The top line: Caribbean food specialist Dom Taylor is back in business with a restaurant in East London. The Good Front Room is a permanent version of the residency Taylor had at The Langham following his win of Channel 4 show Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef. In Dalston Yard, the restaurant follows the chef’s more casual and rather short-lived Marvee’s Food Shop in Notting Hill.
On the menu: The food is ambitious, with the evening menu priced at £85 for three courses. Dishes include gungo pea daal with roti, coconut crema and pomegranate molasses; jerk chicken with plantain jam, crisps and roasted sweetcorn; and Taylor’s signature rum and raisin glazed pork belly. Sweets include sweet potato sticky toffee pudding with sea-salted toffee sauce, vanilla bean ice cream and custard. There’s also a brunch menu priced at £55 for three courses. The cocktail list includes The Good Front Room’s signature Rum Punch, a spicy, fruity concoction of Wray & Nephew, Kraken Dark Rum, ginger, pimento, pineapple, lime and cherry syrup. There is also a tight selection of wine and beer including – of course – Caribbean favourites Red Stripe and Dragon Stout.
The vibe: Occupying the ground floor of Thomas Tower, moments from Dalston Junction Overground, the 80-cover restaurant is relaxed, colourful and buzzy. Come summer, there will be an outdoor space that spills onto Dalston Square.
And another thing: The name of Taylor’s restaurant is a nod to the “sacred” front rooms found in many Caribbean homes – not least his great aunt Myrtle’s – spaces kept for special guests, “layered with pride and memory”. The chef says that as a grandchild of the Windrush generation, he has a responsibility to keep his culture’s stories, recipes and traditions alive.
1 Thomas Tower, Dalston Square, London E8 3GU