The smartly named Disco Bistro is daring to do things a little different and we like that. First off, they are based upstairs at The Rising Sun pub in the City, approximately midway between St Paul's and Blackfriars, an unusual choice of location. They might not be the first to break away from W1 postcodes but it is always welcome to see new things happening in non traditional areas of the capital. And while the City might be experiencing something of a food renaissance currently, the backdrop is mostly big business taking shiny sites in the likes of New Change shopping centre, it's good therefore to see genuinely independent ventures bringing diversity to this sometimes crusty area.
Furthermore, as already noted, it's in a pub, which brings a double benefit. First, you can get a real pint of beer with your food, and second, you can enjoy a limited selection of the food in the bar downstairs if you want to keep it really casual, or choose the upstairs restaurant. Don't be fooled though into thinking the upstairs restaurant is going to be all posh however, this is still a pub (and a proper boozer at that) and the upstairs has an informal and very often quirky style.
And then there's the food. While the Disco Bistro restaurant is a residency, it has not gone down an exclusive burger route. Nor however is it pitched as tasting menus only, showing off the chef's wares that way, the chef in this case being Carl Clarke, whose former ventures include the Rocklobsta and God Save the Clam projects (neither, we have to admit, did we sample). Rather, it is we guess what Carl wants to cook, using great suppliers (see below), to give the punter broadly what they want.
The upstairs menu in fact has snacks, which can be considered starters, followed by 'plates', yes, real plates of food, cooked and all that, and burgers of various proteins. There's even desserts, and in that sense, it is recognisable to all, not simply those in the food know, and you can even construct a traditional looking three course meal if that's what you want.
Furthermore, as already noted, it's in a pub, which brings a double benefit. First, you can get a real pint of beer with your food, and second, you can enjoy a limited selection of the food in the bar downstairs if you want to keep it really casual, or choose the upstairs restaurant. Don't be fooled though into thinking the upstairs restaurant is going to be all posh however, this is still a pub (and a proper boozer at that) and the upstairs has an informal and very often quirky style.
And then there's the food. While the Disco Bistro restaurant is a residency, it has not gone down an exclusive burger route. Nor however is it pitched as tasting menus only, showing off the chef's wares that way, the chef in this case being Carl Clarke, whose former ventures include the Rocklobsta and God Save the Clam projects (neither, we have to admit, did we sample). Rather, it is we guess what Carl wants to cook, using great suppliers (see below), to give the punter broadly what they want.
The upstairs menu in fact has snacks, which can be considered starters, followed by 'plates', yes, real plates of food, cooked and all that, and burgers of various proteins. There's even desserts, and in that sense, it is recognisable to all, not simply those in the food know, and you can even construct a traditional looking three course meal if that's what you want.
Pigeon pea fritters and sticky wings are our starters, while there's even an impressively grown up option of scallops, black pudding and apple. The more I consumed of the wings, the more I liked them and the tangy sticky exterior adding a little crunch made this an enjoyable if messy starter - clean napkins were, thoughtfully, regularly offered and service was friendly and well judged throughout. On the other side of the table, the pigeon pea fritters proved the preferred dish so that all worked out well. Hot wings are also available, and were described as, well, hot, but were not on this occasion tried.
Pigeon pea fritters, ranch dip
sticky chicken wings
When it came to the mains, we both opted for a burger option, sampling both the Disco Burger (beef and a bit more) and the Crackled jumbo shrimp burger. If you don't want a bun, there's also a ribeye steak, with the online menu advertising a 35 day aged Dexter steak, bone marrow and chips at a more than reasonable £21. What we didn't know at the time of ordering however, is that the meat at Disco Bistro comes from the butcher Philip Warren.
Readers of our blog will know that we are huge fans of Philip Warren who, as many of you will also know, supplies a limited wholesale market with customers that include The Ledbury, Alyn Williams at The Westbury and Pollen Street Social. On a personal level, we have been so impressed by Philip Warren's meat this past year that at Christmas, we ordered both our Christmas Day goose and Boxing Day beef from them (and loved both). It's a quality burger then with the beef inside, both the patty and the short rib, amongst the best meat you'll find in a burger. It's a mighty burger too, for there is also bacon, cheese and more on top such that when it arrives at the table, you simply stare at it for the first minute wondering how exactly to tackle it. I could barely finish it and certainly couldn't manage the fries as well.
The crackled jumbo shrimp is crackled with pork and comes additionally with spicy crab, buttermilk and fennel slaw. This burger was, however, somewhat unbalanced in our view as the spicy crab was too dominant a flavour
Readers of our blog will know that we are huge fans of Philip Warren who, as many of you will also know, supplies a limited wholesale market with customers that include The Ledbury, Alyn Williams at The Westbury and Pollen Street Social. On a personal level, we have been so impressed by Philip Warren's meat this past year that at Christmas, we ordered both our Christmas Day goose and Boxing Day beef from them (and loved both). It's a quality burger then with the beef inside, both the patty and the short rib, amongst the best meat you'll find in a burger. It's a mighty burger too, for there is also bacon, cheese and more on top such that when it arrives at the table, you simply stare at it for the first minute wondering how exactly to tackle it. I could barely finish it and certainly couldn't manage the fries as well.
The crackled jumbo shrimp is crackled with pork and comes additionally with spicy crab, buttermilk and fennel slaw. This burger was, however, somewhat unbalanced in our view as the spicy crab was too dominant a flavour
Crackled jumbo shrimp, spicy crab & buttermilk, fennel slaw
Disco burger: pure Devon Ruby patty, cheese, bacon, BBQ short rib
Desserts, from memory, came in two varieties together with the option of a cheese plate: definitely not your typical pop up then. Sadly, the cinnamon doughnuts were off that day as Carl was unhappy with the mix leaving us reluctantly impressed that Carl would rather take one of two sweets off the menu rather than send out sub standard product. Making up for this fact, he kindly sent us the rhubarb with white chocolate and miso custard, offering up rhubarb strips and rhubarb jelly with biscuit crunch and a really excellent white chocolate and wasabi custard which we eagerly put away despite being full up.
rhubarb with white chocolate and miso custard
Try and think of anywhere decent to eat close to Blackfriars and you'll be scratching your head for a while (if you do know somewhere, pray tell), leaving the field wide open no doubt for Disco Bistro, though under the current residency, it is only scheduled to last through to mid year, though might of course be extended. And against the backdrop of a square mile that offers Jamie and Gordon, Nandos and Prets, the unique Disco Bistro is a most welcome addition for sure.
We visited at lunch time when things were reasonably low key, but we understand that in the evening, the place gets really quite lively. And talking of lively, even at lunchtime, as you enjoy your burger, expect the music to be pumping, for this is no ordinary bistro, this is, of course, a disco bistro.
We visited at lunch time when things were reasonably low key, but we understand that in the evening, the place gets really quite lively. And talking of lively, even at lunchtime, as you enjoy your burger, expect the music to be pumping, for this is no ordinary bistro, this is, of course, a disco bistro.
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