Let’s use New York’s SoHo as an example of post-Industrial inner-city evolution. Rather over-simplified it goes something like this: 1) The artists move in, and the area gets a reputation for being ‘cool’ (rather than just dangerous). 2) Hipster-bankers move in, and start pricing out the artists. 3) Restaurants blossom. 4) Bloomingdales opens a ‘Downtown’ store.
Shoreditch – which sounds exotic, but is in fact just ten minutes’ walk from Broadgate – is currently somewhere round point 2, arguably segueing into point 3. It’s quite possible that in a few years’ time the area could be ‘hot’ the way NYC’s Meatpacking District is right now. Remember: you read it here first.
If this hunch is right, this new restaurant – a three minutes’ walk from Hoxton Square – could prove quite a shrewd investment. (It is, after all, from the family that brought you the Soba and Miso chains.) The food is described as neo-Ottoman, but much of it could almost equally well be described as old-fashioned Turkish. And there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when a very tasty lunch menu – hot and cold starters, with a main course such as kofte and rice – sets you back all of £6.95. Our meal may have been simple, but it was consistently good.
So – pending Shoreditch’s emergence as the new restaurant ‘hub’ – is this just a budget lunch recommendation? Far from it. The newcomer’s OTT tented interior has been designed by the same man who did Sarastro, in Covent Garden – the baroque extravaganza which promotes itself as ‘the show after the show’. There still aren’t that many shows round Shoreditch, but if you’re looking for a reasonably-priced kitsch party venue, you really won’t do very much better. And the romantic possibilities of ‘The Sultan’s Private Balcony’ are surely obvious.
