A bit of S&M

69 Colebrooke Row, Angel, London, N1 8AA

Not been opened very long this is a tiny cocktail bar, they somehow manage to squeeze in a piano with pianist playing chilled lounge music. It's the sort of place where you are shown to a seat and given a vast cocktail menu to peruse. I really love going for classic cocktails when in a place like this as they are so often the best way to know the skill displayed by the mixologists, so on that note I opted for a classic gin vodka martini and it was bloody good - chilled to the max well and with just right hint of vermouth in the background. It's not cheap but because of the nature of this place they're never going to let it become rammed and it'll be top of my list when a quality cocktail is in order, think I'll test them with a Sazerac next time and then try some of their own creations.

S&M Cafe, Angel, London, N1 8LN

After the exuberance of the cocktail bar it was time for something a bit more down to earth and what better then sausage and mash? It's quite a long time since I've been here but it has always down what it says on the tin and the Angel branch is the original and probably the best still. We knew what we were gonna have already and were ravenous so ordered straight away and luckily it didn't take long at all for the food to come out of the kitchen.

Daring Dan 'Cumberland Ring, Pork & Ale, Pork & Leek, Venison, Wild Boar and London Sausages' with Mature Cheddar & Rosemary Mash, Fried Onions, Mushy Peas and Onion Gravy

A great selection of sausages were served and woofed down by the two of us. The highlight was the cumberland which nicely fatty and therefore really juicy, both the venison and wild boar were just a bit too dry - but drowning them in homely gravy seemed to do the trick. The mash was good and while I would have preferred a little bit more butter in it I'm glad it didn't have as much as I'd put in because with the gravy you didn't really need it. The crispy onions and the mushy peas made this a complete meal and I enjoyed it throughly and felt it was a perfect warmer to face the brisk air outside, not a salad day that's for sure.

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Sicknote

I've put off writing this entry for quite a long time because of what happened that night or to be exact what happened in the middle of the following night...

Star of Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6LG

This was recommended by a friend because it was an old student haunt for him and his future wife, and it had certainly managed to keep that kind of feel even though Bethnal Green is quite a different place now. I liked the scruffy and haphazard feel to the interior because it felt like that was just the way it was and hadn't been designed to look shabby-chic, I doubt you'd get many pubs also with tables quite as big as they are here and it makes for really social environment when there is a few of you. There is no excuse for having such a poor beer selection as this place has and I felt like I had no option but to go for the Westons Stowford Press cider but this wasn't up to much either. Left thinking what a good pub this could be if a little bit more care was taken.

Gourmet San, Bethnal Green, E2 6AH

A big group of us went here and this meant we got a private room upstairs all to ourselves, the building itself was very scruffy and the waiting staff extremely friendly and informative. I can't actually really go into much detail about the food because of what happens to me when I think about it, but here are my brief notes on what we ate; Pigs trotters (very gelatinous), boiled crab, breaded deep fried crab, Duck stew (whole garlic), special fried rise, egg fried soup.

We ate, drank rubbish wine and left.

Casa Blue, Shoreditch, E2 6DG

This is a small bar right at the top of Brick Lane so was only short distance from where we ate. You are served at your table so not tipping would look bad. You have the choice when ordering cocktails to have them served in massive fishbowls and we couldn't resist this and considering the size of the bowls I thought £28 was a reasonable price though not everybody agreed with me. We only tried the caipirinha and the mojito's but these were excellently done and I'm quite fussy with my cocktails after spending years making them at home with my ex, I'd go back here definitely.

But....

The night didn't end there for me, I was abruptly awakened at about 5am with what could be described as acute discomfort. I'm not going to go into any specific details but I when I returned to work a week later after making acquaintance with the local Hackney hospital I was still a little perky to say the least. It seems like it was the crab which did me in but nobody else I was with had any ill effects luckily, anyway I won't be visiting Gourmet San again, ever.

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