Ever since Haggerston station opened in 2010, the slightly bleak no- mans land between Dalston and Shoreditch has been a place on the up.

But with the colonisation of disused railway arches by trendy eateries – Trip and Tonkotsu East – the hipsterisation of the area has reached new heights.

Of the two, Trip has made less of the space. It’s part art studio, part restaurant and bar and the decor is very minimal – bare bricks and sparse chrome tables which, coupled with the low temperature, gave off a slightly frosty vibe. You can hear the trains rumbling above ‘though, which is rather nice.

The menu is one of these new-fangled affairs divided into snacks, small plates and large plates which always leave me a bit confused about how much to order, but on the advice of our waitress we picked about seven different nibbles and starters.

The kofte sounded great, but had run out, so to begin we had chunky, fibrous halloumi with a lovely little chutney and fresh bread with a rather unusual date butter – a great texture but I wasn’t sure the marriage of salt and sweet fruit quite worked.

The extremely fishy sardines were completely de-boned (thankfully) and came with a lovely tart tapanade, while the bowl of clams were awash with a fantastic pistachio pesto, the light nutty flavour swimming comfortably with the tang of the sea.

Our chicken livers were hefty chunks of offal, well seasoned with garlic and more of that date butter, while the crispy lamb was fantastic, glazed in sugary pomegranate and mellowed with yoghurt. Resident chef Selin Kiazim has created a nice selection of Mediterranean/north African tapas, my only concern is it’s all a bit on the pricey side for the size of the portions. Our meal was about the £50 mark for food alone and we were by no means stuffed.

But for a few drinks and snacks in a cool little cave it’s just the ticket.