The Dead Dolls Club, Dalston

(dead dolls?) 

Any latter day Barbie and Ken is sure to dig this hip-as-hell Haggerston doll where it's anything but dead in the club, come the midnight hour (or 3 am on weekends). Quirky post-punk decor, cute staff and eclectic tunesmiths set the scene for drinks from a list that reads like the cast of Downtown Abbey. Order Lady of the Manor (a vodka, peach apple and prosecco twinkler),  fire into The Butler (a Bourbon and bitter apricot jam flip) or try a ‘hangover-curing’ Dead Mary. From Wednesday to Friday - with lunch also offered at weekends -  dine on seasonal modern British food using ingredients foraged in Hertfordshire. Resident chefs The Foragers offer a menu that might typically include pigeon kebab with stick rosehip sauce; hake, sorrel, kale and anchovy oil (£7.50), or filo parcels stuffed with nettles, dandy lion (sic) leaves, chickweed, goats cheese and hedge garlic mayo - a dish that sounds like something Wurzel G would knock up to impress Aunt Sally. Sunday roasts- served at four sittings from 2pm  - 8pm are deservedly popular. Expect pheasant, with crabapple jelly and game jus (£11.50); nut roast with creamy mushroom sauce;  haunch of venison with horseradish, Brussels sprout tops, carrot and turnip mash and Yorkshire puds.

428 Kingsland Road E8 4AA www.thedeaddollsclub.com

from my review for www.squaremeal.co.uk