drink a few
each weekend and slowly becoming a good judge (annoyingly opinionated) of my
breakfast drink - having woken at 12 this was technically brekkie. The Lardo BM
was particularly good, with salt rim and cocktail stick of gherkin and olive
being a nice touch, and avoiding a garden bush or cherry tomatoes in it (just
no).
By
the time we had finished the meal the place was getting busier but nothing to
stop you wandering here on a Sunday and expecting to get a seat with friendlier
treatment (and better food) than most of the pubs in the area. Having stared at
the plates others were getting with envy and grumbling about not getting the
wild boar pasta or garlic prawns but I can reckon is the type of restaurant
which I would turn into my local.
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