The worst thing about responsibly sourced, ethical produce is that you’re often far too aware of where what’s on your plate came from.
Thankfully at Think Eat Drink, a new ethically-centred eatery on the buzzing Caledonian Road, the only thing that gets shoved down your throat is the delicious food.
In fact T.E.D, or TED, with a moniker that gives you the feeling of a sit-down meal with a familiar friend, provides the lively atmosphere that any swish London restaurant would kill for.
We started with a selection of starters that included the impeccable bread crumb covered “pig head”, fried eel and a gazpacho. The tiny eels from the Cornish coast were almost tempura like, covered in a thin layer of batter, giving them a thrilling crispy texture while the lightly spiced gazpacho was a fresh cooling appetiser for a hot summer’s evening.
The pork treats were the pick of the bunch, delicate in flavour and texture while defiantly meaty, complemented with a healthy dollop of tartar.
All of this was perfectly paired with Hugo – the elegant, Prosecco-based cocktail of the day – complete with fresh citrus scents of a tactically placed slither of lemon peel.
For the main course we decided to take a punt on the fish: gurnard with fresh summer vegetables, flavoured with orange, which gave the succulent seafood an oriental feel.
Fluffy
We also tried the steak, served lovely and bloody with boiled red onion and, perhaps the highlight of the meal, the perfectly seasoned fluffy potato pieces.
For dessert we opted for another tip from our insightful waitress, the chocolate soup, which she aptly dubbed a “melted brownie”.
It came with a side of fragrant pistachio ice cream which was sufficiently fresh to balance the rich chocolate flavour. This was probably beaten by the custard tart, topped with pine nuts and raisins which was a perfect combination of creamy custard and flaky pastry.
The whole shebang was washed down with an incredibly smooth bottle of cabernet sauvignon, which blood red tones inspired the name Battle of Bosworth –despite hailing from an Australian vineyard.
The overall feeling from TED is of a restaurant that doesn’t just care about where its food and furniture comes from, but that every detail has been carefully crafted.
Even the soap, which leaves your mitts drenched in an enticing rose aroma, will leave you sniffing at your hands all night.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here