The top line: Simone and Lidia Crepaldi have taken over the former Chick ‘n’ Sours site on Kingsland Road creating a modern Italian restaurant and ‘secret’ cocktail bar. HOAX has a dining room on the ground floor and a sub-branded cocktail in the basement called The Devil You Know (TDYK). Simone has been working in drinks for 15 years and is retaining his operations manager role at top London cocktail bar Callooh Callay. He takes the lead on the cocktails, with Lidia, whose CV includes Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho, overseeing front of house.
On the menu: Featuring a semi-open kitchen, the restaurant will be headed by Sardinian-born chef Riccardo Lottero, whose CV includes the Michelin-starred Massimo Camia Ristorante in Novello, Italy, as well as roles at Soho House and The Curtain Hotel in London. The menu is inspired by Lottero’s family recipes but diners can also expect a few contemporary twists. Dishes include beef tartare with robiola cheese, mustard and hazelnut; reinvented caprese – roasted tomato, mozzarella foam and Med bread crumble; slow-cooked braised beef cheek with potato purée, hazelnuts and sweet Italian peppers; roast chicken with black truffle sauce, parsnip and pan brioche; HOAX cacio e pepe; aglio, olio e peperoncino with bottarga; and HOAX house tiramisu. The restaurant offers an all Italian wine list alongside a cocktail menu that is also inspired by Italy. Signature TDYK cocktails include the house mule made with vodka, lime, ginger and pineapple; a white chocolate and strawberry negroni with gin, white chocolate-washed Campari and strawberry vermouth; and a truffle martini with truffle-washed gin, dry vermouth and truffle.
The vibe: The main restaurant seats 30 and features signature black-and-white striped wallpaper throughout, along with dark wood tables, black crockery and orange chairs. Downstairs TDYK has room for 20 people seated at tables and a further four at the bar. The late-night cocktail bar features a darker design than the restaurant upstairs, with teal tones, a black-and-white chequered floor and a central neon sign.
And another thing: HOAX is a true family affair - Lottero is Simone’s cousin.
390 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London, E8 4AA /https://hoaxrestaurant.com/