East Room

London

When I was first exposed to a frozen food retailer’s reasonably perturbing advertising campaign, I remember thinking how the word ‘value’ was possibly misplaced. The food itself looked incredibly bland and where there was colour it seemed toxic; the children looked wired; and the mum, the person who questionably chose the shop in the first place, didn’t strike me as the appropriate role model. For value then, I simply saw cheap.

A value-for-money policy doesn’t have to rely on reduced price, indeed the Match Group has always offered supreme quality for the price you pay, and for most the service and quality of drinks has been well worth every penny. And while the reader always enjoys a review that can attack conventions, the findings at the group’s new London venture, the East Room, is that Downey and Co. have delivered exactly that again.

A members only establishment since March the new bar and restaurant sits atop the Sosho Bar in Shoreditch, but is a million miles from the lively dj-led bar - blink and you could easily miss an entrance that’s nothing short of ‘fire door’ in its appearance, adding to the ever-inconspicuous nature of Match Group member venues. Once through the door then the reasonably clinical staircase will throw further confusion onto proceedings, but reach the summit of the staircase and all is revealed in a Paul Daniels fashion.

Hosts are impeccable; general manager Andrew Coles orchestrates and the level of attention from his staff could be used in an educational video on how to serve the customer - even the coat collector shows off exemplary courtesy. Inside, the scene directly contrasts the lively bar below, with a distinct lounge approach, a strong emphasis on fresh foods and great wines, and the archetypal devotion to cocktails present.

Booth seats and dining tables line the periphery of a relaxed and sofa laden main space and the general layout results in an agreeable atmosphere, a reasonably ambient buzz of conversation sparking off a crowd that could be bar, could be restaurant, could be Shoreditch cool and could be city.

Match Group venues are rarely homogenous beyond the service, but there are design elements that wouldn’t be out of place in Milk & Honey, lights in particular and the glistening bar and ceiling, but exposed brickwork, mix and match furnishings and a ‘snazzy’ carpet endow it with individuality.

On the menu the wine grabs attention with a separate sheet entitled the ‘Wine Thing’. The simple guide is designed to ensure the selection process doesn’t intimidate, with a grid diagram that enables customers to consider price and grape but nothing else. The intention is to steer clear of labels and to that end even brands such a Cloudy Bay don’t feature, instead there’s an array of southern hemisphere offerings, 36 New World wines occasionally rotated from a list compiled by wine expert Matt Skinner. To further assist those who might be unsure of their choices the selection is preserved in an Enomatic system that preserves an open bottle for up to three weeks. Customers can charge up funds on a smartcard and pour themselves measures of 125 or 175ml which smacks a bit of a vending machine at first, but when you discover that you can enjoy a sample from a £300 bottle, the appeal is obvious, and for those splashing out, wine is also available by the bottle.

The bar itself is small, encouraging the ‘be seated and served’ approach, not that the bartenders aren’t more than equipped to deal with customers, all of them excellently trained as expected. Paul Hammond keeps a watchful eye over more of Kevin Armstrong’s work and a consummate Negroni was served on the night. Elsewhere the eye was cocked over the ‘Boat Drinks’ Anejo Highball (golden rum, orange curacao, fresh lime, Angostura bitters and ginger beer) or the Nicola Six (vodka, fresh strawberries, cucumber, berry cordial, fresh lemon juice and champagne). Beer picks up some of the best from the wine regions, Cooper’s Pale Ale becoming a firm favourite in bars these days and the Monteith’s Pilsner another excellent choice. And a collection of vintage and rare Armagnac, which includes the complete 'set' from 1955-1985, adds to a fine drinks portfolio. Meanwhile the food was far from frozen, in fact the meal here trumped the occasion and ‘value for money’ can’t even do it justice.

The restaurant is geared up for a lunch buffet, which could be where most members stake their claim. The ‘DIY Dining offers a host of beautifully dressed fresh salads and rare meats, a small plate costing a mere fiver, a large plate £9 and for larger dishes an a la carte has the likes of Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Carpaccio and East Room Baby Chicken - spatchcocked, black bean dressing at £10 for large. The most expensive dish is the Ribeye (Cumbrian Galloway aged 40 days no less) and that’s only £12. More importantly, the food we sampled tasted fresh and filled a hole with consummate ease. True you can get five frozen hot and spicy chicken fillets for a fiver in certain supermarkets, but Christ knows what’s in them and the low-calorie, low-fat, low-GI and low or no-carb claim form the chef ensured it was guilt free grub.

Add to that the cocktails, wine and general buzz of the place and I know where I’ll be advising mums go, and Dads and kids of legal age for that matter.

What class thinks

Drinks: four and a half
Service five
Design four
Atmosphere four and a half
Value for money five
The best bit
The service, the Match Group delivers again

The East Room
2a Tabernacle Street
 London EC2A 4LU www.thstrm.com 07000 THSTRM Hours: 11am (weekdays) and from 7pm (on Saturday) until 1am (Mon-Wed) and until 3am (Thu-Sat) House G&T: £6