It's a known fact that East London is where the cool kids go, which basically means that I don't find myself there too often. But when an intriguing restaurant invites you over, you have to venture into unfamiliar territories for the sake of good food - and this is what I did.
Luckily, I took Shu along who definitely fits seamlessly into the coolness that is Shoreditch! It was great to finally meet after chatting in all corners of social media for about a year, so it was long overdue but worth the wait.
Forge & Co. calls themselves a "unique social space in the heart of Shoreditch" - and this is because it's not simply a restaurant, but a brasserie, lounge & workspace rolled into one. They have a large office space where you can work as a member, which is pretty ideal for freelancers and the like who are looking for an alternative to a full blown office.
We weren't there to work, though - only to eat. Story of my life.
The menu isn't huge but certainly varied, and we started with the Dublin Bay prawns with caper butter to start. These came as whole prawns which we got stuck into, and I liked the greens and seasoning - not a bad start.
The chef also snuck us in a couple of bites of Duck Rillettes, which made me such a happy clam as I do love rillettes - although I probably ate my life's worth of it in Bordeaux...
For mains, Shu went for the seared tuna and I chose the chicken with sweet potato (I'm a tad obsessed with sweet potatoes at the moment). It's actually not too often that I order chicken at restaurants - I can't help but feel like it's something I could make at home (though it's probably not true) - but I'm glad I chose this, because it was satisfying without being heavy, and was cooked very well. The whole dish had great flavour and I think Shu enjoyed her tuna too!
I should mention that we had a lovely bottle of Sauvignon to go with our food - boozy weekdays are the perks of adulthood.
Although we were comfortably full, we couldn't leave without dessert. Luckily, our friendly waiter told us that the chef was already preparing something for us, which meant we didn't have to go through the hardship of trying to be decisive - and in the end, he made us what I would have chosen from the menu anyway. Perfectly molten chocolate fondant.
I really enjoyed the vibe of Forge & Co., and found the service very good and the atmosphere cosy and relaxing. The place and food made for a lovely evening, combined with non-stop chatter with Shu about all sorts of things - my kind of dinner date!
You should definitely be aware that Forge & Co. do a Saturday brunch deal where you can buy bottomless Prosecco for £10. If that won't get you up on a weekend morning, what will?
You can see more details and the menu on Zomato.
disclaimer: I was invited for a complimentary meal and to write an honest review, by Forge & Co. and Zomato. All opinions are my own, as always.
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