When I was planning my 2 weeks of travel in Europe, this was one of the first restaurants I made a reservation. I got several recommendations to eat at The Clove Club from different friends (very reliable sources! thank you friends). The Clove Club is awarded as no. 33 of the world’s 50 best restaurants in 2018. The owner chef Issac McHale, who trained at Ledbury, Noma and Eleven Madison Park, is one of the rising young chefs in London. The Clove Club has one Michelin star.
Tasting Menu
The Clove Club offers 2 tasting menus- 8 courses (110 euro) and 5 courses (75 euro). I decided to do a full tasting with an ambient tea pairing (50 euro).
Seating
There are 3 areas where you can seat : dining room, front room and bar counter top. Since I was by myself, I was only able to seat at the bar. However, if you are party of 2, I would recommend to book a table in the main dining room where you can see all the magic happening over at the open kitchen.
It starts with a few selection of snacks
The famous Clove Club’s presentation , beautiful!
Crab Tart with Hollandise Sauce
Buttermilk Chicken with Pine Salt
The first tea - Japanese Green Tea : super natural green and high in tannin
Paired with Organic Aubergine, green Tomato Juice & St Nectaire
Then, we moved on to the second tea, Fuji Japanese Aracha ; very grassy, rustic, seaweed, clean
Gently Cooked Orkney Scallop
Served with warm Celtic Mustard & Kelp Broth
Sardine Sashimi, Worcestershire Sauce & Chrysanthemum
It was served with Sardine Broth and this bite was money!
Genmaicha : Toasty and buttery
Wild Cornish Turbot, Courgette & Indian Spices
Toasty mild genmacha with mild white fish is always a good choice
Nannuo Shan Cooked Puerh 2006, Yunnan : earthy, mushroom, well ripe date
This was the only tea that was served hot for its full earthy and deep flavor. I really liked this puerh since it has a very deep sweet flavor and clean finish. However, it still has that unique earthy flavor note of puerh.
Tea sommelier Wilem brought me the tea cake. Thank you!
Slow Roast Lincolnshir Chicken, Truffle Puree & Scottish Girolles
I really appreciate this pairing. Slowly roasted chicken with warm puerh that tastes like mushrooms and sweet dates. Such a nice pairing especially with truffle puree
And a surprise! Chicken Oyster
Chicken Oyster is the two small, oyster-shaped pieces of the meats that lie on either side of a whole chicken’s backbone. At my culinary school, we always had to make sure that we got the chicken oysters when we butchered the whole chicken. They are easy to miss but very tasty.
New Assam, a blend of second flush teas : Spicy, fruity, smooth, full bodied
First of the Season Yorkshire Grouse. Clapshot, Green Juniper & Bread Sauce
I don’t drink much Assam but this was very smooth even sweet. I like its fruity flavor with a spicy kick. Very well paired with the grouse dish since it can be a bit gamey
Rooibos, South Africa ; sweet, woody, eucalyptus
Damascene Plums & Jasmine Tea
This was such an exquisite tea pairing. I know Rooibos isn’t technically a true tea but rather a herb. However this was such a mind blowing pairing. This sweet Rooibos that reminds me of a green forest with minty jasmin tea desserts made a perfect combo
Warm Potato Mousse, coffee & caramel Ice cream
Japanese Black Sun Tea; toasty, nutty, smoky
Wait a minute. Japanese Black tea?
Yes. They roast this black tea in London. It has that smoky and sweet bitter dark chocolate flavor.
Another amazing sweet pairing!
Extra treats
Heated barley cake, Dr. henderson’s bon bon (Fernet Branca & Creme De Menthe) and homemade chocolate
on the way out, there is a room for charcuterie!
I tried their 6 months pork charcuterie (neck and belly) with a sourdough. It was mouth watering!
Chef Isaac Mchale
Thank you Chef and an amazing team for creative dishes and amazing experience!
Special thanks to Robert, the bar chef and Wilem, the sommelier. If it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have had the same experience.
Ambient Tea Pairing by Postcard Teas
So The Clove Club only uses postcard teas for its ambient tea pairing. Right before the dinner, I had a chance to have a brief talk with Tim, the founder of Postcard Teas. What is very unique about this ambient tea pairing, all teas are served at room temperature in wine glasses. It is a very unique concept created by Tim in 2016. It is now served at many prestigious restaurant like the Fera dining room at Claridge’s. I will write more about how Tim comes up with the ambient tea on my postcard tea post (coming soon and stay tuned!. In a meantime, you can read more about ambient tea pairing here.)
The Clove Club
- address : Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old St, London EC1V 9LT, UK
- website : https://thecloveclub.com/
- phone : +44 20 7729 6496
- Closed on Sunday