Harden's says
Former Pidgin head chef Adolfo de Cecco serves up globally ranging - and daily changing - tasting menus at this Hackney newcomer.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“The depth of flavour which Adolfo brings out in his ever-changing menus means we visit at least once or sometimes twice a month: nowhere else would we ever dream of doing the same!” – Adolfo de Cecco’s Hackney shop-conversion is “always a pleasure for its inventive dishes”, which meld Asian influences with European ingredients into an intriguing and individual culinary mashup. At any one time, there is a single tasting option, and he “manages to maintain high standards with each iteration”. “The front room is arguably more dull than the very light rear area, which is a sort of conservatory. And there are interesting choices of music at low levels”.
Summary
“Not prioritising form over substance” – Adolfo de Cecco’s well-reputed three-year-old is “fairly un-smart for a foodie hotspot” but “cosy and romantic”, especially in the “covered back garden, which is gorgeous as the sun sets (a very ‘London’ setting)”. “Outstanding food is brilliantly and passionately served” from an “eclectic tasting menu” (“and they’ve lightened up since Grace Dent accused them of being too serious a couple of years ago!”)
Summary
“Such a shame I moved from Hackney, so this fabulous place is no longer within walking distance!”. Ex-Pidgin chef Adolfo de Cecco’s “eclectic” cuisine is focused on a “chef-delivered tasting menu” and provides food that’s “always interesting with wonderful flavours”. Aside from all the “innovation”, “the service offers that wonderful mixture of professionalism and friendliness which makes it such an enjoyable evening”.
Summary
“Paradise for serious foodies” – “a street notorious for once being crime-ridden is now home to Hackney’s best-value dining experience: £39 for a seven-course tasting menu”, according to practically all reports on ex-Pidgin chef, Adolfo de Cecco’s “intimate-feeling” foodie venture. “Thoughtful food is excellently executed by a team with evident passion” and if “a few technical slip-ups can creep in, the charming, passionate service (often by the chefs themselves) more than makes up for this”.
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Have you eaten at Casa Fofó?
158 Sandringham Road, London, E8 2HS
Restaurant details
Casa Fofó Restaurant Diner Reviews
"This is our favourite restaurant of all time, we suddenly realised yesterday that we hadn’t been for a very long time, over a month so we just had to try and book again for this coming Wednesday but were told that the restaurant itself was fully booked, so we had to postpone until Thursday. There is little point in giving you chapter & verse about any meal, but the pre-starter of 90 day aged, retired ewe tartare was very special, though of course Adolpho, the patron, had an alternative ready for my wife Silvia (Note the move to ewe is enforced due to a shortage of retired Spanish dairy cows)"
"The 20/12 being our 54th wedding anniversary we chose to dine in our very favourite restaurant of all time rather than travel as we normally do on this occasion travel into town by LRT to have lunch in one or other of the 3star Michelin restaurants there. You can judge how full of variety Casa Fofó’s menus are that this was our 25th visit in 2023 and the 45th since the start of 2022! Because we visit so often the chefs know my wife’s preferences in minute detail, but then Adolpho Di Ceccio brought knowledge of them with him when he moved from Pidgin to open his own place! We chose one vegetarian and on fish based pre-starter, each were very tasty, and we were extremely impressed by the delicacy of the paper thin pastry cases they were each served in. The sweet potato starter was also very enjoyable, then the pasta course was tasty but the mussel sauce was slightly too “fishy” for wife’s taste though I thought it was excellent. Knowing my wife’s aversion to fishy tastes the fish course was described to her as as being “fishy” but in fact to my own mind the pollock hadn’t been salt aged aged long enough to develop even a slightly strong flavour and the sauce that was served with it was quite bland and would probably have been mild enough for her tastes, whereas I might be unusual in tending to prefer a more distinct flavour of the fish itself. However, had she taken the fish then she would have missed out on the “pickled?” fennel which she though was very nice. I tried a small piece and thought both the taste and particularly the texture was very good. The meat course was slightly disappointing in that neither of us thought that the “fish” sauce that accompanied the steak was an ideal accompaniment, and my steak had been cooked longer than I prefer and was just a wee bit tough. The ice-cream pre-dessert was tasty, but the dessert itself was too bland. The post-dessert snacks were very nice as usual. "
Prices
Drinks | |
---|---|
Wine per bottle | £20.00 |
Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
Extras | |
---|---|
Bread | £0.00 |
Service | 10.00% |
158 Sandringham Road, London, E8 2HS
Opening hours
Monday | CLOSED |
Tuesday | CLOSED |
Wednesday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
Thursday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
Friday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
Saturday | 1 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
Sunday | 1 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
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