BY MEADOW & HUNTER
While on route to new trendy Dalston restaurant ‘Black Pig with White Pearls‘, Hannah and I got into a philosophical debate. About black pigs. My pre-review research told me there would be a lot of black pig on the menu. Which meant my Euro blooded pasta eating self was slightly dubious. I had a vision of black pig meat and feared what this might taste like. Hannah was adamant the meat would still be white.
On arrival we then learnt an important lesson. ‘Iberico’ translates into ‘Black Pig’. So on reflection i’ve eaten a lot of black pig in my day because that word rings many bells. This is a special breed of pig farmed in Spain. They graze on one thing. Walnuts. Weird right?
I can’t really fault this restaurant.
From the moment I heard the name, walked in to this buzzy spot and saw a black pig.. with white pearls.. it was firmly lodged in my ‘cool places to eat’ mental list. I asked if there was any meaning behind the quirky name. Apparently the couple who own this restaurant, Davide and Melvin, were inspired when there were in India and met a healer. That’s all I could piece together to be honest! Who cares anyway – the name works.
The interior is beautifully designed. Low lighting, decorative bar, and sweet little touches including the odd pig and lots of pearls of course.
We were kindly welcomed by Chico who placed us on a nice big table for the two of us. Which meant lots of space for the plates.
The menu is essentially tapas, so sharing is the name of the game.
I was pleased the food on offer was a balance of unique and interesting foods mixed together, while still sounding yummy. I always freak when I go to a restaurant and its full of ‘ox heart covered in truffle sauce’ etc etc.
My favourites were the Escalivada Pinxto - roasted red peppers and aubergine on sourdough toast and aioli. I could eat this every day forever. I also loved the Arroz Negro which was calamari and aioli in a black risotto. We ordered about 6 dishes and that was more than enough. As yummy as all the food was, we couldn’t quite clean the plates.
There was a great vibe to the place which is important to me. The service was fantastic. I think it really adds to the credibility of a restaurant when the service staff are native to the country where the cuisine originates. There was a lovely Spanish lady who had a good chat with us.
They kindly threw in a glass of hard core Spanish spirit as an apparativ. You know that clear, toxic liquid of which many Euro countries make their own versions. I only had a few sips and this definitely got us giggling!
Overall the food is very reasonably priced. For a bottle of wine and loads of food the bill came to £80.
Thanks for a great night guys. I’ll be back.
Hunter x
BLACK PIG WITH WHITE PEARLS
61 STOKE NEWINGTON HIGH STREET
STOKE NEWINGTON
LONDON
N16 8EL
T: 020 7249 1772