Cornerstone, Hackney Wick

I have wanted to go to Cornerstone since it opened for many reasons; I adore seafood, I have admired Tom Brown as a chef for a while and many of my “foodie” friends have repeatedly told me how fantastic it is. 

Finally, pre-covid, I went. I have to admit, when you’ve hyped yourself up for something to the extent I had with Cornerstone there was part of me that was worried it would fall short - I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

With my urge to try the infamous crab crumpet strong, I trotted to Hackney Wick to see what all the hype was about. 

As mentioned, Cornerstone is located in Hackney Wick, which isn’t far from Stratford so an easily accessible place...normally. Unfortunately, there was a West Ham game on the day we went and we found that walking through the stadium was not going to be an easy option. 

Eventually, after almost being dragged into the West Ham VS Everton game, we made it to Cornerstone. The venue is beautiful; open-plan with modern fixtures, incredibly open and airy. The kitchen is completely on show and allows you to see the various chefs, including Tom Brown, at work.

Seated immediately by the waitress, we couldn’t wait to get stuck in. We were offered the lunch tasting menu - or just ordering as usual. Whilst the tasting menu does present exceptional value, and of the few bits we had from it, there were a couple of things that I couldn’t eat so we opted for a la carte.

We also opted for a carafe of the Orange wine; Evelyn, Verdicchio, Azienda Accadia 2018, Marche, Italia. A fantastic medium-bodied wine with hints of fresh fruits. It was the perfect wine for an afternoon - light, easily drinkable.

We ordered the following 7 dishes between two of us, which was more than enough;

• Salmon Pastrami
• Pickled Oyster, Celery, Horseradish, Dill - eaten by my partner, and I have it on good authority it was amazing 
• Grey mullet tartare, egg yolk, soy
• Cured Gurnard, Beetroot, Borscht Dressing, Soured Cream
• Potted Shellfish Crumpet, Kohlrabi Som Tam
• Gilthead Bream, Roast Chicken Butter Sauce, Courgettes, Peas
• Lemon Meringue Pie 

Salmon Pastrami

If you follow Tom Brown on Instagram, you’ll have seen the Salmon Pastrami already. Perhaps a weird concept, definitely not one I’ve heard of before nor really considered eating - but my god it was delicious. I saw during the closure of restaurants they were doing takeaway options for this and my heart sank that I was not in London to nab some myself! 

Grey mullet tartare, egg yolk, soy

A truly amazing dish - I usually use the phrase “an assault on the senses” but this was more a pleasure on all senses. It presented fresh yet salty flavours, perfectly in sync, and my only upset with this was that I hadn’t ordered two - it really was delicious. 

Cured Gurnard, Beetroot, Borscht Dressing, Soured Cream

Fresh, zingy, tasty. Again, this was a stand out for me. The perfect combination of flavours, leaving me simply wanting to eat it all over again. 1

Potted Shellfish Crumpet

This dish was dubbed “One of London’s best seafood dishes” by Mr Porter - and there’s no doubting why. It is one of the best combination of flavours I’ve ever experienced - when we had it it was served with rarebit. You’d never expect seafood, really, to have the homely feeling - but this dish had just that. There’s a reason when you google it there’s 10000’s of recipes trying to recreate it.

Gilthead Bream, Roast Chicken Butter Sauce, Courgettes, Peas

If it was acceptable, I would have licked the bowl. A truly delicious and beautifully produced dish, with fresh ingredients and an almost umami taste. The fish was delicate, full of flavour and clearly handled by an incredibly skilled team.

Lemon Meringue Pie 

I’m not one for lemon dessert, but...wow. Need I say more.

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Cornerstone combined everything I love about restaurants; excellent food in a calm, chilled out way. Chef Tom Brown and his team clearly have exceptional talent when it comes to seafood, delivering excellent food at reasonable prices. I’ve eaten at several seafood restaurants, but this is hands down the best experience I’ve had in London and I cannot wait to return to enjoy it again.

3 Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX

020 8986 3922

www.Cornerstonehackney.com