The only good reason to meet your date down a dark back alley.
Newbury Street isn’t far off the beaten track, just a couple of minutes from Barbican or Farringdon. But it’s fair to say there isn’t much sign of life down this little side-street after dark. In fact, it’s so anonymous, not even people two streets away have heard of it, and neither do the cartographers of Clerkwenwell including it on their map plinths. (Avoid my mistake and make sure your phone’s charged, friends.)
Find it, though, and keep an eye out for the black storefront (no sign, of course) and you’ll find a tiny, sleek restaurant hidden within. This is Little Quiet, a new venture from Disappearing Dining Club that’s not so much low-key as no-key.
Seating just sixteen people, this is the perfect place to hatch a conspiracy, or exchange your most scurrilous gossip, all while tucking into some excellent food. Oh yes, let’s talk about the food, because it is Rather Good Indeed.
£45 for a six-course tasting menu – I mean you could get fewer courses, but honestly, it’s really better value for money this way, so basically you’re saving money! – DDC’s head chef Fredrik Bolin delivers a short menu comprised of delicious little plates, each as loudly lovely as the venue is quiet. I was particularly ‘there for’ the tuna sashimi, and, later, the meltingly good braised ox cheeks. And as you’re wondering, here was the menu on the night we visited…
All in all, this is a dead smart place to take someone, that will make you look terribly in-the-know, and allow the two of you to discreetly plot world domination while you eat some perfect plates together. Just don’t make too much noise about it…
