BY KELLY BESWICK
Charmingly named after chef patron, Dom Taylor’s, great aunt Myrtle’s special front room, which was strictly out of bounds to only the most important of visitors, it was a place packed full of precious knick knacks and trinkets, celebrating the family’s proud Caribbean heritage, and one that clearly caught the imagination of young Dom. It’s why his latest Dalston venture lovingly pays tribute to not just Myrtle’s front room, but also to her cooking. Indeed, as Dom admits, all the women in his family – mum, grandmas and great aunts alike – helped shape him into the acclaimed and accomplished chef he is today.
Step through the door of The Good Front Room, and true to its name, you feel like you are entering somewhere rather special, where occasions are to be celebrated with great music, excellent food and powerful drinks, with the rum punch being a notable example.
Located in Dalston Square, occupying the ground floor of the Thomas Tower, the restaurant is large and airy but still retains a feeling of intimacy, thanks to the clever use of funky open shelving dividing up the space. These are adorned with assorted weird and wonderful ornaments, while the salmon pink walls and colourful artwork further add to the eclectic 70s vibe. In short, the place is fun and friendly, as evidenced by the lovely staff, which included several of Dom’s family members on the night of our visit.
Just as the restaurant’s interior has a whiff of nostalgia, so does the food – but only a whiff mind you, because while Dom’s cooking is most definitely inspired by Caribbean ingredients and much-loved recipes, he brings to his dishes a distinctly modern twist, honed, no doubt, from his time cheffing in some of London’s top hotels.
This is exemplified by the amazing array of sharing plates we sampled over the course of our dinner, all authentic and true to their origins, but elevated to a fine dining level. Take the jerk chicken, for example, which arrived as layers of delicately cut pieces of thigh, accompanied by sweetcorn ribs, plantain crisps and a plantain jam. It might have been minimalist to look at, but it was definitely maximalist in taste.
Equally as delicate was the ackee and saltfish cake, which was more like a croquette, beautifully crisp on the outside and wonderfully moist within. It sat atop a piquant scotch bonnet aioli with charred blackened pineapple and heirloom tomato chow – again, utterly delicious.
Of the larger sharing plates we tried, all were delightful, but I admit to falling rather hard for the rum and raisin glazed pork belly on a bed of charred hispi cabbage and poached golden raisins. For my dining companion, meanwhile, it was a toss up between the crispy banana blossom coconut curry with caramelised pumpkin, wilted callaloo and cowpeas and the roast sea bream with pimento, garlic and scotch bonnet marinade.
Our choice of sides took us into more standard Caribbean fare, but were still amazing nevertheless. After all, who doesn’t like mac n cheese, rice and peas and a chunky slaw, especially when they’ve been executed to perfection.
To finish off our meal, we decided to honour Myrtle by choosing her apple crumble, which consisted of demerara stewed apples, shortbread crumbs, vanilla bean ice cream and custard. Let’s just say, she’d be very proud of her great nephew!
The Good Front Room, Thomas Tower, Dalston Square, London E8 3GU
thegoodfrontroom.co.uk
Follow: @thegoodfrontroom_