Fun and games Spanish style at Shoreditch’s Pizza East
By Patito, published on 14 April 2010
Where do you take five football-mad Spaniards for a Saturday night out in London? Shoreditch. And here’s why. It’s not too young, not too old, it’s cosmopolitan without being touristy, edgy without being grubby. It has everything; pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs. And all within walking distance. It was also the only place we could think of where the boys could watch Real Madrid v Barcelona at 9pm (oh yes, this couldn’t be missed) and we might be able to get a decent meal. We dropped them off at Cafe Kick on Shoreditch High Street and headed across the road to Pizza East. We last visited this restaurant in October when it had just opened. Our experience was mixed. On our second trip, however, things would turn out rather differently. And yes, we have to confess, it really is rather a cool venue.
But first, more on the five Spaniards. They were a jolly bunch. One was The Guide’s childhood crush: then a shy reserved sporty kid, now a beautiful man with an exciting career as a sports journalist. He was over for the FA Cup semi-finals and they had all spent the day at Wembley with drunken Aston Villa fans. Beautiful Spaniard had been pitch-side with his cameraman, a softly spoken Valenciano. Also with us was Beautiful Spaniard’s best friend, a professional horn player with a charming and infectious laugh. Two more football colleagues, plus their Dundonian family (don’t ask, we’re still trying to work it out) made up the group.
It was 9,30pm by the time we arrived at Pizza East and we didn’t have a reservation. “No problem, I’m sure I can find you a table”, said a friendly Italian hostess. Sure enough, within half an hour we were seated at a cosy table in the main section of the restaurant. We’d filled in the time with a prosecco at Concrete, the downstairs bar – more on that later.
We ordered the Sicilian aubergine, orange, balsamic chilli starter, and then the roast chicken for two, rosemary potatoes, aioli. The aubergine was disappointing. It was dowsed in balsamic which would have been ok except that it wasn’t a particularly good variety. The chicken, however, more than made up for it. It was served in a large dish, nicely carved and laid over the potatoes. D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s! And just what our stomachs needed before a night with the Spaniards.
You see, Spaniards party hard. Not like the Brits, it’s a different approach. They don’t get drunk on 10 pints of lager and wear traffic cones on their heads. They drink rum and coke, or gin and tonic, do shots, talk nonsense and inevitably spend much of the evening winding each other up. They also stay out late. Very late. While Londoners are often tucked up by 1am after a good night out (and nothing wrong with that), los espanoles can keep going (and going).
Just as our chicken was coming to an end, The Guide’s phone rang. Beautiful Spaniard was here and they were waiting in the bar. “Que sitio bonito”. Ah yes, even he was impressed with this. We paid our (very reasonable) bill and headed over to the bar in the deli section of the restaurant. The Spaniards were drinking mojitos but were not happy with the rum so we suggested gin instead. The Guide thought it would be good to introduce them to Hendrick’s gin, but when it showed up with a slice of cucumber they were not amused. “Pepino? Tiene pepino. Que asco!”
Just then, Beautiful Spaniard and horn player ran off like two mischievous 5 year-olds and waved us over. What was going on? “Chupitos!” Tequila shots of course. But only in London would a tequila shot be served with Maldon sea salt flakes. And do you know what? It’s really rather tasty. “Otro!”, shouted the horn player. But the bar was closing. Where would we take them now? Downstairs, of course.
Concrete is Pizza East’s “versatile underground space” with “a professional sound system, full bar, long wooden tables and benches, and room to dance”. Perfect for Spaniards, in other words. Beautiful Spaniard found a sneeky space for all our jackets and went to the bar. Gin and tonics all round. Horn player’s camera came out and the fun began. We danced, we drank, we talked nonsense and yes, we wound up the cameraman. Concrete really is a great place. The crowd is mixed (Shoreditch locals, Londoners, Eurotrash, the odd tourist), the music a little old school but very welcome (George Michael’s Freedom had us up on the dancefloor immediately) and it’s busy without being crowded.
At 2am, the music stopped and the lights came on. Where now?, asked Beautiful Spaniard. Uh-oh, what to suggest? We asked the kind Italian hostess from earlier on. She said she would take us somewhere. But the Londoners had started to fade and were about to turn into pumpkins. We left the Spaniards in the Italian’s capable hands and made our way home. For us, it had been a perfect London night out. The Spaniards had liked it too (we think).
Pizza East, Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ, Tel: +44 207 729 1888, E: reception@pizzaeast.com
Fun and games Spanish style at Shoreditch’s Pizza East
Where do you take five football-mad Spaniards for a Saturday night out in London? Shoreditch. And here’s why. It’s not too young, not too old, it’s cosmopolitan without being touristy, edgy without being grubby. It has everything; pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs. And all within walking distance. It was also the only place we could [...]
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