Let’s start at the beginning. First of all there was a restaurant called Acorn House in King’s Cross. It was the first restaurant in London to serve locally sourced food and when it opened no lesser a grande dame than Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler said it was one “all restaurants should emulate.” And emulate they did. Konstam has recently opened (above) and now the award-winning team behind Acorn House have opened another venture, the Waterhouse “in Hoxton”.
Therein lies the first problem: there is a huge difference between Hoxton and Hackney proper. And Waterhouse is in Hackney. The street it is in is not artfully decayed and full of artists studios – it is just decayed. The ambience inside is light, airy and veneered in blond wood, the food only OK – fresh, clean, heavy on health but short on joy.
However, for our purposes it is a little too far from the City for lunch, and a little light on the wine list for dinner. It may be the perfect place to go with someone from HR. Or your sister who works for a charity. But it’s not really one for the boys.
Waterhouse Restaurant, 10 Orsman Road, London N1, 020 7033 0123. Lunch for two, one and a half bottles of wine, £117
–Martin Deeson