clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Michelin-Starred Seafood Met Its Maker in Shoreditch

Nothing gets Instagram hot under the collar like dayboat fish and slow-grilled hype

Brat, Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in Shoreditch, brought Basque Country seafood grill Elkano to London Samuel Ashton

Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is ludic.

News of the week

8 March was International Women’s Day, which has quietly become something of an Instagram sensation — perhaps only Christmas and Valentine’s Days lead to a bigger outpouring of themed content. This time round, some posts were endearingly affectionate, some sweet and personal, some enjoyably carb-centric. As one celebrity celebrant might say: thx ladies!

Week of the week

It’s a curious wrinkle that we have a single day dedicated to women but a whole week dedicated to low-intervention winemaking. Leaving the problematic implications of that aside, London’s drinkers got into the swing of things in the buildup to the Raw Wine London expo, with multiple restaurants choosing to highlight a (slightly familiar?) set of producers that exemplified the philosophies underpinning the fair. Naturally, there was also an afterparty.

Feed-clogging event of the week

For chefs and other industry bigwigs, there was only one place to be this week: the much-hyped collaboration between Basque-inspired Brat and its source of Basque inspiration, Elkano. Shots from the dinner suggest a predictably mind-blowing time was enjoyed by all — the “spoilt” puns essentially write themselves.

View this post on Instagram

@BratRestaurant X @Elkano_Jatetxea

A post shared by Bitten & Written (@bittenwritten) on

Amusing evening of the week

[Wine app price calculator runs out of zeroes]

Impossible-to-escape ingredient of the week

Now that The Rhubarb Supremacy finally seems to be coming to a close, it’s only natural that hype-thirsty Instagrammers should be casting around for a new must-have seasonal delicacy. Meet the next contender.

Future Olympic event of the week

[Tags self]

View this post on Instagram

Tag a friend! Tag yourself! #RotiKingUK

A post shared by Roti King UK (@rotikinguk) on

Envy-inducing holiday snaps of the week

As glorious weather gives way to the return of stormy horror, it is easy to wish oneself elsewhere. Armchair travellers were spoilt for choice this week, with two of the world’s great cuisines receiving fulsome representation. Important question: what is the Japanese for the request / life philosophy “con todo”?

View this post on Instagram

So the udon noodles at Tsurutontan Soemoncho just at the end of Dotombori in Osaka are every bit as deeeeeeeelisherous as @oishinboy warned me they would be, the noodles themselves all gorgeously bouncy and floofy and chewy, and with a menu of different soups and accoutrements so unique and varied it fair boggles the already completely boggled (because Japan) mind. There are pictures, thank god, but you're still in for surprises. Tempted as I was by the bacon carbonara udon with lotus root, the neon pink creamy spicy pollock roe udon and the thinly sliced domestic beef loin curry udon, I went for one of their jazzy sounding spring specials, packed with tempura bits and deep-fried tofu bits and a strapping bit of thin beef buried at the bottom. It was heavenly. I particularly liked the tempura Christmas tree / shiso leaf, the tempura prawns, the rogue bit of fish cake, and the deliciously eggy egg drop broth. The noodles were fit AF, the spoon the size of my upper thigh. I also ordered the pickles and found Mystery Blue Pickle! Yes, an . Yes, bloody marvellous. Got carried away in my delirium and ordered a second bowl which turned out to be a cold udon. In a gelatinous sesame goo. With bits of sea bass and wasabi. Like sushi but.....chewy. Still, polished it off and may go back for breakfast becuse the menu is long and I only have one day left in which to dent it.

A post shared by Martha (Muffy) de Lacey (@marthadelacey) on

Fleeting delicacy of the week

Michelin-starred street food in town for three days is so 2018.

Should-be dish of the week

Ah, spring. Sunbeams, dappled light, green shoots. New life!

View this post on Instagram

Very first radishes this year #fernverrow

A post shared by Skye Gyngell (@skyegyngell) on

Is dish of the week

[Actually looks outside]

Shot of the week

o_O

View this post on Instagram

No one’s done crisps like Asians.. #Tokyo #Japan

A post shared by theskinnybib (@theskinnybib) on

BRAT

4 Redchurch Street, , England E1 6JL Visit Website