You’ll find Rake above The Gun – a sentence that may sound like the opening of a blinding episode of Gardener’s Question Time, but which actually makes for the start of a truly fantastic meal.
You see, the Rake in question is a modern British restaurant concept helmed by a hyper-talented trio of chefs including Jay Claus, Peter Ward & Syrus Pickhaver – their collective CVs include top-tier joints like Brat, ACME Fire Cult, and Quo Vadis, and it bloody well shows. And The Gun in question is an independent Hackney pub with a dedicated upstairs space for kitchen residencies just like this. They recently said a tearful farewell to Ling Lings. Thankfully, this is a more than adequate replacement.
That space is a simple, monochrome sleeve with two neat columns of tables dressed in crisp paper tablecloths garnished with charming white floral arrangements, almost as if the blackboard menu dominating the wall had painted the room with its minimalist simplicity. But the most pleasing contrast is in the tone, because it really pulls you out of the boisterous sphere of the pub below, and makes you feel like you’re stepping into a considerably more serene space.
The contents of that blackboard change frequently, but are always split into three distinct sections – small, medium, and large dishes. Whatever you do start with the bread, which is baked in-house and comes with a fragrant rosemary butter. After that, you’ll find the likes of sausage-spiced lard (which truly melts in the mouth), and seared peas drenched in a herbaceous green sauce – definitely not one for white t shirts, and worth every annoying bit that gets stuck in your teeth.
There’s a fair amount of seafood on the menu too, all shipped overnight from Cornwall. There are smoked shell-on prawns that come with a powerful aioli made from a full bulb of roasted garlic (giving it an almost bacon-like intensity of flavour); a fat wedge of pan-seared cod on a creamy bed of French-style peas & ham hock; and a chicken-fried John Dory that – to be clear – contains no actual chicken, but is fried in the same style, in a crisp & moreish batter. And it’s really good.
And as for the drinks? Well, that’s where being above a pub comes in handy. And this pub happens to be independent, so there’s a solid variety of interesting beers, wines, and cocktails to be had.
The place will be there for the foreseeable, but it won’t be forever – so get down there while you can.
NOTE: Rake at The Gun is open now, Wednesday to Sunday. You can find out more, and book a table at The Gun’s website.
The Gun | 235 Well St, E9 6FE
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