london
Brawn
• European• Hackney
About the restaurant
Brawn opened in 2010 as one of the first of East London’s now-ubiquitous modern British sharing plate restaurants. Originally part of the Terroirs group, of which co-founder Ed Wilson was group head chef, it now operates under the ownership of Wilson and his wife Josie Stead.
The atmosphere at Brawn is classic East London wine bar and restaurant: vibrant chatter, music, and windows that look out onto Columbia Road (note: the restaurant is closed on Sundays to allow for the area’s heaving flower market). Interiors are classy and minimal, and knowledgeable staff are on hand to recommend dishes and wines if you need their help.
While Brawn was all classic British when it opened more than a decade ago, the years since have seen it show more pan-European influences: cuttlefish with fregola and gremolata, for example, or grilled asparagus with ajo blanco. The wine list is full of forward-thinking choices, with a fair few available by the glass or as a carafe.
Reviews from the Web
Critic reviews
The Infatuation
So yes, having a meal at Brawn is something you could do every day. Because it’s excellent, because it’s interesting, and because it’s better than your average neighborhood restaurant in London.
The Guardian
Quite honestly, this is the best pannacotta I’ve ever eaten. I intend, as I usually do with dessert, to have a taste or two, then push it away. But I can’t, I just can’t. With the texture of clotted cream, only the teensiest shimmy of wobble, it’s thickly freckled with inky vanilla seeds and sits in a pool of sharp-sweet juice from its macerated raspberries and strawberries. It is, genuinely, sublime.
Standard
The menu kicks off with the unfortunate heading Taste Tickler, under which oysters, salume from Calabria, cervelle de Canut (cheese spread from Lyon) and parmigiano Reggiano comprise aperitif-accompanying small eats. After that it is Pig, Plancha, Raw, Slow Cooked and Pudding and Cheese. It is all the human frame requires.
The Telegraph
Zoe Williams can’t wait to get back to Brawn, a fabulous east London wine bar.
The Nudge
Housed in a handsome converted warehouse at the top of Columbia Road, it’s a laid-back spot with seasonal, produce-driven small plates, most with a European sway.
- 49 Columbia Rd
- E2 7RG
- London
- +44 20 7729 5692
- Visit website
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