Birthday dinner in cool bar at Hawksmoor Spitalfield

Posted on October 6, 2013 by goantolondon

I’ve been wanting to try the Hawksmoor bar for ages and seeing as mine and my brother’s birthdays are close together it seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out. Jason had got delayed as he works in South London but the rest of us showed up around 6pm, and just managed to snag the last 3 top table thinking we could add another chair and it would be fine. Unfortunately, the rather officious lady on the front desk told us in no uncertain terms that this was not allowed and that all the booths were reserved. We were about to trail off into the night, birthday plans in tatters, when the shining light that is bar manager Liam Cotter intervened. On hearing it was our birthdays, he told us that we could sit in one of the booths until their rightful occupants arrived and when that happened he would squeeze us in somewhere else so we didn’t have to rush through our food and drink.

Thanks to lovely Liam saving the day, we were able to relax and ordered pulled pork sandwiches (£7.50), this had a good balance of sharp slaw and sweet meat, although it was served lukewarm.

Pulled Pork and Fillet o’ Fish sandwiches

I also got the Fillet o’ Fish sandwich (£8.50), which was a bit on the small side and the jalepeno mayonnaise lacked the expected punch. However, the triple cooked chips (£4) were things of golden, crunchy gorgeousness as were the ox cheek nuggets (£7). Deep frying makes everything better!

Ox cheek nuggets

Triple cooked chips

The smallness of my sandwich turned out to be a good thing as it meant that I had room for the sticky toffee pudding and it is definitely worth saving space for. Somehow managing to taste light and wicked simultaneously, it’s one of the best sticky toffee puds I’ve ever had.

The apple crumble had a lovely cinnamon note and was huge – and came with lashings of vanilla custard! Also, the raspberry pannacotta was gorgeous – the sharpness of the raspberries perfectly off-set the silky creaminess.

Sticky Toffee pudding

Raspberry Pannacotta

Apple crumble with vanilla custard

We washed it all down with seriously strong and delicious marmalade cocktails(£9), a cocktail Paddington Bear would be proud of!

Marmalade cocktail

For me, this was a perfect example of how great service can totally make a restaurant memorable. Thank you Liam for a great birthday. But if he’s not around to save your night either show up early or make sure you have a party of 6, reserve one of the cosy booths and prepare to have a good time.

Twitter: @Spitalfieldsbar, @LiamCotter, @ Alice_Henderson

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International food and travel blog by London based British Goan duo: Jason and Chiara Pinto. Twitter: @goantolondon @jasonpinto100 @chiarapinto About Goa: Goa is a small state on the western coast of India. Though the smallest Indian state, Goa has played an influential role in Indian history. Goa was one of the major trade centers in India, thus it had always been attracting the influential dynasties, seafarers, merchants, traders, monks and missionaries since its earliest known history. Throughout its history Goa has undergone continual transformation, leaving an indelible impression on various aspects of its cultural and socio-economic development. History of Goa: The East-West symbiosis of Goa makes it different from other parts of India, more than the historical and social niche. The history of Goa is a sweet and sour story of colonial heritage, oppressive rulers, a glorious culture, and uneventful immediate past. As a land with the identity of its own, Goa was brought into focus when it was liberated of Portugal from its oppressive rule of around 450 hundred years in 1961. Goa was captured and annexed to the Portuguese in 1510 following the urges of trade and demand of spices and also cottons and indigo. But, Goa has a history that starts much before Portugal even thought of Goa being where it is. Goa was coveted and ruled by a great number of Indian kingdoms and dynasties from the 4th century onwards. The first kingdom to rule Goa and Konkan were Bhojas, who were the feudatories of Ashoka in 4th and 5th centuries AD. The city of Chandrapur (present Chandor) was founded by Prince Chandraditya, son of Chalukya King Pulakesin from 566 to 597 A.D. after this, Goa was ruled consecutively by Silahara Dynasty, Kadamba Danasty, and finally Hoysalas from 1022 to 1342 A.D. From the 14th century onwards, Goa became a great trading center on the west coast, especially in the vast trade of horses imported from the Middle East. This was the time for bigger empires to move in and Vijayanagar Empire conquered it in 1344. But there empire was not going to last too long and in 1347, Bahmani Sultans defeated Vijayanagara forces in 1347 and controlled Goa. Afterwards, it was a time of great prosperity and peace for Gpa, especially during the rules of Yusuf Adil Shah and Ismail Adil Shah. They created beautiful houses, fortified Goa, and encouraged local craftsmen. Their liberal and progressive rule was not going to last too long and situation changed in 1510 A.D. Goa for all purposes was not on the Portuguese Radar even after a long time of their presence in India. When the Portuguese nobleman Alfonso de Albuquerque and his cousin Francisco de Albuquerque were sent with a powerful fleet in 1503 on the orders of King Dom Manuel I, the purpose was to defend the cargoes of spices, mostly pepper, against Arab Muslim raiders. The center of spice trade was Calicut at that time and Portuguese had built forts in Cochin and Cannanore. It was in 1506-08 that an opportunistic pirate, Timoja, persuaded Albuquerque to attack Goa and acquire a better land base. This made Goa, Portugal's first real territorial acquisition in Asia. After a brief period of recapturing by the Muslims, Goa Albuquerque finally captured Goa in 1510. The inquisition of Goa in 1540 reversed the previous liberal policy of Albuquerque and imposed strict censorship of literature and new laws to forbade non-Christians from professions. Forced conversions took place continuously, censorship was established on literature, the temples were destroyed, and non-Christian priests, holy men, and teachers were evicted. This led to continuous fleeing of Hindus from Goa to other parts of India. It is not that the relationship with Portugal brought only destruction for the Goans. Portuguese also built great churches like the church of St. Cajetan and Bom Jesus basilica in Old Goa, which is a pilgrimage site for the Christians from around the world. But it is also true that pre-1961; Goa was a highly impoverished region very backward and primitive. It is after the liberation that Goa of today has emerged and it has surprised even the locals many of whom had left their homeland before its liberation. Portugal and India are today friends and Goa continues to be a fascinating blend of Latin and Oriental. Information sourced from: http://www.royalorienttrain.com/goa/goa-history.html

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