Palmers Restaurant, near Victoria Park
Several months ago, we saw this positive review in TimeOut about Palmers Restaurant, a place serving creative gourmet food not far from Victoria Park in East London. We thought it sounded interesting, but considering how hard it is to convince our W postcode friends to come over to N1, we didn’t dare try to convince them to schlepp to E2, so Palmers languished in the back of our memories. Until last weekend, that is. Jon and I were in Victoria Park to see a performance of the horsey hijinks in “Sorry!” so Palmers became the perfect post-performance dinner venue.
ricotta, nutmeg and egg yolk ravioli with asparagus and truffle oil (£5.95)
Palmers is a father-son effort, with Dad running front of the house and Son behind the stove. Although it was a Saturday evening, Palmers was rather empty, which might’ve been awkward, but Dad’s friendliness made us feel comfortable and welcome.
We opened our menus and were shocked at how reasonable the prices were – sophisticated-sounding starters for £6, and similarly-interesting mains for £13.
My starter of egg-yolk raviolo immediately brought to mind the black truffle version that I swooned over at Hibiscus. Although the version at Palmers was lukewarm and not quite oozing egg yolk, I appreciated the effort, and perfectly-blanched asparagus accompanied by slivers of parmesan and egg is always a winning combination. For £5.95, the dish was great value, even if it didn’t quite hit the home run that Hibsicus’s version did. The tasting menu at Hibiscus is £80, after all. It *has* to be perfect at such prices.
bouillabaise with parmesan crostini (£5.50)
Jon’s bouillabaise was rich and satisfying, with a strong seafood broth, fresh, sweet sea goodies, and crispy, cheesy crostini. A nice option for a chilly summer evening.
gray mullet with clams, samphire, potato gnocchi, chervil veloute (£12.95)
My main course of gray mullet was enormous. Two large fillets of beautifully-pan-fried mullet was too much for one person to eat. Jon and I could have easily shared it, but what am I saying? Who complains about generosity? If I had to find fault, I’d say that there were so many ingredients in this dish that it was in danger of seeming like a bunch of trendy items haphazardly thrown together. The veloute and crispy samphire were perfect accompaniments to the mullet, but the clams and gnocchi seemed out of place.
turbot with Jersey royals, pancetta and peas (£14.95)
Jon’s turbot was, again, a generous portion, especially for £14.95. And again, beautifully seared with a crisp, buttery skin and firm, sweet flesh.
Despite feeling full after our enormous main courses, we couldn’t resist our host’s enthusiasm for the cheese course. Surprise, surprise – the cheese plate was enormous. Why didn’t we bring friends?
cheese course (£7)
If you want to support an ambitious, family-owned restaurant serving good food at reasonable prices, schlepp east to Palmers, pronto. From what I saw last Saturday night, it could use the support, and it’s really too bad Palmers isn’t in my neighborhood, because if it were, it’d be my favorite in no time. Is it a destination restaurant? Not quite. But next time there’s a sunny day, check out Victoria Park and be sure to end your day with dinner at Palmers.
With a £30 bottle of wine, our dinner totaled £80 for two people, and a minicab to/from Angel cost £12 each way.
Palmers Restaurant, 238 Roman Road, E2 0RY, 0208 980 5590; closest Tube station: Bethnal Green.
Looks like a great neighbourhood find – lucky you to live so close!
I live close as the crow flies, but there was no easy way to get there via public transport, so the cab/mini cab was essential. (Mini cab on the way back because black cabs were few and far between). Come to think of it, it was like being in Brooklyn, back before cabbies would go to Brooklyn.
Those fish dishes looks delicious, even if large. A 15 min walk from Bethnal Green tube doesn’t seem too bad either.
True that the walk from Bethnal Green tube isn’t bad, but we were coming from Angel, so getting there via tube would’ve been a colossal pain relative to the short distance away it actually is. That said, Palmers did feel a bit “middle of nowhere.” I’m not sure if their location is viable, especially given the ambition of their cooking. Just down the block, they’re outnumbered by skeezy-looking takeaway spots.
But I have hopes they’ll make it. Reasonable prices for ambitious cooking should be rewarded, no?
Bethnal Green is becoming all trendy! Love the look of the fish and whilst I agree that the fish dish is a bit “busy”, clams are a great accompaniment to fish imho.
Hi there, mefears the restaurants is at one of those hexed locations. I live very close and have seen a few worthy restaurants come and go there. But a new “find” that will last is Trullo on St Paul’s Road, closer to you near Highbury Corner. I am sure you’ve read the rave reviews of it in the press. It was packed last night (Tues) but service was excellent and food, well, scrumptious. Simple River Cafe-inspired menu (some of the staff worked there). And you can always have a pint first at the Hen & Chickens.
Mike – great tip! Jon and I dropped by Trullo last night and had a really nice time. Food and prices were excellent – a great addition to the nbhd. Thanks for that.
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Thanks for this write up – took a friend there on Friday and it was as good, friendly generous and well-priced as you described.
Glad to hear it. I feel guilty that I haven’t been back — if the Boris Bike scheme made it to Victoria Park, it’d be easier for me to get over there without having to take a cab.