Spaghetti, Clams, Chili Garlic - starter portion (7)
Category: Bistro (££) 
I enjoyed Market Cafe, a bar/restaurant on the corner of fashionably edgy Broadway Market in Hackney. It’s buzzing, it’s low key, it’s reasonably priced and I thought the food was nice. In parts entire experience seemed a bit improvised and it was overall not faultless – possibly due to the fact that Market Cafe has only opened a couple of months ago.
For me, Market Cafe holds a lot of promise. When I saw the menu I was sure the concept could not work: Truffled Welsh rarebit and spaghetti with clams on the same menu? This certainly would result in overcooked pasta drowned in cream sauce, right? I have been a victim of bastardised Italian in “English” restaurants too often, not to have expected a culinary disaster.
I am pleased to confirm however, that Market Cafe does decent Italian and, at the same time, produces tasty British dishes.
Interesting Interior Mix @Market Cafe
It’s not only the food that is strangely mixed. Market Cafe’s interior designers clearly had a hard time choosing a wallpaper, so they just put a different one in every room. Or was it every wall?
Italian - English fusion?
The Parmesan Chunks (3.5) that we gorged on while waiting for our starters were, well parmesan. They need to do something about the presentation though, I mean seriously!
Parmesan Chunks (3.5)
The globe artichoke (6) was, well, an artichoke. Nice, but nothing special about it at all. It came served with a blob of lemony mayonnaise on the side. I am not keen on mayonnaise and I would have preferred the artichoke served with something lighter, something that wouldn’t override the beautiful artichoke flavour.
Globe Artichoke (6)
The truffled rarebit (6.5) reminded me a bit of Spuntino’s truffled egg toast, just not as mind-blowingly delicious. Again, presentation was a little bit horrible (the lonely parsley leave on top could not really rescue it) but there was nothing wrong with the flavour at all. Beautiful melting cheese with enough artificial truffle flavour (I mean we don’t expect truffle shavings for 6.5, do we?) resulted in a rather decent dish. The Spaghetti with Clams and Chilli (starter portion 7) were actually al dente and had a nice kick to them, shame that the clams were a bit on the chewy side.
Truffled Rarebit (6.5) and the lonely parsley
The fish of the day, sole, was beautifully cooked, tender and juicy – at least on one side. We were disappointed however when turning the fish, as the other side was raw. We asked if we could have the fish cooked a bit more, and got a new sole instead! Nice touch, but also with the new sole, one side was not cooked properly… Shame, as the fish was really delicious and so was the buttery spinach it was served with.
Fish of the Day - Sole
The boys had a Steak Florentine with Chips (40 for 2 people). It consisted of generous chunks of medium rare, flavoursome meat and they happily demolished it.
Does Market Cafe set itself apart from other, similar joints? The concept of attempting to ”recreate the spirit of the classic Italian “formica†café of the 1950’s” is certainly something novel and I liked the atmosphere and the prices. In the end, the food is perfectly fine, but undistinguished. If I had Market Cafe in my neighbourhood, I might very well be a regular. Travelling through London for it though? I don’t think so.
- Food: 6/10
- Service: 6/10
- Ambiance: 7/10
- Value for Money: 7/10
- Chances of Returning: my best friend lives around the corner
- Verdict: Promising Italian-English fusion with room for improvement.
I enjoyed reading London Confidential’s review of Market Cafe which overall reflects my view. London Chow went for some interesting looking steak and kidney pudding (it might have been nice, but it does look dreadful, check it out!)
Seems to have a pretty eclectic menu – in my experience those are the sort of places where you can find some absolute gems…
Honestly, that ceiling and that wallpaper make me very puzzled and, as you say, they should work harder on presentation. However, I probably would give it a try!
Happy Easter : )
@ Carretto – I agree, the menu is fun and I think Market Cafe is a space to watch. I feel they are gonna get better.
@Katia – the wallpaper was fun, but I am not sure if fun peculiar or fun weird. It’s certainly different though! Happy Easter to you too, I hope you had a good time, did you go back to Italy?
The breakfast was quite good, especially the mushrooms on toast. However the service was especially slow, and I had to go through 5 different wait staff before someone was finally willing to take my order. Also they left our coffee on the bar counter for a good 10 minutes before bringing it to the table.
@Favourite Table – ohh this doesn’t sound good! I hope they sort this issue out, the service was also a bit chaotic when I went.