Brat x Climpson's Arch with Chef Tomos Parry

Since Brat opened in 2018, Tomos Parry’s whole grilled turbot and Basque-inspired dishes have put this Hackney restaurant firmly on the foodie map. Nestled under an old railway arch and down a back alley with trains rattling above, Brat x Climpson's Arch is decidedly in an unexpected and quirky location. Seated on school chairs in a large Marquee-covered courtyard, it definitely has a more casual feel that Mountain, where we dined earlier in the week, but the menu is largely the same. 

Chef Parry scored a Michelin star within six months of opening Brat's other location in Shoreditch, and he seems to have a Midas touch when it comes to opening restaurants — when he opened Mountain in Soho last year, it received a Michelin star within six months, proving that culinary lightning can strike twice. Brat and Mountain take their inspiration from Parry’s voyages and his habit of cooking outdoors in fields in Wales, Cornwall, Cambridge, France and Porreres in Mallorca, which reminds him of cooking in Wales, where the mountains and sea come together. Cooking over fire is the focal point, with the smell of smoke the perfect way to get your taste buds excited as you arrive. 

Every dish has a tell-tale whisper of smoke and flames, from blistered anchovy flatbreads to a tangle of charred leeks, topped with milky, made-in-Hackney stracciatella. Mains are designed for sociable feasting, whether you opt for a rib of prime moorland beef or the gently flaking turbot, caught off the Cornish coast and slow-cooked over the fire — 'Brat' is the Old English word for turbot and this is the house speciality. Designed for sharing, it’s grilled whole in a handmade basket over lumpwood charcoal. A side of roasted greens is optional, but potatoes are essential, roasted over the embers and doused with hay-smoked butter. The food is sensational, our server Tom was lovely and the company wonderful. We all walked up to the Main Street, arm in arm, and bid farewell until our next culinary journey. Maybe next time, another one of Britain's top chefs but perhaps a little closer to Sloane Square!

Chef Tomas Parry of Brat

The open kitchen of Brat at Climpson Arch in Hackney

Chef Parry's kitchen throw a bit of smoke and char on to everything thanks 

to the wood-fired ovens and grills

Casual candlelight on wooden tables

Bottle of 2023 Can Sumoi Rose from Spain

Wood Roasted Aubergine on Labneh with spinach, pangrattato and dill

Warm Kale Salad with stilton and buttermilk dressing and julienned red peppers 

Tomato and Herb Salad

Whole Grilled Turbot, one of Brat's signature dishes

Serving the fish which had already been deboned for easy portioning

Wood-Fired Grilled Rib of Prime Moorland Beef for five

Smoked Potatoes are roasted over the embers and doused with hay-smoked butter

Blackberry Tart with Clotted Cream

bratrestaurant.co.uk/climpsons-arch

Asparagus with wild garlic and fresh cheese
Serves 2

Recipe courtesy of chef Tomas Parry

A bunch green asparagus, about eight or nine pieces
2 oz wild garlic
9 oz burrata
Sprigs of fresh mint and oregano
A lemon
Breadcrumbs
9 oz butter


Lie the wild garlic leaves flat, scattering with mint and oregano. Top with a bundle of pre-blanched asparagus stems and wrap tight in the leaves, binding with wild garlic brown butter. Cook in a very hot 465°F oven for 7 minutes, or until the roll has blistered. To serve, coat in the remaining brown butter and a squeeze of lemon. Split open the burrata, season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Scatter with homemade breadcrumbs for texture.

Chicken and Crispy Rice 

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of Chef Tomos Parry

1 chicken, weighing approximately 3 1/2 lb

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

1 red pepper

3 cloves garlic

1 stick celery

50g butter

Pinch of salt

300g bomba rice

250ml organic chicken stock

50ml white wine

For the marinade:

6 cloves garlic

1/2 bunch thyme

1 heaped tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp warm water

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp black pepper

Salad:

Seasonal leaves, tarragon and other herbs

Make the marinade. Finely mince the garlic and thyme. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring to mix well. Rub all over the chicken and let it marinate, refrigerated, in a large ziplock bag overnight. Turn the bag occasionally so that all sides stay coated.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels then place on a roasting tray. Drizzle lightly with one tablespoon of olive oil, place on the oven’s middle rack and roast for two hours, basting it regularly with its own juices. Turn the oven up to 425°F and let the chicken cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the other elements of the dish. To make the sofrito, finely dice the onion, red pepper, garlic cloves and celery. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil and the butter in a wide, shallow pan then cook the vegetables, seasoned with a pinch of salt, over a low heat for 15 minutes until soft. Leave this mix in this pan as the rice will be cooked in it.

When the chicken is ready, remove it from the oven, lifting it from the tin on to a chopping board, and cover loosely with foil.

While the chicken is resting, rinse the rice for two minutes to remove starch then drain and put it into the same pan as the sofrito and combine. Pour the chicken roasting juices into a measuring jug and top up with enough organic chicken stock to make 400ml of liquid. Turn the heat up high, pour in 50ml of white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate for a minute, then add the stock and juices and bring to the boil.

Cover and turn the heat down low. Let the rice cook, undisturbed, for about 25 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Turn the heat off, give the rice a stir and let it finish cooking by steaming in the pan’s residual heat for five minutes.

When ready to serve, carve and chop the chicken into generous pieces, place within the rice and put under the grill for eight to 10 minutes until the rice is golden brown. Serve with a mixed salad, which should be stirred through the dish before portioning.