Hoi Polloi, in the first Ace Hotel to open outside the US, has just opened in Shoreditch and it’s a calm oasis of cool serving up high-quality British dishes.
You enter via a tiny flower shop to be met by a large restaurant that is decorated with a healthy mix of style and serenity. Retro themes are mixed with contemporary design to give it that casual, relaxed setting with a hint of sophistication and splendour.
The service is notably smooth, smart and swift – and it needs to be, this all-day dining restaurant covers breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, aperitifs, dinner, supper and nightcaps.
The Ace has drafted in pop-up pioneers Pablo Flack and David Waddington of Bistrotheque and Shrimpy’s fame. Dishes are British, very seasonal and juxtapose flavours in modern but not outlandish ways that will leave you craving more.
The menu is presented as a tabloid newspaper with a huge selection to choose from and all the dishes are flawless is execution. A fresh, vibrant starter of braised celeriac is topped with a tangle of remoulade-like shreds of celery and cobnut pieces. Pork cheeks, slow-braised to intense meaty tenderness, are suitably autumnal with their chunks of spiced apple and on-trend pickled carrots. Potato dumplings (aka gnocchi) are served with tender baby globe artichokes and wild mushrooms. The beef-dripping chips are a must-try – thumping crunch around fluffy potato that’s light as a
cloud. Old-fashioned lemon posset is given a contemporary twist with a red berry puree. ) If you are into strong, intense and succulent chocolate, the chocolate, barley and black-malt ice-cream justifies a visit on its own. Dishes are modest but prices are fair and the flavours are faultless.
Cocktails are named after a form of 1960’s cockney rhyming slang and are infused with appealing combinations of modish spirits. ‘Omi-Polone’ (meaning an effeminate man) is a Buffalo Trace bourbon and port sour, while ‘Riah Shusher’ (a hairdresser) comes out as a rhubarb and vanilla Tapatio Blanco Tequila mule. Beers include two from Hackney microbrewers Beavertown, bottles of wine start at £19 and the list is overall, pretty strong.
| Ace Hotel, 100 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JQ | Transport: Old Street tube/rail or Shoreditch High Street overground |
| Telephone: +44 020 8800 6100 | Opening Hours: Sun-Wed 7:00-00:00, Thurs-Sat 7:00-1:00 |
| Price per head: Main courses £14-£18. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £100 | Website |
